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Books / Media
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Location / Directions / Maps
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On the west side of
Skaneateles Lake; Directly north of the Village of New
Hope; Town of
Niles;
Cayuga
County;
New York
Maps:
Google Map,
Bing Maps (Bird's-eye view),
Multi-map (topo); Trail
map (pdf);
Interactive map;
GPS: Roadside parking: (N
42.81317 / W 76.34135)
Carpenter Falls:
(N 42.81174 / W 76.34309)
Angel Falls:
(N 42.81779 / W 76.33837)
Directions: From
Rt 20 in Skaneateles, head south on Rt 41A
for about 8 miles. After Derby Rd on your right,
will be Appletree Point Rd on your left. Turn down
Appletree Point Rd and follow it for a quarter mile
to the junction with Carver Rd. Park there.
From Cortland and points south, take
Rt 41 north for 2 miles to Rt 41A. Head North on 41A
for roughly 30 minutes. Just past the junction with
CR 66A make a right onto Appletree Point Rd. Follow
it for a quarter mile to the junction with Carver
Rd. Park there.
Or use
Google Directions.
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Information / Accessibility / Accommodations
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Number of
falls: 4, of which 2 are directly
accessible. Some smaller drops as well.
Size/Types: Carpenter Falls reaches 90 ft
tall. It falls as a powerful ribbon that cuts
through a notch in the massive overhanging
limestone caprock, and plunges over 80 feet into a
deep pool. Using caution, one can walk right behind
the falls.
The second waterfall is a sloping
cascade, roughly 20 ft high and finished with a
refreshing pool.
Angel Falls is a 62 ft overhanging
drop and cascade (similar to
Tinkers Falls). It starts as an overhanging
ribbon that hits the rock below and cascades the
rest of the way. A deep pool at the base is a
popular spot for swimming.
A final cascade reaches roughly 11
ft tall.
Best time
to visit: Spring through fall. Although
recent rains allow for better flow, it makes the
climbs more dangerous and creek-walking more
difficult.
Flow:
Variable; it is usually flowing, but highly
dependant on rain and melt-water.
Waterway:
Bear Swamp Creek, a tributary to
Skaneateles Lake.
Time:
You can get a decent view of Carpenter Falls from the
top in just 10 to 15 minutes. If you want to make
your way down the gorge to wind up at the lake, plan
for a least an afternoon. Allow yourself enough
light.
Seasons/Hours: Open
year-round, all day, all night. Parking:
Park at the junction of Appletree Point Rd and
Carver Rd. There is space for about 6 cars.
Additional parking is roadside along Appletree Point
Rd. There is no parking at the shore, but you may be
able to squeeze in on the side of Appletree Point Rd
very close to it.
Admission: Free.
Handicap
accessibility: No.
Pets:
Allowed if on a leash. For your pet's
safety, and the safety of other hikers, keep your
pet on the leash!
It doesn't matter if your dog is "friendly," it's
the law. Please clean up after.
Swimming:
Those refreshing pools below the falls are hard to
resist. Officially swimming is not allowed, but
commonly done. Use extreme caution as the water can
get murky and the flow is unpredictable at times.
Swimming at the lake is prohibited.
Accommodations: Signs, maps, parking, hiking
trails, fishing, hand boat launch. |
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Local Activities and Events
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Skaneateles event calendar |
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Area Attractions / Places to Stay
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Want a prominent spot on this list?
Click here for advertising
options.
Other Waterfalls
New Hope Mills - New Hope, NY
Montville Falls -
Moravia, NY
Bucktail Falls -
Spafford, NY
Guppy Falls -
Skaneateles, NY
Bed & Breakfast
Hummingbird's Home B&B - Skaneateles, NY
1899 Lady of the Lake - Skaneateles, NY
Fox Ridge Bed & Breakfast - Skaneateles, NY
The Gray House - Skaneateles, NY
Aunt Louise's Lake House - Skaneateles, NY
The Pine Grove Bed & Breakfast - Skaneateles, NY
Benjamin Porter House - Skaneateles, NY
The Arbor House Inn - Skaneateles, NY
Hotels / Lodging
Skaneateles Suites - Skaneateles, NY
Village Inn of Skaneateles - Skaneateles, NY
Restaurants / Cafes
1820 House - Skaneateles, NY
Rosalie's Cucina - Skaneateles, NY
Doug's Fish Fry - Skaneateles, NY
The
Glen Haven - Homer, NY
Bakeries /
Local specialties
New Hope
Mills - New Hope, NY
Shopping / Markets / Gifts
Shop Skaneateles - Skaneateles, NY
Sports / Activites
Skaneateles Lake Cruises - Skaneateles, NY
Skaneateles Lake Boat Rentals - Skaneateles, NY
Sailing lessons - Skaneateles, NY
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Interesting Stuff
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Carpenter or
Carpenter's — Officially, the name is
Carpenter—without the apostrophe, as
recorded and published by the USGS. Although many
names of places, land marks and especially
waterfalls were first named in the possessive after
their founders or owners, the USGS commonly removed
the apostrophes when recording locations in order to
avoid indicating any property ownership in their
official maps and reports. This was not much of a
big deal, because by the time the USGS was mapping
and labeling details such as waterfalls, ties to
their namesakes had long since been forgotten. The
possessive versions of the names still remain in
literature and on the tongues of locals. The Finger
Lakes Land Trust, the stewards of this preserve,
refer to the falls as Carpenter's as does the State
DEC. But in the age of the internet, the apostrophe
and the s matter little. Googling
either yields the same results.
Birding
— Bring those binoculars. The National Audubon
Society has classified this preserve as an important
birding area.
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Description
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AKA: Carpenter's Falls, Angel
Falls, Bear Swamp Cascades
Tucked away along the southwest end of
Skaneateles Lake,
among the vast stretches of cultivated fields in the
Skaneateles Highlands, is a little slice of
exhilarating wilderness, protected and waiting for
you to explore. Although many in the region have
heard of or seen pictures of Carpenter Falls, only a
small sample have explored further down the Bear
Creek Swamp gorge to the several other waterfalls
and eventually reach the rewarding view found at the
Skaneateles lakeshore.
Carpenter Falls is a massive ninety
foot waterfall that has carved a notch out of the
shelf-like caprock, from which it takes a powerful
plunge down crashing into a deep, round pool,
frequented by bathers on hot summer days. The more
adventurous can shuffle down the steep gorge trail
along the southern rim, and check out several other
waterfalls, including Angel Falls, a picturesque
sixty foot waterfall that begins as a wide
ribbon-plunge and ends up cascading over smaller
gradual ledges.
Continuing the hike offers glimpses
through the thick forest canopy towards the
strikingly blue waters of
Skaneateles Lake,
considered one of the cleanest lakes in the State of
New York. A challenging venture onward (and
downward) will get you to the Skaneateles shoreline
and a spectacular vista. The shoreline is also
reachable by road and can be used as a hand boat
launch site, for fishing, bird-watching, or for
those looking for a workout, a climb upstream.
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History
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Evidence of an old mill can be found
in the form of the remnants of a sluiceway dug above
Carpenter Falls between the parking area and the
falls. The mill was probably located just downstream
from the falls in a small hollow. We are not quite
sure what type of mill it was, when it existed or if
other mills shared this sluiceway.
The trail that runs down the gorge rim is referred
to as "Old Jug Path," supposedly for the old dirt
road it traces. It is believed that a distillery
once stood along the creek somewhere between
Carpenter Falls and the shoreline (we are not sure
exactly where) and took advantage of its seclusion
in the gorge for privacy, as well as access to the
landing on the Lake for distribution, allowing it to
prosper during Prohibition.
A significant portion of the gorge
was safe in the hands of nature-lover Hu Bahar and
his family. After his death, in an effort to secure
the preservation of the land, his widow Dawn
generously sold 25 acres to the Finger Lakes Land
Trust at a reduced cost in 1998 and the Bahar Nature
Preserve was established. The Land Trust
aggressively sought out adjoining parcels to save
them from development, purchasing another 33 acres
in 2005 and then another 29 acres in 2007. Totaling
87 acres, this mix of lake watershed, filled with immature
mixed and coniferous forest, steep rocky cliffs, a
fragmented trail system and a sliver of a beach is a
lot to manage. So in 2008 the Land Trust transferred management of 36 acres of the
western-half of the property to the New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC).
The uplands, together with Carpenter and Angel
Falls are included in this segment, in what is now
called the Carpenter's Falls Unique Area. Most
notably, the state maintains the rim trail (Old Jug
Path), the parking area, and the informational
signage.
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Hiking / Trails / Exploration
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Difficulty:
Easy to see Carpenter Falls from the top.
Very difficult to get to the rest of the falls.
Distance:
Just over a mile one way.
Markings:
The trailhead is marked. The rim trail (Old Jug
Path) is a well-defined gravel and dirt trail. The offshoots to
the creek bed below the falls are not marked, but
can be found if you are looking hard enough.
Description:
From the parking area and the informational
sign, head west along the trail (you should begin to
hear Carpenter Falls) and should reach a nice spot
to view it from in about a 10th of a mile.
You can continue along the trail to
where it reaches the creek bed above the falls (near
the road) and you can follow it briefly downstream
to the very crest to enjoy a spectacular view of the
amphitheater-like gorge.
Turn around and head back along the
same trail. You now have a few options. You can
continue down this trail (Old Jug Path) for about a
mile taking steep, unmarked branches to get to the
bottoms of the remaining falls, and then coming back
up to the trail and continuing all the way to the
lake, or you can take one of the branches down just
below Carpenter Falls, and explore the creek from
there, climbing down a 20 foot falls downstream and
ending up at the crest of Angel Falls. To get to the
bottom of Angel Falls and then the final 11 ft
waterfall, you will have to climb a steep trail back
up to the main Jug Path and then back down another
branch further down. If you make it to the shore of
Skaneateles Lake,
you can take the winding Appletree Point Rd back up
to the parking area for a loop or head back up the
way you came.
There are so many unmarked branches
(many of which are steep climbs where rope is almost
necessary) that we recommend you take care in
navigating and traversing the preserve. Keep safe
and don't get lost. Our interactive map below plots
the major routes over a satellite view of the gorge.
Maps:
Trail map (pdf);
See the
interactive map below |
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Photography tips
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Carpenter
Falls is relatively easy to get framed from
the top of the Old Jug Path. Since it is out in the
open, mid-afternoon sunlight can wash out shots,
it's best to shoot on overcast days.
Angel Falls
is covered in with a thick forest canopy and
shielded by the towering gorge walls. It may be
possible to get even lighting here even on bright,
sunny days.
With caution, you can
climb behind
Carpenter or Angel falls for some interesting
angles.
Keep your
gear safe and dry. The difficult hike may get
you dirty and wet. Be sure to protect your gear in
case of a fall.
More tips—See
the Articles section for
more waterfall photography tips.
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Links of Interest
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Finger Lakes Land Trust page on Bahar Preserve |
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Who to Contact
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Finger Lakes
Land Trust
202 East Court Street
Ithaca, NY 14850
Phone: (607) 275-9487
e-mail: info@fllt.org
web: http://fllt.org
NYSDEC
Region 7
615 Erie Blvd.
West Syracuse, NY 13204
Phone: (315) 426-7400
Web:
http://www.dec.ny.gov/about/615.html |
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