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| Clarendon Falls | |
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| Location
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Hamlet of Clarendon, Town of
Clarendon,
Orleans County Maps - Google Map, Bird's eye, Multi (topo) GPS/Locations - N 43.191 / W 78.065 Directions - Take Rt 104 to Rt 237 (Morganville Rd) south for three miles through Holley. Continue on 237 (now Holley Byron Rd) south another three miles to the Village of Clarendon. Just past the intersection with 31A will be a small park to the west. Or use Google Directions. |
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Information Number of falls: 1 Size/Types: A 25 ft cascade; lit by a single lamp at night. Best time to visit: Spring or after heavy rain. Flow: Low, often just a trickle in summer. Waterway: A tributary to Sandy Creek. Time: Visible from the parking lot or a quick walk across the lawn to the base of the falls. |
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| Accessibility Seasons/Hours: Park open daily from 6am until 10pm. Parking: Parking in the small turnaround off of Holley-Byron Road. Spaces for about 5 cars. Admission: Free Handicap accessibility: no. Pets: Allowed on leash. Accommodations: Open pavilion, bench, port-a-potty. |
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| Description... It took us several trips to Clarendon in order to catch this falls with an amount of flow that would show up well on camera. Our best advice is to get there shortly after (or during) a long period of heavy rain or during the spring thaw. With a decent amount of flow the falls is a nice one, with a soothing sound and picturesque view, set against the wooded hillside. In low flow, it is a mossy, muddy mess - not worth the 40 minute trek east from Rochester. The falls is located in the back of a tiny town park, often used for small get-togethers, neighborhood games of catch, and of course checking out the falls. The park is mostly mowed grass with a small bridge crossing the creek and leading into a wooded area along the cliff. You can't view the falls from this area, but it is a great place to see the foundation of a mill once located here. In this seemingly flat town, the rock escarpment that Clarendon Falls tumbles down, seems a bit out of place. The creek passes by a private residence atop the cliff and then cascades about twenty-five feet down mossy limestone. At the bottom, the creek is shallow (with no pool), rocky, and quickly turns toward the south. There is a wooden pole that carries a spotlight directed at the falls, but we have yet to see the falls lit up at night.Most of the year, the falls is a small trickle. With the amount of mud and moss covering the creek bed, it can be an ugly sight in low flow. It's best to visit in early spring or after heavy rain. |
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| Trails
Difficulty: Easy. Markings: None. It's just a short walk across the lawn to the falls. You can park yourself on the bench to relax, or trek across the stone to get to the base of the falls. "No Trespassing" signs signify that the land to the right of the park and falls is off-limits. There is a private residence above the falls. |
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History... The town has it roots in the story of a lost horse. In 1810, Eldridge Farwell tracked a lost horse south from Ridge Road and came upon Clarendon Falls. Realizing the potential of the falls for power generation, he relocated there the following year and soon built a cabin, saw and grist mills; essentially founding Farwell's Mills, NY. When Orleans County was formed in the 1820's, the Farwells renamed the settlement to Clarendon after their home town in Vermont. Source: Orleans County Historical Association |
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Do not miss... The town of Clarendon has five pioneer cemeteries: Maplewood (just south of the main hamlet) on NY Rt. 237; Robinson Burial Ground (about 2 miles south of the hamlet) also on NY Rt. 237; Glidden Cemetery on Glidden Road; Christian Graveyard (on Hibbard Road—the first official cemetery in town), and Cook Cemetery on Munger Road. Today, the area’s main cemeteries are also located in Clarendon—Hillside Cemetery and St. Mary’s Cemetery—adjacent to each other at the northern boundary with the town of Murray. Source: Orleans County Historical Association Nearby Holley Falls is a man-made waterfall set in beautiful red Medina Sandstone. A waste-water drainage outlet for the Erie Canal; the falls dumps into Sandy Creek and is only a few minutes north of Clarendon. |
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Click the thumbnails below to order prints. |
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| Photography Tips ▪ This waterfall is a trickle for most of the year, visit after heavy rain or in early spring. ▪ Visit at night for photos of it dimly lit. ▪ See the Articles section for more waterfall photography tips. |
| Area Attractions Nearby Waterfalls Holley Canal Falls - Holley, NY Waterport Falls - Waterport, NY Medina Falls - Medina, NY Bed & Breakfast Rosewood Bed & Breakfast - Holley, NY Cedar Valley Bed & Breakfast - Waterport, NY LaMonts Orchard View - Albion, NY The Country Corner - Hamlin, NY The White Farm B&B - Brockport, NY The Victorian - Brockport, NY Gingerbread Manor - Brockport, NY Restaurants Krony’s Pizza - Hamlin, NY Hamlin Pizza Shack - Hamlin, NY Museums Cobblestone Society Museum - Albion, NY Cobblestone Society Museum - Albion, NY Shopping Ridge Road Station - Holley, NY Hurd Orchards - Holley, NY Watt Farms Country Market - Albion, NY Brown's Berry Patch - Waterport, NY Entertainment/Recreation Ebb Tide Trail Rides - Holley, NY |
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| Links Town of Clarendon History of Clarendon |
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Contact Clarendon Town Clerk P.O. Box 145 Clarendon, NY 14429 Office: 638-6371 ext.100 Fax: 638-7220 |
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| Weather |
