Wappingers Falls is a 30-foot steep cascade on Wappinger Creek in Dutchess County, New York, in the middle of the village that took its name from it. A hydroelectric plant now takes most of the creek, so the falls run fully only after heavy rain or snowmelt.
The falls
Wappinger Creek leaves the impounded Wappinger Lake and drops through a gorge in the village center before running on to the Hudson River. Lidar data estimates the drop at about 30 feet and classes it as a steep cascade; the village's 2023 comprehensive plan uses 75 feet for the whole series of falls. A nine-foot iron penstock carries water from the lake through the gorge to the power plant, which leaves the natural channel largely dry in normal flow.
Getting there
The falls sit in the village's commercial center. The 2023 comprehensive plan proposed public viewing areas at West Main Street and Market Street and noted that an earlier Falls View Park plan had not been built.
When to go
The recommended time to visit is during runoff: after heavy rain or during snowmelt, when water spills past the diversion. At other times the cascade can be thin.
On site
The falls share the gorge with the penstock and power plant, and most of the natural channel is dry outside runoff. Parking, a public path to the top or base, and rules on swimming or dogs aren't documented.
History and name
The creek's drop gave power to the mills that built the village. A cotton mill went up in the hollow cut by the creek in 1819, and the Dutchess Company print works, rebuilt after an 1856 fire, ran until 1931, at its peak as the Dutchess Bleachery employing as many as 1,150 people. The stone arch bridge in the village dates to 1884, and nearby Mesier Park has been public since about 1891. One Hudson Valley waterfall guide uses the singular Wappinger Falls, to match the creek.
Nearby
Marlboro Falls is about 2.6 miles away, Wrights Falls about 2.7 miles and Greaves Falls about 4 miles, all on Lattintown Creek.
Distances are straight-line.