Oxbow Falls is a 10-foot waterfall on Clockville Creek in Oxbow Falls County Park, Madison County, New York, about 3.5 miles south of Canastota. The creek's drop is the listed falls, but the county park around it holds two more seasonal cascades on tributary streams.
The falls
The drop is about 10 feet in a single step, based on lidar data. Clockville Creek here forms a narrow cascade some 600 feet long with two drops of more than 10 feet, mostly hidden from above; from a footbridge below, a small 3-foot drop is in view. Beside it, a tributary spills down a steep 50-foot cascade from under the footbridge, and a third stream runs a 600-foot cascade with a 25-foot drop. Madison County advertises a 100-foot waterfall in the park. The park sits on the northern edge of the Helderberg Escarpment, which dates to more than 350 million years ago.
Getting there
The park is at 6919 Oxbow Road in the town of Lincoln and is run by Madison County. There are two pull-offs on Oxbow Road and a gravel lot near the trailhead. The falls can be seen from above after about 0.2 mile; a 1-mile loop reaches the bottom, and the Orange Trail, a one-mile loop with two waterfall overlooks, is rated moderate. Admission is free, and the park is open daily from dawn to dusk.
When to go
Early spring is the recommended season, before the trees leaf out. The two tributary falls are reliably dry by summer, and Clockville Creek itself runs low then unless there has been heavy rain. At high flow, the stream crossings on the White Trail can become impassable.
On site
Dogs must be leashed, swimming is not allowed and visitors must stay on marked trails. The waterfall trails are not wheelchair accessible. Water and restrooms are open in summer, and the park also has pavilions, picnic areas, an 18-hole disc golf course and cross-country ski trails.
History and name
Clockville takes its name from settlers John and Joseph Clock, who arrived in 1792, and the creek once powered mills.
Nearby
Buttermilk Falls on Limestone Creek is about 2.1 miles away, Perryville Falls on Canaseraga Creek about 3.5 miles and Chittenango Falls, in its own state park, about 6.1 miles.
Distances are straight-line.