Salmon River Falls is a 111-foot plunge waterfall on the Salmon River in Oswego County, New York, protected in the state's Salmon River Falls Unique Area near Orwell. A hydropower diversion begun in 1912 takes most of its water, reducing the broad crest to narrow plumes on most days.
The falls
The river drops in a single leap over a cliff of hard Oswego sandstone resting on softer Pulaski shale, which erodes back beneath it. A field survey measured the drop at 111 feet and the crest at about 175 feet wide on average, up to 250 feet; the DEC gives 110 feet. A 10,000-foot pipeline carries most of the flow around the falls for hydropower, so on most days the broad curtain is reduced to two or three narrow plumes of water sliding down a largely bare cliff.
Getting there
The Department of Environmental Conservation's parking area is on Falls Road. An accessible trail of compacted stone, at least 3 feet wide and no steeper than 10 percent, runs 0.2 mile to the top of the gorge. The Gorge Trail, 600 feet long, steep and stepped, drops more than 100 feet to the riverbed below the falls. Entry is free and the area is open year-round from sunrise to sunset. The Gorge and River Bed trails close from November 15 to May 1 and whenever the water is high.
When to go
The falls are fullest at peak snowmelt in spring, when the river carries more than the diversion can take. Since 1996 minimum releases have been at least 20 cubic feet per second from July through September and 7 cubic feet per second the rest of the year; occasional high releases reach 10,000 cubic feet per second. In winter, registered ice climbers may use the Gorge Trail.
On site
Swimming and wading in the plunge pool are prohibited, and the cliff face, the falling-rock zone and anything within 15 feet of the gorge and falls edges are off limits. Wikipedia counts at least five deaths at the falls between 1994 and 2013. Rock climbing, camping and alcohol are banned, and dogs must be leashed around other visitors. Threatened plants grow in the gorge, including bird's-eye primrose and yellow mountain saxifrage.
History and name
Iroquois peoples fished for Atlantic salmon stopped by the falls, a run that had disappeared by 1872. A tourist lodge, the Cataract House, stood nearby from 1860 to 1888. New York State acquired the falls in 1993 and manages the 112-acre Unique Area.
Nearby
Mad River Falls is about 6.9 miles away and Upper Mad River Falls about 7.2 miles, both on the Mad River. Totman Gulf Falls is about 15.3 miles away.
Distances are straight-line.