Split Rock Falls drops about 45 feet in three cascades on the Boquet River in Essex County, New York, within the Hammond Pond Wild Forest.
The falls
A lidar survey now puts the total drop at 45 feet in three steps, roughly 20, 15 and 10 feet, over bedrock ledges just below the US 9 bridge. Northern New York Waterfalls lists the drop at a shorter 35 feet. The river above the falls is rated Class V whitewater, and boaters normally take out before reaching the drop.
Getting there
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation manages the site within Hammond Pond Wild Forest, with official parking off US 9. A paved lot and a short, roughly 0.1-mile dirt path lead to the falls; some stretches near the river are unguarded.
When to go
Flows are lower in summer, when visitors use the pools at the base; upstream, the creek turns steep and powerful whenever there is enough water to paddle.
On site
Visitors swim in the pools at the base, though this is not officially confirmed as permitted or safe. Four teenage camp counselors drowned here on August 12, 2003, three of them while trying to rescue the others; stay out of the current above the falls.
Nearby
Upper Split Rock Falls is about 0.2 mile away. Shoe Box Falls is about 3.3 miles, Dipper Falls about 4 miles, and Chapel Pond Canyon Falls about 5.3 miles.
Distances are straight-line.