Falls and Flows

Labor Day always seems to be our unofficial end to the summer. Pretty soon morning routines will change. Dragging kids out of bed just in time to make it to the bus. Friday night high school football games and Sunday evenings getting ready for the next week of school will begin. The leaves start to change from brilliant shades of green to oranges, reds, and gold. The smell of apples and pumpkin start to fill our local shops and living rooms. Our 9pm sunsets quickly turn to 7:30pm sunsets. An occasional chill in the air takes over the stagnant hot humid breeze of August. Thoughts of beaches and boat rides are replaced with campfires and hunting camps. I personally start to feel the itch, the call of hunting season. The need to pull the shotgun and rifle out of the safe and get them ready to go. Early morning alarm clocks and peaceful sunsets in a tree stand are fast approaching. But there is still enough time for a few more summer-like adventures. Recently I had my 44th birthday and I was given a book as a present. As I thumbed through the pages I was overwhelmed with all the information in it.

I had years of adventures at my fingertips. Page after page I found new places to explore and visit. Hundreds of places that I had never heard of were available to me. I decided my next adventure would be to a place I had never heard of before. I decided to explore Harper Falls on the Grasse River.

The back seat of the truck was full of camping supplies. Sleeping bags, backpacks and coolers blocked most of my back window. My youngest son, Austin, and I were ready for a week in the woods, even though this was going to be just a quick overnight trip. We headed south towards Canton. From 310 to 68 to county roads I had never been on before. My son and I discussed the upcoming school year and the summer that had flown by. The 45 minute trip on paved roads had led us to the Donnerville Rd.

A dirt backwoods road just wide enough for my truck. Tree branches rubbed along the side of my truck as we slowly bounced over the gravel and sand. Trusting the GPS we rolled on hoping this was the right place because there wasn't enough room to turn around. Finally the brown and yellow DEC sign showed itself through the trees.

There was a small parking area and yellow gate that indicated that we had reached our destination. I grabbed my camera bag and we started our way down the trail. All Trails showed it to be only .7 miles to the falls so we knew it wouldn’t take too long to get there. Which was a good thing because we knew we had a short weather window. The sun shone through the trees at the time but there was a chance of thunderstorms on the way. We followed the blue DEC mountain bike trail markers as we worked our way along the dirt trail.

Over the wooden bridges we hiked as the peaceful sounds of babbling brooks filled the air. We took a moment to stop and watch the water meander over the rocks as it worked its way off into the forest.

Moving along we came to a small meadow along the way and checked the skies. A few clouds were starting to form but nothing too bad yet so we kept going. Off in the distance the sound of raging water could be heard. We knew we were getting close. The roar of the river echoed off of the large rocky outcrops that started to surround us.

As we made our way to the river bank we could feel the thundering torrent of water as it raced by.

We had made it. The gentle Grasse river that flows through many little communities in the North Country was a deafening frenzy of water. We climbed over the rocks up and down the falls taking pictures and videos. It was beautiful.

Then it hit me, there was more than just thundering water around us, there was also thunder coming from the sky. We packed up the cameras and made our way back to the trail. A quick text message back home to get a weather update let us know that the storms were definitely heading in our direction. At that moment we decided that it was a great afternoon for a trail run. Up and down over the rocks and tree roots we dashed along the trail. Just as the gate at the trailhead came into view the rain started coming down. We climbed into the truck and caught our breath. We checked the weather again and saw several more storms on their way so we headed out for part two of our adventure.

The windshield wipers didn’t stop during our 25 minute drive to Higley Flow State Park. As we pulled up to the registration booth we contemplated if we should even bother staying the night. The weather had gone from hot and humid to cool and rainy and we were going to be spending the night in a tent. We decided to take our chances and signed in. Lot 119 in the F loop would be our home for the night. We backed the truck into our lot as the rain continued to come down. We sat in the truck for 45 minutes as we watched the rain fall through the trees and make a big puddle where our tent should be set up. We checked the weather again and saw that it was going to clear up again but there was one more storm cell coming behind it. As the rain slowed we explored the campground. We checked out the bathrooms, the nature center, and beach.

Anything to keep us busy while we waited out the storms. Dinner was supposed to be hot dogs on the campfire but the wood in the back of the truck was pretty wet and with one more storm on the way we decided to change up that plan. A quick drive into town to find some dinner we came across the Red Pine Cone.

This beautiful little restaurant would definitely do the trick. We sat on the front porch and played a giant game of connect four as we waited for our pizza and wings to come. As we finished up dinner the blue skies showed themselves on the horizon. Back at the campsite we were pleased to find that our site had dried up quite a bit and got our tent pitched.

A trail off to the back of our site brought us down to the river. We stood on the sandy bank and took in the remaining minutes of daylight. The sun setting on the remaining clouds lit up the sky with puffs of oranges, pinks, and blues. It was breathtaking.

As the sky faded to black we decided to try a campfire. We managed to find just enough dry wood to make it happen. We sat by the fire in the star filled night sky and reminisced about the day we had.

From a raging river to a campfire chat it had been a wonderful day together. We crawled into our tent and had a peaceful night's slumber in our sleeping bags, it was just what we needed. The next morning we broke down camp and headed home. About half way home my son asked me if we could do more trips like this. I told him that with the new book that you had bought me for my birthday that we had many more trips like this ahead of us.

About these Locations:

Harper Falls sits on the north branch of the Grasse River near Russell NY in St Lawrence County. The trail is part of the Grass River wild forest. Out and back the trail is about 1.4 miles long and is rated moderate on the All Trails app(I personally would rate it as easy).

The DEC trail markers have it marked as a mountain bike trail but it can be walked as well. The trail is well maintained and I would highly recommend this as a family friendly adventure. Near the river bank there is a fire pit and a nice open area that would be perfect for a picnic. The trail does extend up and down the falls so there are plenty of places to get different views of the falls. The Donnerville Rd that the trail is on is a seasonal road that is only maintained spring through fall. The road is narrow so make sure you take it easy just in case there are vehicles coming from the other direction. I’m guessing that during the spring snow run off the falls could be dangerous to be around but if you visit any time between June and November it will give you the experience you are looking for. So if you and your family are looking for a nice afternoon outing, I would highly recommend checking out Harper Falls, it is definitely worth visiting.

Higley Flow State Park is located in Colton NY in St Lawrence county. This park has 135 campsites, 63 of them have full electric hook ups. It also has a full beach on the Raquette River, 10 miles of hiking trails, and a boat launch. The way the campground is set up, it gives you a real outdoors feeling. Many campgrounds have the sites too close together and not enough trees. This one makes you feel like you are truly in the forest.

The site I chose was near the river. You couldn’t see the river from the site but just a quick walk down the trail and we were sitting right on the river bank.

I’d love to go back and spend several days there just exploring the trails and all the things the park offers. This would be a perfect summer weekend get away. If you are in the Colton area stop by the Red Pine Cone restaurant. They have a wonderful menu and a big ice cream counter that has many flavors and options. If you are looking for one last Northern NY adventure before autumn really sets in, I'd recommend checking out Harper Falls and spending a night at Higley Flow.

You won’t be disappointed.

Aaron Hardy

Northern NY Adventures

“Make Life an Adventure”