Lampson Falls

Lampson Falls is located north of the town of Degrasse in the northwestern part of the Adirondacks. From the junction of Routes 17 and 27 in Degrasse, drive north on Route 27 for just over 4-1/2 miles to a large parking area along the left side of the road and a DEC sign marking the Lampson Falls trail. The trail follows a dirt road with private property on both sides (so stay on the trail) for half of a mile, then branches left on a wheelchair-friendly path that leads to a vista near the top of the falls. A rougher path continues down to the beach next to the lagoon and provides access to a large rock outcrop across from the falls which provides the best views – total hiking distance is about two-thirds of a mile.The Grass River is one of the most well-endowed waterways in the western Adirondacks, sporting at least 15 named waterfalls along its various branches – though most of them not terribly large. The South Branch specifically harbors eight named waterfalls, and four of them are quite significant. Lampson Falls is the largest waterfall on any branch of the Grass River, and is among the widest waterfalls in New York State. The falls drop 48 feet, split between two tiers of 13 and 35 feet respectively, where the South Branch Grass River sheets down a broad bedrock ramp pitched at roughly a 30 degree angle, and stretching as much as 250 feet in width. During normal flow periods, the falls stretch across about 150 feet of the ledge, but in times of flood the entire 250-foot breadth of the ramp can be covered by a sheet of water. The pool below the falls is equally massive in scale, stretching some 500 feet across at its apex. The South Branch of the Grass River drains from a basin which covers approximately 210 square miles upstream from Lampson Falls, originating in many lakes, marshes, and wetland areas. The volume of the river will be good and the falls impressive at any time of year, but the falls will be at their most spectacular during the spring freshet from March to May.The USGS topographic maps mark this waterfall as Lampsons Falls, however Lampson - the singular tense - is the correct spelling.