Twin Falls

The waterfalls of the South Branch of the Grass River are located east 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 half of a mile, then turn right onto Tooley Pond Road. Continue down Tooley Pond Road for 2.9 miles and watch carefully for a trail on the right which leads down to the large lagoon below Twin Falls in about 300 feet – the falls will be visible through the trees from the road shortly before reaching the trail. Additionally, a second trail can be found another tenth of a mile up the road which leads to the top of the falls.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. Twin Falls is the second tallest waterfall along the South Branch of the Grass River, after Lampson Falls, but due to the lack of developed access doesn’t receive quite the attention that it would otherwise deserve. The falls occur as the river splits in two channels around a rise in the valley floor, with the vast majority of the river funneling to one side. The larger volume part of the falls drops 37 feet, starting out as a sliding cascade, and then reverting to a free-fall at its base. The smaller channel cascades about 15-20 feet, with the remainder of the difference in height between the two sides made up for in ripples and rapids upstream from the actual fall. Later in the season when the volume of the river drops, the smaller of the two falls may be greatly reduced, if not dry out entirely. About one-quarter mile upstream from Twin Falls is Stewart Rapids, a rather uninteresting feature which tumbles perhaps 10 feet total and does not meet the requirements to be included in this database. The rapids can be seen from Tooley Pond Road, whereas Twin Falls is not readily visible due to how it splits to two channels. The USGS topographic maps are somewhat ambiguous about how they label Stewart Rapids, the label being positioned quite close to the location of Twin Falls. Because of this, there have been multiple instances where authors or publishers have incorrectly attributed the name Stewart Rapids to the larger of the two segments of Twin Falls, and the name Twin Falls just to the smaller segment. The South Branch of the Grass River drains from a basin which covers approximately 127 square miles upstream from Twin 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.