A silence heard only in the dead of winter has been imposed by the cold along the northern section of the Stone Valley Trail. For a mile beginning below the hydroelectric dam in Colton the Raquette River rages as it drops 200 feet in a series of small waterfalls and rapids. But now the roar caused by the river’s fits of commotion is muffled by ice.

Water still rushes through channels in the ice often sliding underneath only to reappear in swirling vortexes as it drops from under the canopy at the larger falls.

I hate to use ‘Winter Wonderland’ but what else can I call the frozen awe inspiring scenes.

A frozen waterfall from the image above. What looks like snow at the very bottom of the photo is actually foamy water.

Photographs can’t capture the experience so I strongly suggest anyone living nearby to go take a hike. The trail is well packed and easy to follow. Just stay on the trail and don’t follow my footsteps. Those that have been there know why. Newcomers will see the signs why staying out of the river bed is necessary. The dam can release water at any time and you’d be in a world of hurt getting caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. At this time of year getting swept under the ice is scarier than my spring fears of being bashed to death on the rocks before I had a chance to drown. Saying the river is dangerous is putting it mildly.

OK I admit I’m not the smartest man alive so I went down to the riverbed and laid down. I couldn’t resist getting into a position where I could get these photos.

Not sure you can read the ‘sign’ but that ice block was carved during higher water levels. At one time the water level reached the bottom of the hanging ice formation.

Not sure where to go? Here’s a Google Map to help. Park on River St. where you turn on to it. The parking area is plowed so don’t worry about finding a spot. Follow the service road past the dam until you see the bridge that goes over the pipe. Don’t worry you can’t miss the pipe. It has a 12 foot diameter. Round trip to the ‘last’ falls is about two miles but it seems much shorter since the scenery keeps pulling you along.

View Larger Map

Go take a hike.
And if at all possible take it in Stone Valley. Start at Colton, NY. and follow the trail along the Raquette River. At the northern end of the trail the Raquette River drops more than 200 feet in a series of waterfalls in less than a mile. Along this section of trail you’ll also hike along the ruins of a tannery and see the old stone wall foundation.

Fresh snow fell last night and blue skies prevailed today and the river was in it’s winter finest. I’m not much for words so I’ll let my photos describe the river as it tumbles down the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains.

Bridge on Spring Street, Colton, NY.
Over to the right and out of sight is the parking area at the northern trail head.

Looking upriver at the Colton hydroelectric dam.

Looking down river from the same spot.

Looking back toward the dam from a little further downstream.

Boulder turned Snowball

The river disappears as it dives under the ice.
This was only a stones throw down from the snow boulder. At this point I had to return to the path to work my way downstream.

Tannery Ruins
Here I’ve gone off the beaten path on my way to a ledge overlooking the river. From this perspective it’s much easier to see the old stonework than from the trail.

On the ledge brush and trees obstructed the camera’s view so I scrambled down to to the river.

Rocks in the shallow water became snowy pillows.
Here the river leveled out for a short distance where I followed the shoreline towards the next drop.

Waterfalls turned to icy cascades.
Looking down from a cliff made getting a good pic a little risky. I got as close to the edge as I dared. Here the river rushes through a narrow sluice that would make anyone looking down at it nervous. This is one of those spots on the Raquette that makes your legs shake in direct proportion to your proximity of the cliff’s edge.

I linked this image to a larger size. In it’s reduced state the details are hard to see.

Icy Waterfall
Another icy cascade from a level position way down river. Thank goodness for the zoom lens because there was no way to get any closer.

This is the photo I made desktop wallpaper for myself. Help yourself if you want to use it too. The large image is 1024 x 768

This is about a mile from the northern trail head with another 2 miles to the southern end at Brown’s Bridge. Unfortunately at this point I had run out of time and had to turn around and head home.

I’ll resize any of these photos on request. Let me know what size and I’ll post a link on my response to your comment.