Montville Falls / Decker Creek Falls - Cayuga County

A place to discuss waterfalls. Including the parks that house them and the hikes to get to them.

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Rate Montville Falls / Decker Creek Falls

1 - Ugly, Not worth the trip
0
No votes
2 - Could be better
0
No votes
3 - OK, See it if you are in the area
0
No votes
4 - Beautiful, worth the trip.
4
67%
5 - Must see, worth revisiting
2
33%
 
Total votes: 6
champy1013
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hmmm, very interesting. It looks like Decker may have another waterfall that you found (the larger one by the structure). I assume that 2nd larger waterfall is upstream from the first cascade on Decker creek?
bremer
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champy1013 wrote:hmmm, very interesting. It looks like Decker may have another waterfall that you found (the larger one by the structure). I assume that 2nd larger waterfall is upstream from the first cascade on Decker creek?
yep its not far upstream from the first set of falls and it has a surprisingly deep pool for such a small fall. Looks like a nice swimming hole. There is also a fall above the main falls (the one with the structure next to it). I believe that falls is in this thread
"Now I see the Secret of the making of the best persons. It is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth" - W. Whitman
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Mark J
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I was here in June 2010. These falls are well worth the visit. The two major falls are an easy hike upstream from the cemetery, above where the stream forks. There's a major falls on each fork. The falls on the right fork is used to generate power. The outflow of the generator is in the fork of land between the two branches. This falls is heavily visited (as evidenced by trash in the area) as it is the shortest hike to reach. The falls on the other branch (to the left) is beautiful and well worth the extra few minutes to hike to.

As with many falls, there seems to be uncertainty here about access. The unmarked access from the cemetery is extremely steep. The surface is loose with a deep mixture of leaves and decayed slate. This banking seems to the be a dumping point for cemetery grass clippings and plastic pots. It's far from an ideal point to access this creek.

A more natural entry point is where the creek crosses under the state road downstream in the center of the village. I observed exactly one no trespassing sign here, on the lawn of a house and set well back from the road. The apparent address is 65 East Cayuga St. Obviously the road and the bridge are a public right of way. It appears possible to follow the right of way from the street, hugging the edge of the bridge, down into the creek, without trespassing. It is probably possible to do this from either bank, though I did not get out of the car to check as I'd already done my creekwalk using the somewhat treacherous cemetery access. Personally I would rather have someone ask me to leave their unposted or improperly posted private property than risk injury on at an unmarked access point. I will certainly explore this potential access further if I make a return trip.
rickfrank
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Hi,

I now live in Boston, MA, but I grew up in Skaneateles and Auburn NY. I used to hitch-hike out to moravia and hike/flyfish decker creek/dresserville creek. This was about 1974 or so. I was about 15-16. I hardly ever saw another soul there, at least not past the first large fall where dresserville comes in. I hike up dresserville until it became a trickle. There were little trout all the way up to the very tip of the creek. I used to spend the whole day there and then hitchike home, wet bluejeans, and fly-rod in hand. A good day was 6 fish, we a few over 10 inches. A beautiful spot. I had a tough time as a kid and this was a perfect escape for me that didn't involve drugs.

Anyways, please tell me that it hasn't changed all that much.

I'd be willing to buy some high quality photos, especially of Dresserville, way up the creek. Either creek though.

Thanks,

Rick Frank
mbroughton02
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A more natural entry point is where the creek crosses under the state road downstream in the center of the village. I observed exactly one no trespassing sign here, on the lawn of a house and set well back from the road. The apparent address is 65 East Cayuga St. Obviously the road and the bridge are a public right of way. It appears possible to follow the right of way from the street, hugging the edge of the bridge, down into the creek, without trespassing. It is probably possible to do this from either bank, though I did not get out of the car to check as I'd already done my creekwalk using the somewhat treacherous cemetery access
You are correct that if you stay close to the bridge, you are not on private property. However, when he yelled at me, I was working my way upstream towards the falls, which takes you past his house. His house is the one on the right if you are standing on the bridge looking upstream, with the "No Trespassing" signs plastered on the old mill building. He told me he owned the creek, but I do not know if this is true. I did some research at the time and found that in NYS, if a creek is wide and deep enough to canoe, it is public right-of-way for those purposes, regardless of whether it flows through someone else's property. I would say this creek is borderline canoe accessible, so its a huge grey area.

Yes, the hike down from the cemetery is steep and the soil is loose, but I still prefer that route to the possibility of dealing with the landowner.
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Matt
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bremer wrote: Image
Love this shot!
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jroz
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This is one of the shots I took there a few years ago, back when I was still shooting film.
Image
bremer
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Thanks Matt! Its too bad most of the flow is diverted around Montville. I think there must be a short window for catching both green trees and good flow.
"Now I see the Secret of the making of the best persons. It is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth" - W. Whitman
Roots Photography
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