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| Grimes Glen County Park |
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Location -
Grimes Glen County Park,
Naples, Ontario County Maps: Google Map, Google Earth, Multi, Bird's eye GPS: Parking area: N 42.61531 / W 77.41355 First falls: N 42.61591 / W 77.41917 Second falls: N 42.61842 / W 77.41829 Directions: From Main St. (Rt. 21) in Naples, take Vine St. until it ends. There should be a sign saying "Grimes Glen County Park." Or use Google Directions. |
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Information Number of falls: More than 3 Size/Types: Two roughly 60 ft cascades, several smaller cascades that are not as accessible. Best time to visit: Year-round Flow: Ranges from trickle to medium flow. Waterway: Grimes Creek; the first falls is a tributary called Springstead Creek. Time: 30 minutes to an hour. |
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| Accessibility Seasons/Hours: Open year-round; dawn to dusk. Parking: There is a parking area at the end of Vine St. (holds about 10 cars). Admission: Free. Handicap accessibility: Not recommended. Pets: Allowed, on leash. Accommodations: None. No restrooms, not trash cans. Please do not leave trash at this site. |
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| Description
This well-preserved Finger Lakes glen is the perfect compliment to the Naples country-side. Thanks to the efforts of the Finger Lakes Land Trust and Ontario county, people can enjoy this wonderful park and its cool, refreshing water. The previous landowners allowed hikers to explore the glen, but its future was in question. Thanks to the efforts of all the parties involved, in 2008 Grimes Glen became an Ontario County park and it preservation assured. The park consists of 32 acres, including several waterfalls and a heavily wooded hillside along the creek. Grimes Glen is far longer than the park itself, but the remainder is on private property. From a small parking area, a brief trail leads to a cold, slippery creek walk and passed a mossy 60 ft shale-stone cascade, often referred to as "First Falls." Around a bend "Second Falls," a 62 ft waterfall in two segments. The upper segment, a 16 ft drop, is only visible when backed away from the base of the falls. The remaining 46 ft drop empties into a refreshing wading pool--a popular gathering point for hikers. Climbing up the left side of the gorge leads to the Indian Falls, a set of smaller waterfalls upstream. This is easier said than done. Erosion in recent years created an overhang and has crafted a dangerous climb. So most hikers turn around here. The more adventurous can work their way up the southwest side of the gorge and follow a trail up across Springstead Creek (and a small waterfall there), up the wooded hillside (look for old growth trees here) to get a birds-eye view of the upper part of the gorge. When we hiked this in 2006, we did not go far enough to see if we could access Indian Falls this way. It may be possible. |
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| Trails
Difficulty: High. Markings: None. There are no defined trails. The first two falls are approachable by creek-walk, but be very careful: the rocks are very slippery. Since the land is undeveloped, proceeding beyond the main falls requires a bit of dangerous climbing. |
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| Do not
miss... Don't limit yourself to the waterfalls. The first one is climbable (use caution), and the hillside climb makes for an exhilarating hike. A pool at the base of the 2nd falls is sometimes several feet deep and great for a refreshing dip. To the right of the falls, is a perfect example of ice cleavage, where the freezing of moisture within fissures in rock has carved out a cave in the cliff wall. Fossils! The world's oldest fossilized tree was found here. A 350 million year old specimen! Check the shale rock for impressions of trilobites and brachiopods, which are numerous here. |
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| Contact Ontario County Public Works Ontario County Municipal Building 1st Floor, Mezzanine 20 Ontario Street Canandaigua, NY 14424 Phone:(585) 396-4000 E-mail: dpw@co.ontario.ny.us Finger Lakes Land Trust 202 East Court Street Ithaca, NY 14850 Phone: (607) 275-9487 Fax: (607) 275-0037 info@fllt.org www.fllt.org |
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| Links Article about transformation to county park Naples Valley |
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