Franklin Gulf County Park

Location: Northeast of the village of North Collins; towns of North Collins and Eden; Erie County; New York.

Maps: Google Map; Topographic; Interactive map.

GPS Coordinates:

• Largest waterfall: N 42.60626 / W 78.90648
• Waterfall on north branch: N 42.60967 / W 78.91247
• East side parking lot: N 42.60876 / W 78.90172

Directions: From Buffalo: Take NY-5W for 7.8 miles to NY-75S.
In Athol Springs, keep left to NY-75S. Follow NY-75S for 5 miles.
In Hamburg, at the intersection with Main and Pierce Ave/US-62, turn right onto US-62 and follow for 6 miles.
Just past Eden, turn left onto Sandrock Rd.
About 1.7 miles down Sandrock, make a left onto Larkin Rd.
At about 0.8 miles down Larkin Rd, look for a gravel/dirt parking area on your right.

Use Google Maps.

Parking: There’s a parking area for about a dozen cars on Larkin Rd.

Number of falls: 5 (more if you count the tiny ones).

Size/Types: Cascades down shale. 4 of the falls are under 10 ft tall (ranging from 5-9 ft). The largest is a 25 footer, in 3 segments.

Best time to visit: Spring and fall (after rain)

Flow: Low to moderate.

Waterway: Franklin Gulf starts on the east side of the gorge, in the town of Eden. The majority of the falls are on an unnamed tributary glen that comes from the south. Just west of the park, the Franklin Gulf converges with Big Sister Creek, which flows northwest, through the village of Angola, and into Lake Erie at Bennet Beach.

Time: About an hour to hike the loop.

Seasons/Hours: Daily, 7am – dusk (winter hours) or 9pm (summer hours).

Admission: Free.

Handicap Accessibility: None.

Pets: Must be on a leash.

Accommodations: Trails. If you need anything, head to nearby North Collins or Angola.

Difficulty: Easy. Some gradients. More difficult if you want to climb down to the base of some waterfalls.

Markings: Dirt trail. Some blazes. I recommend following the streams.

Distance: 1.8 miles if you do a complete loop.

Description: The map below is approximate. I colored the trail red, which is the color of the initial trail, but this park has many colored blazed trails and some without. Don’t go completely by color.

From the parking area, enter the red blazed trail and keep going straight. About 700 feet into the woods, veer off to the trail on the right to head north to Franklin Gulf. You will reach the gulf 1/4 mile later. Now follow the gulf downstream. At about 0.8 miles you will reach the first waterfall (5 ft tall).

Keep going downstream until you reach the confluence of the two ravines. Just downstream from here is a bridge and small waterfall. Up the second ravine are 3 more waterfalls, including the 25 footer.

Head up the second ravine. At about 1/2 mile from the confluence you will hit the 25 ft falls. Beyond that is a 7 and then an 9 footer. Keep on the trail and it will loop back north to the parking area.

Map: Interactive.