Warren County

Williamsport Falls, Indiana

/ waterfallrecord / Leave a comment
A waterfall in Indiana
Williamsport Falls in June 2020

I’m getting to write about the last waterfall stop on our road trip from Las Vegas to Michigan a few months after it started. Winter break has now arrived, and so I have some time to write about a few waterfalls before the next semester starts.

Williamsport Falls is definitely a popular waterfall, though it would be even busier if it were near a busy city. It’s found in western Indiana about 1.5 hours northwest of Indianapolis. It’s directly in the town/village/city of Williamsport. Once you find the parking area for the falls, you can view this impressive 90′ pretty quickly from above.

You can also hike down to the base of the falls, which we decided not to do since we had been traveling and hiking for a few days before this, and we just kind of wanted to get home. The view from above was more than adequate, and it was rather busy at the base. This was in early June, though the weather was a bit warm and humid in this area, which encouraged others to find an interesting water source…why wouldn’t you choose a tall waterfall?

Directions:

  1. From I-74, take exit 15 onto US-41 north.
  2. Continue along US-41 north for 15 miles or so.
  3. US-41 does a few twists and turns. In Attica, you will veer/stay left on US-41.
  4. After 2 miles, you’ll turn left onto S River Road. S River Road will turn into S 3rd Street right before you turn onto E Monroe Street.
  5. Turn right onto E Monroe Street and continue for about 0.7 miles. The parking area will be to the right behind some buildings along E Monroe Street. There was very clear signage to find the falls.

Accessibility: 10/10 (Easy)

Height: 90′

Length of Hike: roadside

Where in the World is Williamsport Falls?

Advertisement

Lower Laurel Falls, New Jersey

/ waterfallrecord / Leave a comment

Lower Laurel Falls in May 2009

New Jersey is another one of those states where you wouldn’t necessarily expect many waterfalls, but there are surprising number of both tall and large waterfalls in the state. Lower Laurel Falls isn’t particularly tall or wide, nor is its upper brother, Upper Laurel Falls. The scenery is particularly beautiful, though, and that makes up for the size.

New Jersey’s border with the Delaware River is very scenic. It is more hilly (mountainous?), and it’s very enjoyable to drive down the roads that wind through the area. The Laurel Falls are found northeast of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, and are very easy to get to from that area. As you head to the falls, you’re actually travelling on a very old road that has been used to transport goods for hundreds of years. Once you get to Laurel Falls, you might not necessarily expect anything extremely exciting, but it’s definitely far more worthwhile than I originally imagined.

Directions:

  1. On I-80, take exit #1 (in New Jersey). Depending on whether you’re going east or west, it can be easy or complicated. Going west, it’s just a straight-shoot exit. If you’re going east, you will have to exit at the visitor’s center, loop around, briefly get back on I-80 heading WEST and then take exit #1.
  2. Once you’ve exited, you’ll head north on NJ-606 (Old Mine Road). At one point, you will end up on a one-lane road, so you might have a little wait because of stop lights.
  3. After about 3.8 miles on NJ-606, you’ll reach a campground/parking area on your left. It is for the Worthington State Forest, and there will be a bathroom there, along with a park and camping. Park here, if possible. (On weekends or holidays, it may be VERY difficult to find parking.)
  4. From the parking area, cross the road, and head up the Douglas Trail. Follow the creek there and you’re sure to find the falls.

Accessibility: 7/10 (easy/moderate)
Height: 15′
Length of Hike: 0.5 miles round-trip (to see both falls)

Where in the World is Lower Laurel Falls?

Unnamed Falls, Worthington State Forest, New Jersey

/ waterfallrecord / 1 Comment

After trying to find the Great Falls on the Passaic and failing, I had some time to kill. I decided to head back to the Delaware Water Gap area and look for some more waterfalls right near the Delaware River. I was trying to find Laurel Falls and pulled off at the wrong area. As I was looking around, I realized there was a trail that started across the road from where I was and I also heard what sounded like a waterfall. This wasn’t recorded anywhere in the book, but I decided to take a look anyway.

I had parked in a turnoff right near the road leading to the visitors center for Worthington State Forest. I crossed the road, and started exploring. The first path I took did not lead directly to the best view of the falls, but I could tell there was a small waterfall a ways above me. I then walked back down to the road, and headed up a slightly steeper trail to my left. After trudging through a bunch of plants, I finally got a great view of this waterfall. I really like this waterfall, maybe because I found it by myself without the help of any book or map. It was unexpected, and the unexpected can be very cool.

The GPS coordinates for the place I parked were: 41.00477˚N, 75.09867˚W. This may be a little bit off, but it’s the general area where the waterfall was found.

Directions:

  1. On I-80, take exit #1 (in New Jersey). Depending on whether you’re going east or west, it can be easy or complicated. Going west, it’s just a straight-shoot exit. If you’re going east, you will have to exit at the visitor’s center, loop around, briefly get back on I-80 heading WEST and then take exit #1.
  2. Once you’ve exited, you’ll head north on NJ-606 (Old Mine Road). At one point, you will end up on a one-lane road, so you might have a little wait because of stop lights.
  3. As you’re driving along, you’ll come to an entrance for the visitor’s center for Worthington State Forest. (At least I think…it may have been something else, but I think it led to a visitor’s center or to a check-in area?)
  4. A VERY short distance after that, there will be a small pulloff area to your left. Pull off there and you should hear the creek and see a trail that leads in the general direction of the falls.

Accessibility: 8/10 (easy/moderate)
Height: 15′
Length of Hike: 0.2 miles round-trip

An unnamed waterfall in Worthington State Forest (May 2009)

Where in the World is Unnamed Falls?

Upper Laurel Falls, New Jersey

/ waterfallrecord / Leave a comment

When I first tried to visit Laurel Falls and the other falls in the Delaware Water Gap, the weather thwarted my attempts. Some intense storms passed through. From what I had seen though, even when storming, I knew I had to go back and visit some of the falls on the New Jersey side of the Delaware Water Gap.

There are two falls, an Upper Falls and a Lower Falls. The Upper Falls has two drops separated by a very short distance. The walk up to the falls was just beautiful…there is just such a calming vibe that comes when walking to these falls. And while they’re not large falls, the falls here are still just as attractive as many other larger ones I’ve visited.

Directions:

  1. On I-80, take exit #1 (in New Jersey). Depending on whether you’re going east or west, it can be easy or complicated. Going west, it’s just a straight-shoot exit. If you’re going east, you will have to exit at the visitor’s center, loop around, briefly get back on I-80 heading WEST and then take exit #1.
  2. Once you’ve exited, you’ll head north on NJ-606 (Old Mine Road). At one point, you will end up on a one-lane road, so you might have a little wait because of stop lights.
  3. After about 3.8 miles on NJ-606, you’ll reach a campground/parking area on your left. It is for the Worthington State Forest, and there will be a bathroom there, along with a park and camping. Park here, if possible. (On weekends or holidays, it may be VERY difficult to find parking.)
  4. From the parking area, cross the road, and head up Douglas Trail. Follow the creek there and you’re sure to find the falls.

Accessibility: 7/10 (easy/moderate)
Height: 30′
Length of Hike: 0.5 miles round-trip

Upper Laurel Falls in May 2009

Where in the World is Upper Laurel Falls?