Salmon River & Salmon River Falls, October 10th, 2008
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Waterfalls

Salmon River & Salmon River Falls, 2006
Salmon River Falls 2012
Salmon River Falls, 2014

Fishing on the Oswego River, Fall 2007
Fishing on the Oswego River, Fall 2008
Fishing on the Oswego River, Fall 2009
Salmon Fishing on the Oswego River - Fall 2011

Well, it is Fall in Oswego County, NY, and the salmon are running in the Salmon River. A good time for a trip to Pulaski to see the fisherman & Orwell for the falls.
For those interested in fishing, I have a link to Fishing on the Oswego River.

Fishing in the Salmon River	The Salmon River in Pulaski, NY

After that it was on to the falls. For those needing directions, take County Rt 2 East from Pulaski, NY through Orwell to Altmar, NY, then County Rt 22 South, make a sharp left on Falls Road. The parking area will be at the top of the hill on your right. It is a short, level walk to a couple of viewing areas to see the falls, and a short, set of steps down to the flats above the falls. Information about the trails as well as the history of the Salmon River Falls is available as a PDF at Salmon River Falls Unique Area Unit Management Plan. I included a couple of photographs of the signs at the entrance to the area:

Click to See Larger Version	Click to See Larger Version

There was very little water going over the falls this year, so I didn't stop at the flats above for photographs.

The Gorge Trail is in good shape this year. It drops 100' in its 600' length with an average grade of 30%, and there are many places to stop & catch your breath & view the falls. As I've said in past posts, it is easier going down! I did see a bunch of garter snakes in the path on the way down. It was a warm day for October (70°) which may have brought them out. In any case, I took a few photos of the falls & the Salmon River below the falls.

Salmon River Falls, Fall, '08	Salmon River Falls	The Bottom of the Falls	Part of the Falls

There were some interesting rapids in what little water was running in the river:

The Salmon River Below the Falls	The Salmon River Below the Falls	The Salmon River Below the Falls	The Salmon River Below the Falls

Another View of the River

Take care anywhere in the river gorge - the river flows from the upstream Salmon Reservoir, a hydroelectric power facility. Much of the river flow bypasses the falls through a 2 mile pipeline that runs through the power facility. When shut down, the river level can rise rapidly. It is quite possible to get caught on the wrong side of the river with no way back and very steep walls as the only way out. Although this most often happens during Spring runoff and after large storms, it is wise to keep an eye on the water level since problems at the power plant could shut down the bypass.

This page is maintained by: vermilye@oswego.edu
Last Update: October 9, 2014