Pixley Falls, Boonville, NY
October 21, 2008 by Mrs. Mecomber
Filed under Adirondacks, hiking, nature, parks, trails, waterfalls
Pixley Falls State Park is on Route 46, south of Boonville. It lies at the southern foothills of the glorious Adirondack Mountain Range. Like so many New York State geography wonders, this is a watercourse over ancient stratfied limestone. The state park, open all year, is 375 acres of forest and trails. Camping, picnics, hiking, cross-country, fishing and seasonal hunting are all welcome here. It is very woodsy, and there are steep trails to follow. The kids loved it– it’s a great place for nature exploration.
A small stream flows through the park, part of the many-veined water network leading to the mighty Mohawk River. The stream tumbles down the steep hills, narrows in some places and widens in others. the day we visited, the waterflow was steady but rather small and unspectacular. During periods of heavy rains, I could imagine it cresting easily over the green banks.
You really need to click the image to enlarge it, in order to appreciate the absolute beauty of the place.
The kids were very happy to simply run around, follow the stream, and look for fossils. We found diatoms in several of the rocks. It is amazing to think that at one time, all this land– even the Adirondacks themselves– were once under water.
There are little rocks. And there are big rocks. REALLY big rocks.
After exploring the little stream and some of the trails (and the restrooms), we made our way down the hill to see the actual waterfalls. The descent was rather steep.
It was a wonderfully invigorating walk! I was surprised to see so many people down by the water. A small group of about 20 Amish women were chatting by the water, and a few couples had small children. One lady even had a tiny dog she was carrying around.
When we got to the bottom of the incline, the full 50-foot view of the falls came into sight. It was lovely.
I’ll save the rest of the story for another post, including my little exploratory walk to the top edge of the waterfalls. That was fun!
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Amazing Gracie on Tue, 21st Oct 2008 2:26 am
Wow. Now that is somewhere I could sit for hours, seeing something new at every turn!
Thanks for your visit!
~~~Blessings~~~
akaGaGa on Tue, 21st Oct 2008 5:46 am
Just lovely. It makes me wish I could get out hiking, too, but this is the next best thing. Thanks for sharing.
Texas Wanderer on Tue, 21st Oct 2008 10:51 am
Those are gorgeous pictures! Wow, very breathtaking.
Jo on Tue, 21st Oct 2008 5:08 pm
lovely place!
Babs - beetle on Tue, 21st Oct 2008 6:00 pm
Beautiful photographs!
Carole on Tue, 21st Oct 2008 11:41 pm
How beautiful. I bet in the winter when the falls freeze and it’s all icicles it looks really cool.
Alison on Wed, 22nd Oct 2008 4:47 am
Very beautiful place.
Daisy the Curly Cat on Wed, 22nd Oct 2008 5:09 am
Wow, that is really pretty! There is nothing like that where I live.
carol at A Second Cup on Wed, 22nd Oct 2008 10:56 am
That is so beautiful. Our trees don’t turn that burning red color. I miss autumn beauty.
John on Wed, 22nd Oct 2008 12:20 pm
Wow! What a place to visit!
Layne | Crete Delights on Wed, 22nd Oct 2008 12:49 pm
What an amazing rock formation, and how beautiful it makes the waterfalls… it looks like the kind of place to sit and dream, and lose track of time completely. Right up my street!
Nancy on Wed, 22nd Oct 2008 2:56 pm
Wow ~ These are incredible Pics! The one with all sitting on the rock would make an awesome Christmas Card. What a beautiful place ~ Thanks for sharing!
ruthi on Wed, 22nd Oct 2008 5:08 pm
Nice photos… love the photos of those rocks and falls. The foliage even made the scenery more stunning.
BTW… I came to drop my EC too.
pam on Wed, 22nd Oct 2008 5:31 pm
Breathtaking pictures! You brought a little Autumn to those of us who don’t experience it!
jodapoet on Wed, 22nd Oct 2008 6:05 pm
Love the photos. Some great trails to be found. Thanks for sharing
Ellen on Wed, 22nd Oct 2008 8:39 pm
Great pictures. Yes…enlarging the pictures made me feel I was right there in them.
Dave on Thu, 23rd Oct 2008 8:11 am
Thanks for the memory. We often visited Pixley as kids. Somewhere around here I even have photos of a short afternoon spent on a picnic in the dead of winter, 1952. Mom and Grandma were wrapped up in those black sealskin coats, popular in that era. Dad brought a small shovel to clear the snow off a picnic table.
And one summer afternoon in 1964, the girl who would share my life walked down the path to the falls and gave me a smile I hadn’t seen before. It’s tough to describe, but somehow I knew it meant we were going to spend the rest of our lives together.
Dave
Karen, author of "My Funny Dad, Harry" on Thu, 23rd Oct 2008 10:58 am
What a beautiful place! Thanks for sharing your beautiful pictures with us! I love parks. . . and waterfalls . . . and woods . . . and streams.
Matt Urdan on Thu, 23rd Oct 2008 1:37 pm
Beautiful pics! Yeah, after heavy rains there might be some boatable whitewater there! Looks like an awesome spot for a hike though!
My Bug Life on Thu, 23rd Oct 2008 8:18 pm
I like the waterfalls…so serene
NYCO on Fri, 24th Oct 2008 2:27 pm
Pixley Falls is one of my favorite NYS parks! In spring and summer it’s like a little fairyland of waterfalls.
john scalise on Wed, 28th Jan 2009 1:48 pm
I frequently go to Pixley Falls. Late in the fall, I was able to park at the ranger office and walk down to the bottom of the falls on snowshoes. Truly beautiful, partially iced over. Unfortunately, I went on 1/25/09, and there is no place to park to enter the park. There are barricades at the entrance right along side of the road, you can not even park in the road. This is unfortunate, because I would like to snowshoe in the peak of winter.
John Cupak on Sat, 12th Dec 2009 9:19 am
The picture with the fossil is real a section of a Crinoid stem. Crinoids are related to starfish, but are attached to the sea bed and have a stalk, which is the part shown in your picture. LOTS of fossils in Pixley Falls! Thanks for the memories.
Jess W. on Tue, 1st Jun 2010 5:58 pm
I actually grew up around Pixley Falls… My father took me there every year to camp, I still go back every year (although now I live in NC). It’s such a beautiful place, as wonderful as all the pictures are, it’s so much more fascinating in person! Your pictures definitely do it justice though. I’ve taken a LOT of photos there myself… Breathtaking.
I’ve heard recently though that NY state will no longer be funding some of the state parks, and that Pixley will likely only open on weekends. I’ll be really sad if I can’t go back this year!
jim on Tue, 20th Jul 2010 8:08 am
great pics. as a 24/7 hiker i have to say i enjoy pixley falls the most around here (BOONVILLE). i have a tepe built on the very top, and can hike the entire ridge back then cut across to the train tracks
Brandy Eggan on Sat, 11th Dec 2010 12:58 pm
I live a mile from there, it’s a shame they had to close the campground area of the park.
Jennifer & Danny on Sun, 19th Dec 2010 9:39 pm
When my Fiance & I were up visiting my family, for my Great Aunts funeral & my birthday, in late June 2008 he discovered this Wonderfuly place.. I had bever been, despite my family living in the Rome area forever!, and he took me back to relax & recharge after a particularlly hard day- we took a dip under the falls( another first for me- wtaerfalls!) and walked along the banks looking at the rocks & animals. It will always be a wonderful magical romantic place & I am sorry to hear that there are now parts of it that have had to close. Living in the Washington DC area it is VERY nice to have a place like that to get away to…. And I hope it will re-open SOON!!!!
keith baker on Tue, 30th Aug 2011 5:02 pm
do u allow big game hunting in the park