Fall Creek
3. Flat Rock (Cornell Plantations) to Beebe Lake
| Difficulty | IV-V |
| Length | 1.3 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Fall Creek Near Ithaca Ny |
| Flow Rate as of 53 minutes | 122 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | June 7, 2016 |
River Description
Put in at Flat Rock (which is the takeout for the above section). To find the takout, drive downstream on Forest Home Drive. Make a right when you get to the first stop sign and cross to creek right. Make a left when you get to the second stop sign and take a left onto a bridge that crosses the creek (note that you can see the broken dam just upstream of this bridge). When you get to the next stop sign go straight. After you see Beebe Lake find somewhere (hopefully legal) to park. Beware of the campus police and their affinity for dispensing parking tickets. FYI: through all of these turns you're on Forest Home Drive.
If you walk upstream from Beebe Lake (follow the trail across the the Sackett Foot Bridge) you can scout the waterfall (Lover's Falls).
Runnable most of the Spring. 2 class V drops, one broken dam/sluiceway. Easy shuttle.
Finger Lakes Area Runs
Bowman CreekCascadilla Creek Canandaigua Outlet
Canaseraga Creek Canisteo Cayuga Lake Hole
...River Features
Lover's Falls
Boof the 3 ft. ledge at the top on the far right. Ride down the right side of the slide and boof at the end. I doubt you'd want to be in the center of the V. Also beware of the room of doom in the river left wall.
Broken Dam
Broken dam with a sluice on the right. I'd guess it's about 8 ft. high. Boof onto shallow water and punch the hole under the bridge.
Put In
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportWay cool video!
Video of members of the Cornell Outing Club running Broken Dam and Lover's Falls at about 600 cfs
Put in at Etna at 3:30 pm, finished at Japes Lodge on Bebe Lake at 5pm or so.
A few low trees, but no major hazards. Big tree still down in flood plain after sand cliffs before Freese Rd.
Freese Rd. section in Varna uncomfortably low, barely passable. Another 6 inches to a foot would have been much better for that section.
Both of us ran the first dam and flatrock.
Both walked Broken Dam - the landing looked kind of shallow and sketchy to us; might be better at higher flow.
One of us ran Lover's Falls twice, the second time portaging up from the bottom to the ledge below the spillover.
A nice day of park and huck on campus.