Rainbow Falls

St. Lawrence County, New York

Your visit at a glance

Waterfall height: Not recorded
Location: St. Lawrence County, New York
Access status: Short state land trail from Tooley Pond Road
The walk: About 0.3 mile to the falls
Ground & access: Easy trail with little elevation change. Spray keeps the rocks at the gorge edge wet and slippery; the drops are sheer.

CNY Hiking: Rainbow Falls, Grass River Wild Forest

Rainbow Falls is a 25 to 35 foot falls on the South Branch of the Grass River, on DEC state land in the Grass River Wild Forest. The trail starts at large boulders beside Tooley Pond Road, follows an old tote road, and crosses a deep side channel on a footbridge to an island. It ends at the edge of the gorge just below the falls. CNY Hiking says the best view is from a ledge about 75 feet downstream on the island. The gorge makes the base extremely difficult or impossible to reach. Return the same way.

Plan your visit

Roadside trailhead on Tooley Pond Road, then the Rainbow Falls Trail over a footbridge to the gorge edge

CNY Hiking and Go Waterfalling give 0.3 mile for the trail; Northern New York Waterfalls says the trailhead sign gives 0.3 mile.

Easy trail with little elevation change. Spray keeps the rocks at the gorge edge wet and slippery; the drops are sheer.

Where to start

Pull off on the shoulder of Tooley Pond Road at the trailhead, 6.1 miles from the County Route 27 end near Degrasse or 10.8 miles from NY 3 near Cranberry Lake. CNY Hiking gives the trailhead at N44 18.440 W74 59.651.

Timing & water

Spring runoff makes the spray heavy. Northern New York Waterfalls saw ice forming at the gorge edges in early November.

Before you go

No fee is mentioned.

Visitor information

Visit sources

More waterfalls nearby

Within 40 straight-line miles. Road and trail distances will differ.

Explore New York

Waterfall location

St. Lawrence County, New York.

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