New Jersey's tallest waterfall, per the Park Service, tumbling beside a wooden staircase that climbs toward the Appalachian Trail, with a winter road closure that sets the visiting season.
March through mid June
Big water window
in a typical year
Rain fed
What drives it
a small ridge brook in the Delaware Water Gap NRA
Climatology
Data on this page
a small ridge brook in the Delaware Water Gap NRA is ungauged
NPS Delaware Water Gap
Managed by
their rules govern
Trail status, closures and safety rules belong to each falls' managing agency, named and linked on every page.
The season
What fills Buttermilk Falls, and when
The brook feeding Buttermilk Falls is small ridge drainage: fat in spring and after rain, thin in dry summers. The controlling fact is the road, quoted below: Mountain Road is reachable only through Stokes State Forest, and that approach closes from mid December to mid April every year, per the Park Service.
Typical best flow: March through mid June
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What the agency itself says
Buttermilk Falls is New Jersey's tallest waterfall!
Multnomah Falls in autumn: a Columbia Gorge falls that keeps respectable flow year round, and the standard against which most falls seasons get measured. “Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Multnomah Falls, fall color - 3” — Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region — Public domain
Getting there
Access, in the agency's words and ours
A wooden staircase climbs beside the falls to a ridge trail connecting with the Appalachian Trail. Mountain Road access closes December 15 through April 15 annually, so the falls' biggest early-spring water runs mostly unseen.
Ridge-brook water over old rock (Blackwater Falls, West Virginia). New Jersey's tallest runs the same rain calendar at the state's quiet northwest corner. “Blackwater Falls (15437499241)” by Benjamin Smith from United States, CC BY 2.0
Common questions
Buttermilk Falls flow season FAQ
The reliable big-water window is March through mid June. The brook feeding Buttermilk Falls is small ridge drainage: fat in spring and after rain, thin in dry summers. The controlling fact is the road, quoted below: Mountain Road is reachable only through Stokes State Forest, and that approach closes from mid December to mid April every year, per the Park Service.
a small ridge brook in the Delaware Water Gap NRA has no USGS gauge near the falls, so the seasonal pattern above is the flow guide for Buttermilk Falls, and Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (National Park Service) is the source for current conditions on the ground.
Yes, notably, in dry late summer. The reliable pairing of access and water is mid April through June, right after the road reopens onto the tail of the melt.
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (National Park Service). A wooden staircase climbs beside the falls to a ridge trail connecting with the Appalachian Trail. Mountain Road access closes December 15 through April 15 annually, so the falls' biggest early-spring water runs mostly unseen. Trail status, closures and safety rules are theirs, and their page is linked on this one; nothing here overrides what they publish.
In their own words: "Mountain Road leading to Buttermilk Falls is only accessible from Struble Road in Stokes State Forest, which is closed from December 15th through April 15th every year." That sentence is Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (National Park Service)'s, quoted verbatim, and their page is the place to check before you go.
Yosemite Falls in May, running on snowmelt that will be gone by late summer. The National Park Service tells visitors the falls can be dry by August, which is why every falls page here starts from its watershed. “Tourists below Yosemite Falls (39832011431)” by Mike McBey, CC BY 2.0
A 77 foot urban cataract in Paterson that powered America's first planned industrial city, still splitting its river with a working hydro plant beside the brink.
Places to stay