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Morris County has sixteen waterfalls in the state’s official inventory, and most people who live here can name one. The tallest is 51.5 feet, sits in Long Valley, and is the seventh tallest waterfall in all of New Jersey. Almost nobody writes about it.
Every height on this page comes from the New Jersey Geological and Water Survey, part of the state Department of Environmental Protection, which mapped and measured every natural waterfall in the state with a laser rangefinder and published the results. That matters, because published waterfall heights conflict wildly everywhere else. These are surveyed numbers, not guesses.
Here is where to find all of them, how far you actually have to walk, and which ones you should not go near the water at.
When to go
The state’s own guidance is worth quoting directly: “March, April and May are best months for viewing New Jersey’s waterfalls because the water flow is generally greatest then. June can also be a good time to go depending on the rainfall. Although water flow is minimal in the winter, some waterfalls freeze and create a mesmerizing sight.”
So spring is the real season. In a dry August several of these are a trickle. After a wet week in April they are genuinely impressive.
One practical note the state does not cover: nearly all of these sit in ravines and hemlock gorges, so light only reaches the water from mid morning to early afternoon. The Boonton, Hedden and Schooley’s falls face into deep cuts and are dim at either end of the day.
Cataract Falls, Long Valley, 51.5 feet
The tallest waterfall in Morris County by a wide margin, and the seventh tallest in New Jersey on the state’s official top ten list.
It sits in Cataract Park, a municipal park in Washington Township, with trail access on Schooley’s Mountain Road, Route 24. The state describes the approach as 1.5 miles, moderate, on the Blue Trail, which goes direct to the falls up a steep incline on Schooley’s Mountain.
The name is not new. In the 1800s the falls were called “The Cataract” and were promoted as a tourist attraction for vacationers visiting Schooley’s Mountain, which was a genuine resort destination at the time. There is also an old mine opening on the steep side of the ridge nearby.
Because this is a township park rather than a county or state one, the published rules are thin. Washington Township notes that many of its trails are open to bicycles, horse riding and dog walking, but there is no posted statement on swimming, hours or a specific parking address. Call Washington Township Recreation at (908) 876-5941 before you plan around it.
Boonton Falls, Grace Lord Park, Boonton, 36 feet
The best known waterfall in the county and the easiest to reach: a 0.2 mile easy walk from a downtown Main Street.
The state records it as two tiers, a 32 foot main cascade with a smaller four foot cascade below spilling into a pool, on the Rockaway River. There are three access points: the north end off Essex Avenue near the gazebo, the south end from a parking area on Morris Avenue, and the middle from a lot off Plane Street. Park in one of those rather than on West Main Street, where the curb is faded yellow and people do get ticketed.
One thing the Borough of Mountain Lakes points out in its own trail guide and that trips up first time visitors: the six foot dam near the gazebo is not the falls. Keep walking.
This is the one to take seriously. Swimming is prohibited by town ordinance, adopted in 1990 and amended in 2015, covering the entire portion of the Rockaway River adjacent to town land. So is launching a kayak, canoe, paddleboard or motorboat south and east of the West Main Street bridge.
The state bolds its own warning: use extra caution on the rocks around this waterfall when trying to get a closer look, because the pool at the base is a treacherous swirl. Mountain Lakes’ official page is blunter, noting that every few years youngsters try to swim in the maelstrom and several have drowned. The gorge drops roughly 120 feet per mile and rates as Class 3 to Class 5 whitewater depending on the gauge. Look at it, photograph it, stay out of it.
The walk itself is more interesting than the falls alone. You pass Washington Rock, a large boulder that served as both a Native American shelter and a Victorian tourist stop, a stone arch bridge, arches in the stone wall from the New Jersey Iron Company furnaces, an 1866 railroad bridge and the foundation of an 1867 railroad turntable.
The Electric Brook falls, Schooley’s Mountain County Park, Long Valley
91 East Springtown Road, Washington Township. Three inventoried falls on one trail, and the best waterfall walk in the county for effort to payoff.
Electric Brook is named for a long abandoned electric generating plant that the brook once powered. The trail to the falls is called the Falling Waters Trail, blue blazed.
Directions are the same for all three: park in the first lot on the right from the Springtown Road entrance, follow the road down to and along Lake George, and just before the start of the earthen dam turn left onto the blue blazed trail.
What you find, in order:
An unnamed falls, 10.6 feet, a cascade about 0.1 mile down the trail on the right. Easy.
Schooley’s Falls Upper, 17.4 feet, a fantail cascade at 0.3 mile. Moderate.
Schooley’s Falls Lower, 23.5 feet, twenty five feet below the upper section at 0.4 mile. The state calls this the most photographed of all the falls on Electric Brook.
Be realistic about the terrain. The blue trail is rated the hardest in the park, with large elevation change over uneven footing and obstacles of 12 inches or greater. It is rocky, with boulders and rock steps, and it suits kids of about five and up. The park is 823 acres, open sunrise to sunset, no fee.
While you are there, Lake George has a renovated boathouse and a 470 foot floating bridge over to the Lodge, so you can pair the gorge with a flat lakeside walk.
Hacklebarney State Park, Chester Township, five inventoried falls
119 Hacklebarney Road, Long Valley. Gate open sunrise to sunset daily, no entrance fee.
The state’s own description is better than anything we could write: the freshwater Black River briskly cuts its way through rocky Hacklebarney State Park, cascading around boulders in the hemlock lined ravine. Rinehart and Trout Brooks empty into the Black River and several small waterfalls can be seen from the high trails.
Trout Brook Falls, 19.3 feet, is the largest in the park, a 0.25 mile moderate walk. From the main lot follow the red blazed trail down the stone steps on the left and along Trout Brook. Just after a bridge marked with blue blazes, the brook tumbles into a ravine. To get safely down to the riverbed, follow the red trail until a hidden stone staircase appears on your right, then descend carefully. Those stairs are the Waterfall Trail.
Rinehart Brook Falls, 4.2 feet, and Rinehart Brook Falls Lower, 3.7 feet, are both about a mile in. Walk the red or white trail from the parking area, turn left onto the red riverside trail, bear right at the Lamington River to a footbridge over Rinehart Brook, then head up the brook about 100 feet for the upper and 50 feet for the lower.
An unnamed falls on the Lamington River, 4.3 feet, sits about a mile in as well. Back on the red trail, follow it downstream and the state describes the next falls as quite impressive.
Park rules to know: no swimming, pets on a leash no longer than six feet, no bikes on the trails, no alcohol, and no trash receptacles anywhere in the park, so carry everything out. This is black bear country. Trout Brook and Rinehart Brook are designated Native Brook Trout streams and the Black River is stocked spring and fall. A new restroom facility is in final design with portable units on site meanwhile.
There is a fifth, Potters Falls, 8.2 feet, a chute on the Lamington River with an easy 0.1 mile approach. It carries more names than any waterfall in New Jersey: the Lenape called it Alamatung, Allamitung, Allamatona or Allimatona Falls, and it has since been known as Lamington Falls, Black River Falls, Pottersville Falls and Potter’s Falls. Do not try to reach it from the main Hacklebarney lot. It sits roughly three miles south, near Pottersville, where Morris, Hunterdon and Somerset counties meet, in the separate hunting parcel end of the park.
Indian Falls, Hedden County Park, 10.7 feet
124 Reservoir Avenue, Randolph, with alternate parking at the end of Ford Street in Mine Hill. The park spans Dover, Mine Hill and Randolph across 420 acres.
A 0.2 mile moderate walk on Jackson Brook, and the state calls it well known and much photographed in the area. From either the Reservoir Avenue or Ford Street entrance, walk down to Jackson Brook to the bridge, then follow the green trail along the brook to the falls. There are numerous other small cascades just upstream and below it.
The trail is rocky, especially around the falls, but not difficult. Hedden Pond nearby is 2.8 acres with a fishing deck, and both Jackson and Wallace Brook are trout production streams. Dogs on a six foot leash, sunrise to sunset, no fee. The county does not permit swimming anywhere in its system except the Sunrise Lake Beach Club.
Valhalla Falls, Pyramid Mountain, Montville, 13.3 feet
Also called Turkey Mountain Falls, this one sits in the Turkey Mountain section of Pyramid Mountain Natural Historic Area, on Crooked Brook.
There are two completely different ways to see it, and picking the right one matters.
The short way is a 0.3 mile easy walk from a trail off Stoneybrook Road just east of the falls.
The long way is the Park Commission’s own suggested Falls Hike: four miles, about two and a half hours, starting from the Boonton Avenue visitor center lot at 472 Boonton Avenue. Cross Boonton Avenue at the crosswalk, turn left, and just after Mars Court follow Yellow, then Green Dot, then Orange Dot, then Yellow. Along the way you get the 100 Steps, stone ruins, the falls, the Lake Valhalla overlook and an old limestone quarry. The county rates it moderate to difficult over rocky, hilly terrain.
Be aware that the state notes Valhalla Falls is best after decent rainfall and can be a trickle or almost dry when precipitation has been lacking. This is not a summer drought destination.
Visitor center 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed Mondays and Tuesdays in July and August. Trails sunrise to sunset. Dogs on a six foot leash. No fee.
Safety, in the state’s own words
The Geological Survey publishes one line that is worth repeating exactly: do not take any unnecessary risks like getting too close to slippery slopes or cliff edges, typically to try to improve a photo or video taking position, or taking shortcuts or off trail scrambling without proper gear or adequate preparation.
That is not boilerplate. Boonton Falls has a documented drowning history. The Hacklebarney and Schooley’s approaches both involve steep stone staircases into ravines. Wet gneiss is genuinely slick. Go in spring for the water, but go carefully.
Where else to walk
If you are building a day around this, see our guides to the best hiking trails in Morris County, the best lakes in Morris County and where to see fall foliage. Several of these falls are at their most photogenic in the third and fourth weeks of October, when the hemlock stays dark green against the turning hardwoods.
For everything else nearby, start with our guide to all 39 Morris County towns.
Common questions
What is the tallest waterfall in Morris County?
Cataract Falls in Cataract Park, Washington Township, at 51.5 feet. It is also the seventh tallest waterfall in New Jersey.
Can you swim at Boonton Falls?
No. Swimming is prohibited by town ordinance across the entire stretch of the Rockaway River adjacent to town land, and there is a documented drowning history in the pool at the base.
When is the best time to see waterfalls in New Jersey?
March, April and May, when water flow is greatest, per the state Geological and Water Survey. June can also work depending on rainfall.
Which Morris County waterfall is the easiest to reach?
Boonton Falls at Grace Lord Park, a 0.2 mile easy walk from downtown Boonton, or Potters Falls at 0.1 mile if you approach from the Pottersville end.
Featured image: Black River waterfalls, Hacklebarney State Park by Zeete, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
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