Boonton Falls: Easy Access & Great Views

Boonton Falls is a short but powerful waterfall along the Rockaway River in the Morris County town of Boonton. Boonton Falls marks the beginning of a series of rapids along the river before reaching the Boonton Reservoir. Unfortunately, it is difficult to see much of the river through the section due to erosion and private property. Getting to Boonton Falls itself is incredibly easy, but getting close can be dangerous and a challenge due to overgrowth and the high volume of water coming over the falls and ensuing rapids. Fortunately, there are still multiple viewpoints from further away that are arguably better than up close, and definitely safer.

From the street parking, walk into Grace Lord Park and begin on the obvious gravel road. You will walk past a playground and gazebo. Continue until you reach a dam across the Rockaway River. This is not Boonton Falls itself, but you will be able to hear it from here. A very short distance down the trail, you will reach the top of the waterfall. From here, you cannot see much aside from the mist and some whitewater at the very top. There is an obvious unmarked trail down to the river, which allows you to get a good view of the falls. This trail is a little steep, and the river is fast, so make sure you watch your step.

Continuing down the main trail, you will soon find a stone bridge over the river, which was initially built in 1866 as an aqueduct to carry water pipes. You will also notice a fenced-off trail to the right. This trail has been closed since 2011 due to erosion caused by Hurricane Irene, and has not since reopened due to the cost to repair and local politics. From the bridge, you can see the waterfall in the distance, plus the fast-moving rapids down below.

After the bridge, you will reach a fork. If you turn left to head back upstream, you will once again be greeted with more views of the falls. The trail here is much thinner, before eventually fading away into tall grass. It is possible to follow what remains of the trail to the falls, but the views are good enough from a distance.

From here, retrace your steps to the stone bridge.

Boonton Ironworks

At the stone bridge, if you turn right after initially crossing instead of left to view Boonton Falls, you will reach the Boonton Ironworks. Unfortunately, not much is visible today, but visitors are able to see a set of four side-by-side tunnels which were once part of a series of blast furnaces.

Past the tunnels, the trail enters a clearing that gets increasingly ugly the further along the trail you go. To the left are most ruins from the ironworks, but these are all fenced off and difficult to see. The trail continues before reaching the end at the Boonton Recycling Plant.

From here, simply return the way you came to your car.

GPS Route

Review

Boonton Falls is one of New Jersey’s most impressive and reliable waterfalls. While other waterfalls in the state may dry up during the summer, Boonton Falls always has an impressive flow. For this reason, this is an excellent park to go to when looking for a late summer waterfall adventure. The Boonton Ironworks are less impressive, but still a worthwhile stop when visiting the waterfalls, as they are virtually next to each other.

Grace Lord Park also features two other interesting sites that are unfortunately not accessible from Boonton Falls: a railroad turntable and trestle. Severe erosion in 2011 has closed the trail connecting these two sites. Visitors can still reach the turntable and trestle from another parking area on Morris Avenue.