Lower Akron Falls at Full FlowWinter Wonderland One advantage of winter at this latitude, at least from a photographic point of view, is that days start late and end early. That means the alarm does not have to be set for crazy hours to get somewhere for a dose of sunrise photography, and sunsets are also easy to catch without losing much sleep.

The weather forecast was not that great for this Saturday. Still cold in the morning but warming up throughout the day and rain joining in. I really wanted to see what the low temperatures did before the warm up. Akron Falls was my choice.

I parked at my usual spot and walked down the road that is closed in winter (for a good reason) to reach the bridge over the creek and the start of the creek trail to the falls. I prefer this trail to the shorter one from above the falls. First, one does not have to walk down a steep path, which comes handy especially in winter with snow and ice on the ground. Second, I like that I can walk along the creek, which offers a lot of beautiful views and photos to be found in all seasons.

The fast flow immediately caught my attention. The water level was high, the flow rapid, and ice only along the banks and on rocks. As I walked up the stream I soon started hearing the falls, again, with quite a more rumble than what I am used to here. I have to admit, I like Akron Falls in late summer or fall when it is usually reduced to a few trickles and lots of moss. I always enjoy the combination of the wet lush moss, colorful rocks, and flowing water. Of the upper and lower sections of the Lower Falls, only the bottom has any flow that late in the season. While I know the waterfall can be rather strong in spring its winter flow surprised me. I guess we had enough snow melt to keep the creeks filled.

When I first caught a glimpse of the falls the rumble was explained. There was lots of water gushing even over the top section. And I was happy to see the cavern like icicle decoration under the overhangs on both sides of the main waterfall. I paused for a bit and just stared at the beauty. The word mighty came to mind, which one normally associates with the Niagara River and Niagara Falls, not with Murder Creek and Lower Akron Falls. It was intense though!

Winter Roar at Akron FallsWinter Wonderland

Winter Roar at Lower Akron Falls, Akron, NY not far from Buffalo

I spent a lot of time moving around the pool below the falls looking for angles that would accentuate the winter coat in my photographs. I could not cross the creek to capture my favorite view from the left as the water level (and its temperature) kept me from rock hopping. At one point, I got a bit too close to the mist on the right side that it reached and splashed my lens and the droplets immediately froze. I scrambled to come up with ideas to clean the front element and be able to continue taking pictures, eventually succeeding. When I could not come up with anything new to try, I slowly started heading back down the creek looking for icy creations to capture. That is for another day though.

Have fun!

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