Waterfalls are spectacular. So when I heard about New Jersey's tallest waterfall, I had to go see it. Buttermilk Falls are a 200 ft high cascade down the steep Kittatiny Mountains near the Pennsylvania border. The terrain around this area if tough, so it makes sense there are some excellent waterfalls here.

We recently had a long stretch of rainy days, and a good downpour the night before. With a good overcast day forecast, I headed out in the morning, despite the fact it was still raining, hoping for the best.

The drive to the falls takes you through Stokes State Forest, which is also beautiful. I'll have to do some hikes there someday. The drive in is a bit sketchy, especially since I just have a car. A car totally not meant for rough roads.

Once you get into Stokes, the road is a narrow, 2 lane road. It soon narrows further to a single lane road, with enough room to safely pass if you encountered oncoming traffic. Eventually you come upon an old, but still used, cemetery. I explored a bit on my way out and it seems to date back to the early 1800's, though some of the oldest stones were illegible. Turning left at the cemetery, the road turns to dirt and narrows even more. It was in pretty decent shape for a dirt road, but there were a number of very deep potholes, that were obscured by muddy rain water. I did my best to avoid them, but my poor car took a beating on a few.

As the vegetation closed in on the road, and as I reevaluated my sanity, I came upon the falls, which are right off the road. Spectacular! It was still raining off and on and another photographer was already there, setup in the best location of course.

I set my gear up and took some shots around him. He didn't seem to be going anywhere, so I decided to trek up the steep hike to the top of the falls.

There are a number of viewing platforms along the ascent, that provided interesting, but unphotogenic views. The stairs were very steep, and wet. One slip of the foot would spell certain doom (or at least a broken ankle or lens).

Reaching the top, completely out of breath, the stream above the falls was equally magnificent! I took my time up here and got some spectacular shots. The forest is beautiful hemlock, and being so wet, very mossy. The stream flowing nicely.

Since the other photographer was still at the bottom of the falls, I decided to walk up the trail a bit. I had no intention of actually hiking, but wanted to see a bit more of the stream. The trail veered away, but there was an "unofficial" off-shoot that headed back towards the stream so I followed it to another nice looking cascade, tucked away. However as I approached, I noticed a large cave cut into the rocks around the corner, immediately to my right. The ground outside it was beaten in as if something large had been, or still was, calling it home. It looked 100% like a bear den to me, and since I was alone, defenseless, and the roar of the flowing water would have muffled my cries for help anyway, I slowly backed away without daring to see what lied within.

I made my way back down to the road. The other guy had gone so I quickly jumped back into action before more people arrived. It was mere minutes before more people arrived, hikers, but I was already set up in the location I wanted to be in, so it was fine.

After I had my fill of the falls, I ventured downstream of the road. There was a nice stone arched bridge across the stream and the water continued to cascade nicely down through the forest.

As the rain cleared, and the afternoon hours came, it started getting rather busy. Surprised based on the remoteness of it. Then again, are there any truly remote areas in New Jersey? I got all the shots I wanted. I ate my lunch next to the stream, and then set out on my way. It was the perfect conditions for waterfall photos, and I feel I got some great shots. Definitely a trip worth taking.