A windfall of a ride

Following a historic tornado along a remote stretch of St. Lawrence Co.

By Tom French

In the fall of 1845, a weather system spawned a series of tornados from Lake Ontario to Burlington, Vermont, that cut mile-wide swaths of devastation for almost 150 miles.  According to the History of St. Lawrence County (1878), “16 buildings – barns, houses, and a one-room schoolhouse… were swept away” near Pitcairn before the tornado “entered the uninhabited forest.”  In its wake, a number of streams, brooks, and ponds (and at least three hotels) were named “Windfall.”  Even today, locals around Cranberry Lake refer to Cook Corners as Windfall, as well as the road built amid the destruction to Sevey.

Until recently, the road was closed to the public (except as a snowmobile trail), but in 2021, the Cranberry Forest Conservation Easement was announced with year-round access to Forest Preserve Lands along the South Branch of the Grasse River via the road.  A lessee exclusive use period from the first Wednesday after Labor Day until Dec. 15 applies to the rest of the easement, but our route along the Buckhorn/Windfall Road to the Tooley Pond Road, which boasts a side trip to part of the Grasse River Rail Trail and canoe access to the Grasse, is open all year.

Doug and Susan Miller met me at the parking area where Route 3 crosses the South Branch of the Grasse, 3.5 miles east of Cranberry Lake.  Historically known as Brandy Brook, a flag stop on the Grasse River Railroad with spurs to the south and north, any sign of this former lumbering outpost was “obliterated” when Route 3 was expanded around 1970.  Michael Kudish, author of the “Where Did the Tracks Go” series, reports the southern spur may be under the “old highway (Route 3) grade” before it becomes part of the Brandy Brook/Burntbridge Pond Trail. 

Our plan was to bike the two-mile railroad bed to where it used to cross the Grasse, then double back to its closest point with Windfall Road at a location labeled as LaBorde Camp on the Kudish map.  We would then continue along the Buckhorn/Windfall Road to Tooley Pond Road before circling back via Cranberry Lake and Route 3.

The trailhead to the railbed is across from the parking area and marked with canoe carry signage.  Doug bombed down the grassy path first.   I followed, with Susan taking the rear.  The first few yards had been mowed by Grasse River Rail Trail volunteers, but eventually the path narrowed to a grassy single track of easy gliding.  Occasional roots required subtle maneuvers and a couple sections of railroad ties made for a bumpy ride.  I was glad for my shock absorbers.

Despite the rising heat of the day, it was cool in the shade of the mixed forests.  We think we may have found the location of Clark’s, a sixty-cent flag stop from Childwold Station, at a now overgrown clearing.  A large white pine with long horizontal limbs circling its lower trunk was the clue.  Doug explained how trees that grow in dense woods usually shoot up toward the sun, but not this one, suggesting a past clearing.

Shortly after Clark’s, the trail widened and became easier to navigate because of illegal ATV use.  Motorized vehicles are not allowed on the railbed.  We discovered a massive cast-iron culvert, rumored to be a boiler out of a ship.  Though unable to confirm that, Pete Moreau, a volunteer for the rail trail, said it was common for culverts to be made from scrap materials.

Glimpses of the road flashed through the trees to the right and then we popped into a clearing with a short path to a parking area designated for the canoe carry.  FYI paddlers – you don’t need to carry the two miles from Route 3.  The entrance to the Buckhorn Road is 200 yards east of the Route 3 parking area.

I was hoping for remnants where the railroad crossed the Grasse, so we continued the half mile to the river.  The woods give way to a flood plain and a sandy spit to the actual crossing.  New York state owns the right of way for another mile on the other side of the river, but it’s inaccessible due to private ownership unless you forge the river.  No signs of the railroad exist, other than the embankment, but we relaxed and enjoyed the scene for several minutes before returning to the junction between the railroad and the road. 

Maps of the historic route of the Windfall Road can be sketchy between LaBorde Camp and Sevey.  It may have continued north, across the street from the canoe carry parking area along what is now the Hay Road.  You can explore the Hay Road for a mile or so except during the exclusive use period.  The through route to Sevey is private.

We continued west, crossed Dead Creek (which was ripping from the July 11 rain that took out roads around Long Lake), and in three-quarter miles, we reached the intersection to the North Tram which began in Cranberry Lake and meandered for almost 30 miles to the north with over 20 spurs, depending on how you count.  Much of bed to the north is accessible per easement agreements.  For those riding the Windfall Road, follow the snowmobile signs to Windfall.  

Another half mile further, a parking area appeared with a locked gate and yellow barrier tape to discourage ATV incursions past the Forest Preserve boundary.  Other than for snowmobiles, this is the limit for motorized access to the forest preserve.  

The road drops from the gate through the shade of a mixed coniferous hardwood forest with golden needles in the path.  At the bottom of the hill, we crossed an iron bridge over the Grasse River.  The parking area for western motorized access to the river is just beyond — at a quarter mile, the shortest carry to the Grasse.

At 3.5 miles, we arrived where the North Tram crossed the Windfall Road.  Although a thru-route to Cranberry Lake to the south is open to snowmobiles, it’s off limits otherwise.

From the Grasse River, the road roller coasters over a number of hills marked with snowmobile caution signs.  Susan continually commented on the abundance of fritillary including Meadow and Great Spangled. We crossed another flood plain where we happened upon a half-dozen hawks soaring over the marsh.  At the top of one of those hills, Doug stopped and shushed Susan and me.  Wildlife ahead.  I was hoping for a moose.  It turned out to be bears.  Doug had startled a mother with her cub.  The cub ran up a tree next to the road and eyed us with trepidation.  The mother was hidden in the woods. 

We caught our breath and debated our move.  The ups and downs of the Windfall Road had taken its toll.  Odometers suggested we’d been almost eight miles, so the “hard road” and easier pedaling back to the car was just ahead (along with promises of lunch at Birch’s and a swim at Cranberry Lake’s public beach).  None of us wanted to backtrack.  We decided to bomb past, hope the mother wouldn’t charge, and pray we could peddle faster if she did.

We all bolted at the same time, though I surged ahead with my adrenalin pumping.  I knew I didn’t have to outpace the bear, just Doug.  As soon as we accelerated, the mother dashed across the road about 30 yards in front.  I slowed momentarily, but Doug shouted, “Go, go.”  I was down the hill in a heartbeat.

Two minutes later we were at the Tooley Pond Road, just south of the River Road to Newton Falls.  Bob and Linda Jones’s Wooden Fish Hatchery was within eyesight.  Whether you are biking, paddling, or checking out the waterfalls or hikes along the Tooley Pond Road, I recommend you visit them.  

The return to the car via Route 3 and Cranberry Lake was just over 7 miles.

The Cranberry Forest Conservation Easement is closed to the public annually from the Wednesday after Labor Day through Dec. 15, except for the Dillon Pond Area and the public access corridors (Buckhorn/Windfall Roads) with year-round access to the Forest Preserve parcel along the South Branch of the Grasse River.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify the easement rules.