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Sylvan Falls

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Available
$1,450,000
1437 Acres
Multiple Uses
Hopkinton, St. Lawrence, NY
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Property Details

Location: Hopkinton, St. Lawrence, NY
Price: $1,450,000
Acres: 1437
Type: Multiple Uses

Property Overview

The defining attribute of the Sylvan Falls tract is its river. The West Branch of the St. Regis River originates in the Saranac Lake region and runs nearly 75 miles to the St. Lawrence. For more than 2.25 miles, it runs through and along this property, including sole ownership of Sylvan Falls itself, a 25-foot waterfall lying entirely within the property’s boundaries. Upstream, the river is slow and deep, well-suited to paddling and fishing; below the falls, it quickens into a fast channel of exposed bedrock and boulders lined with attractive recreation sites.

At 1,437 acres in the Town of Hopkinton, this is a large, forested landscape suited to a buyer seeking a generational recreational holding within the Adirondack Park or, equally, to a conservation organization. Few properties in the northern Adirondacks combine scale, river frontage, and sole waterfall ownership in a single parcel. The APA’s Rural Use classification permits principal structures on roughly 8.5-acre average lots, and Sylvan Falls Road runs close enough to the falls that a home built along it would be within sight and sound of the water.

Highlights:

  • Sole ownership of Sylvan Falls, a spectacular 25-foot waterfall on the West Branch of the St. Regis River
  • Over 2.25 miles of frontage on a designated APA recreational river, with flat water above the falls and dramatic, fast water below
  • Exceptional homesite locations on Sylvan Falls Road, within direct sight and sound of the falls
  • 1,437 acres on a single consolidated tax parcel in the northwestern Adirondack Park
  • Enrolled in New York State’s 480A Forest Tax Program, a significant tax benefit transferable to new ownership
  • Well-stocked young northern hardwood forest with meaningful long-term appreciation potential
  • Two independent town road access points with an extensive internal road and trail network
  • Existing recreational lease camps along Sylvan Falls Road
  • APA Rural Use classification allowing homesite development at approximately 8.5-acre average lots
  • Potsdam 14 miles northwest; Montreal 2 hours northeast

Location

Sylvan Falls is located in the Town of Hopkinton, St. Lawrence County, in the northwestern Adirondack Park, a rural, primarily forested area historically known as the “south woods.” The surrounding landscape is characterized by large private forestland tracts, scattered homes and camps along town roads, and the expansive public lands that define this corner of the Park. The nearest community is Parishville, approximately 6 miles to the north. Potsdam, 14 miles to the northwest, serves as the region’s cultural and educational center, home to SUNY Potsdam, Clarkson University, a hospital, and Damon Field municipal airport. Albany is approximately 3 hours to the southeast. Burlington, Vermont, is a 2.5-hour drive to the east, and Montreal is 2 hours to the northeast.

Access

The property benefits from two independent town road access points that provide excellent coverage across the full extent of the tract. Primary access from the west is via White Hill Road, a town-maintained road, where a gated woods road originates and runs approximately 2 miles eastward toward the river. A secondary internal road, approximately 1.75 miles in length, heads north along the river corridor from this point, providing direct access to the river and supporting forest management across the larger western portion of the tract. From the east, access is via Sylvan Falls Road, a town-maintained road that runs parallel to the river near the falls. A short trail from the road leads to a flat ledge rock section along the river and the most prominent homesite location on the property. Numerous logging trails throughout the property are well suited to hiking, skiing, and ATV use.

Property Description

Standing at Sylvan Falls, the West Branch of the St. Regis River drops 25 feet over a series of ledges and exposed bedrock, splitting around a small island at the base. A series of small bridges provides walking access to the island and the river’s western bank just above the drop. Above the falls, the river runs slowly and deep, ideal for paddling and fishing. Below, it becomes a fast, boulder-strewn stream audible from the road above. The southern 0.75 miles of river frontage runs along both banks; the remainder follows the eastern property boundary.

Sylvan Falls Road, a town-maintained road, runs parallel to the river through the vicinity of the falls. A short trail from the road leads to a flat, rocky ledge along the river. The road sits close enough to the falls that a house built here would be within earshot of the water. Several existing recreational lease camps are located along this corridor.

The property’s terrain is gentle for the Adirondack foothills, with rolling topography, a high point of approximately 1,310 feet, and a river elevation at exit of around 985 feet. Soils are primarily well-drained and productive, as evidenced by site indicators such as trillium, basswood, and sugar maple. The property is entirely forested apart from small clearings along internal roads and several open wetland areas created by beaver activity, including an attractive beaver meadow near the center of the tract.

Timber Resource

The property is forested predominantly in a northern hardwood type, with mixed softwood stands along the river corridor and in wetter lowland areas. A formal timber inventory was completed by F&W Forestry Services in December 2023 in connection with the 480A enrollment, covering ten managed stands across 1,124 eligible acres. The inventory reflects a forest primarily in the pole timber size class, averaging 8 to 9.5 inches DBH across most stands, with a two-aged structure characteristic of managed Adirondack forestland. Quality northern hardwoods dominate the committed acreage, with sugar maple, red maple, and yellow birch comprising the overstory across the majority of stands.

Planned commercial harvests on Stand 8 (138 acres, single tree and patch cut) and Stand 10 (279 acres, shelterwood and release) are prescribed for the 2024 to 2034 window, targeting regeneration improvement and overstory release in the areas with the highest beech component. These harvests, which are not yet complete, represent a near-term timber revenue opportunity for a new owner operating under the existing plan.

The regenerating understory is well-positioned. Yellow birch, sugar maple, and red maple dominate the younger age class across most stands, and the two-aged structure, an overstory of established poles with a competing understory beneath, sets the forest up favorably for the next management cycle. The timber resource is best understood as a long-term asset in an early-to-mid successional phase, with meaningful value accruing as the younger cohort matures and the planned harvests are executed.

Sylvan Falls is enrolled in New York State’s Section 480A Forest Tax Law program under Certificate Number 40-133, issued by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Region 6 in January 2024. The program provides a substantial reduction in assessed property taxes in exchange for the owner’s commitment to manage the forest in accordance with an approved 15-year management plan, prepared by F&W Forestry Services and covering 1,124 committed eligible acres.

A new owner may assume the enrollment and continue to benefit from the tax reduction, provided they manage the property in accordance with the existing plan. This is a straightforward transfer that Fountains Land can assist in facilitating. The 480A designation meaningfully reduces the property’s annual carrying cost and is a significant financial attribute for the long-term recreational and conservation buyer this property is expected to attract.

Parcel Map

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Tom Gilman, CF

New York Regional Manager & Real Estate Agent
Tupper Lake, New York & Montpelier, Vermont
80 Park St., Suite 4 Tupper Lake, NY 12986
518-354-1060
518-359-3089

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