Paterson Great Falls

For proof that snow and ice can make anything anywhere pretty, one needs to travel no further than Paterson, New Jersey. Paterson is not pretty. In fact, it is rather dreary. Paterson is a crowded dingy city with traffic – even on a weekend – that is far worse than any traffic you’d find in Manhattan. In fact, on Saturday it took us five minutes to travel one block and we sat through each traffic light no less than three turns to green. It was awful.

Running through Paterson is the Passaic River, dirty and polluted, not exactly the placed you’d dare to go fishing if you were looking to bring home dinner.  Even in the summer when it is hot and sticky and you’d give just about anything to be able to cool off, the Passaic River is anything but inviting. 

However, part of this river and tucked into the heart of this city, which you would be wise to avoid for most other occasions, is the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park. Now, I’ve been to Niagara Falls and Iguaçu Falls and by comparison there isn’t anything terribly great about the Paterson Falls. But let us remember, they are in New Jersey and since the other miraculous falls are so far away, there is something exciting about these falls that do indeed breathe some much needed life into the Passaic River. 

We had seen pictures of frozen Niagara Falls on the internet and thought they would be gorgeous to see in person. But since we unfortunately can’t afford a spontaneous trip up north, we decided to see what effect this frigid February had on our local falls.  The effect was marvelous. They too are frozen.  And not only are the falls frozen but parts of the river are frozen as well and large rocks jutting out of the water are blanketed in snow. Even though it did not rise above freezing on Saturday, the bright sun glinted off the ice and snow providing the illusion of warmth. After ten years in this state, the filthy river that never lured my interest in any previous drive by suddenly caught my attention and demanded that I stop to take pictures. 

Despite the fact that the bridge over the gorge, which is supposed to provide the best views of the falls, was closed due to all the snow and ice, the trip up to Paterson was enjoyable and the snow and ice, as always, was beautiful.