Despite cool weather, crowds keep coming

FALLS VILLAGE — Labor Day weekend activity on the Housatonic River between the Great Falls in Falls Village/Amesville and Cornwall Bridge was concentrated at the falls and at Housatonic Meadows State Park.

At 2 p.m. on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 7, there were 25 cars plus a dozen or so motorcycles at the park. (The state campground was closed.) The main activity was picnicking and napping. Nobody was fishing and very few people were on the river’s edge, never mind in the water.

Moving north, upstream, there were a few cars at the usual angler’s pulloffs and a few fly-rodders in action.

At the Cellar Hole on Route 7, which in recent weeks has been the site of large crowds, there were just three cars and nobody in sight.

The cooler weather was perhaps more conducive to hiking than splashing around in the river. At 2:15 p.m. there were 15 cars at the Pine Knob Loop trail parking area.

Things were quiet through Cornwall, with just three cars at the Bend in West Cornwall, and a handful of cars parked along River Road. There was one determined group of tubers at the Abutments; many of the cars seemed to belong to people riding bicycles (judging by the empty bike racks on the vehicles).

It was a different story in Falls Village and Amesville. On Water Street in Falls Village, there were more than 30 cars parked on the opposite side of the street from the First Light power station. People playing in the falls were visible from the Amesville bridge and from Housatonic River Road on the Amesville side.

The ubiquitous “No Parking” signs on Housatonic River Road were effective, with zero cars parked at 2:30 p.m.

Clearly, everybody parked on the almost completely unposted Falls Village side and made their way into the falls from there.

The barricades at the (closed) First Light boat launch and picnic area on Dugway in Amesville were moved out of the way and some eight cars were parked there, with two picnics in progress.