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Centennial Site
Ausable Chasm
Rt. 9, Exit 34 of I-87
P.O. Box 390
Ausable Chasm, NY 12911The Ausable Chasm was formed nearly 500 million years ago during the Cambrian period. The modern day discovery of Ausable Chasm is credited to Major John Howe, who reportedly made his first perilous descent suspended on ropes. Not much is known from the point of his discovery to when the original landowners decided to open the beauty of the chasm up to the public in the mid 1860s. On Aug. 17, 1871, at the age of 12, Theodore Roosevelt explored the Chasm.
Through the years, the Chasm has experienced various degrees of change. Wooden bridges have been replaced by steel ones, wooden rails have been replaced with a sturdy steel post rail system anchored into the bedrock on the walkways and stairs that lead down to the river level and provide a gradual descent and easy walking.
Today, tourists can tour the Chasm, starting with a walk along a nature trail set in the midst of a primeval forest providing displays of bright lichens, cool mosses, liverworts, evergreens, and more than 20 varieties of ferns and delicate wildflowers.