Chautauqua Falls

If you're passing

Is it plungeworthy?

15feet tall

A dam on Deer Creek.

Scale29/60

Documentation10/20

Character14/20

The details

Type: Dam
Watercourse: Deer Creek
Coordinates: 37.16851, -96.21701

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About Chautauqua Falls

Chautauqua Falls is a 15-foot dam in Kansas, on Deer Creek.

It's fullest after rain, and flow can drop off during dry spells — plan around recent weather.

Plungeworthy rates Chautauqua Falls 5.3/10 — if you're passing. The score weighs its scale, how confidently it's mapped, and its character.

What you'll find

A 20-foot multi-drop cascade over exposed limestone below Sedan City Lake's native-stone dam, built in 1935 by WPA and CCC crews. (Our database said 15 feet; sources converge on 20.)

In high water the top shows a twin or even triple cascade with a widening shelf-drop below — the full effect needs recent rain.

Don't confuse this with Butcher Falls, also 'near Sedan' — that one is miles away on a private ranch. This is the public city-lake falls.

Getting there

Trailhead: Sedan City Lake (Old City Lake), Sedan
Parking: Lake area
Road: City and county roads

When to go

After rain for the multi-drop cascade effect.

Dry spells reduce it to a seep over the dam.

Rules & fees

Fee / pass: Free — City of Sedan lake

Researched from World Waterfall Database — Chautauqua Falls · KDWP — Sedan City Lake North. Conditions change — verify before you drive. Been to Chautauqua Falls recently? Post a conditions report below.

Where it is

Planning a visit? We want your photo.

Chautauqua Falls doesn't have a photo yet. If you make the trip, send one to hello@plungeworthy.com and we'll publish it here with credit to you.

Before you go

The pin marks the feature, not a trailhead or a legal route in. Some sit on private land or need a real hike, and conditions change with season and rain. Check local access, don't trespass, and never enter water — hot or cold — where it isn't safe.