Tree Service in Little Falls, NY

Tree service in Little Falls, NY starts with the ground. The city is built on the slope of a narrow, rocky gorge where the Mohawk River drops 45 feet in less than a mile. Many yards here are terraced, sloped or backed by a steep bank, and a tree on a hill does not fall the way it would on flat ground. We plan every cut around where the wood will roll or slide once it hits the ground.

Why slopes change the job

On a grade, a felled trunk or a dropped log can keep moving downhill toward a house, a retaining wall or the street. Roots on a bank also hold soil in place, so removing a tree there can loosen the slope above or below it. For those reasons we usually take hillside trees down in controlled sections, lower the pieces with ropes, and talk with you about leaving the stump in place on a steep bank rather than grinding it out. Grinding is still an option on level parts of the yard.

When the hills let go

The June 28, 2006 storm showed how fast things can move here. National Weather Service reports from that morning list Routes 5 and 168 closed by mud slides and flooding, a house moved off its foundation by slide debris, many homes evacuated in the city, and the Mohawk River at Little Falls completely out of its banks, with evacuations on Southern Avenue. After heavy rain, check for trees that have shifted, cracked soil on banks or roots lifting on the downhill side.

Historic streets and older trees

The Little Falls Historic District, listed on the National Register in 2012, includes 347 contributing buildings from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s, in styles from Federal and Greek Revival to Queen Anne. The South Ann Street-Mill Street Historic District is listed too. Old houses and old trees grew up together, and roots, gutters, slate or wood details and stone walls all need protecting. We use ground protection and rigging around fragile features and can work with you if you need to check with the city before changing anything visible from the street.

What we offer in Little Falls

• Removal of dead, leaning or storm-damaged trees, including on slopes
• Crown cleaning and pruning to take weight off limbs over roofs
• Emergency storm tree service for blocked driveways and fallen limbs
• Stump grinding where the ground is level enough to do it well
• Hazard tree assessment for trees on banks or after slides
• Clearing brush and saplings on overgrown hillside parcels

Winter on the gorge

Little Falls lies east of Utica down the valley, and Utica averages 101.8 inches of snow a year. Snow and ice loading is hard on trees with long side limbs or old topping cuts, and on a slope a broken limb can land farther from the trunk than you would expect. Late-season pruning while the tree is dormant lets us see the structure clearly and lighten problem limbs before the next storm.

Vacant and inherited properties

About 19.2% of housing units in the city were vacant at the 2020 census. Empty houses and estate properties often have trees no one has looked at in years. We can give an out-of-town owner or executor a written quote with photos so the work can be approved without a trip.

Free estimates

Call (315) 743-5662 to set up a visit. You get a written quote that lists each tree, how it will come down and what happens to the wood.

Get a Free Estimate