Many times, people live near an amazing place for years and never get to see it. In some ways, that is true for us and Cohoes Falls. We lived there near the falls for 30 years, but never really got to see it.
It was not because we did not try. It was because the falls were surrounded by private property, so viewing the falls was a difficult task. While there was always the Cohoes Falls Park , the views were small and blocked by overgrowth between the Cohoes Falls Park and the falls. While we had visited Cohoes Falls Park before, we had never really seen the falls.
About ten years ago, access to the falls was dramatically improved. The electric company next to the falls formed a partnership with the city of Cohoes to open up better access to the falls.
When we visited the falls, it was a relatively quiet day for the falls because it was late in the year. The entire falls are 90 feet high and over 1000 feet wide. The average water flow over Cohoes is about 40 percent of Niagara Falls.
What made these falls so amazing is that you can see them from numerous angles. Every angle gives you a different view of the falls.
In September, some parts are free flowing and others are barren.
Some have multiple parts
And some are just massive.
You can frame the falls by the nearby vegetation.
Or be impressed by the vegetation that grows in the middle of the falls.
Some parts are wide.
and some are small.
The area around the falls was a major challenge to the engineers for the Erie Canal. According to this sign at the park. the canal around these falls is the highest vertical canal lift in the shortest distance , anywhere in the world.
There are now actually two parks where you can view the Falls.
Since the trees have been cut back, you can now see the entire falls from the older park. It would be fun to see these falls in the early spring when the snow melt is flowing strongly.
Here is the river after the falls as it flows toward the Hudson River through the gorge the river has cut.
