Trifter

Located in New York State about 35 miles south of Rochester is Letchworth State Park. Contained in the park are three large waterfalls along the Genessee River and some 50 waterfalls along the tributaries that flow into the river. The three main falls flow through the “Grand Canyon of the East”, where the Genessee River carved out a majestic gorge with cliffs as high as 550 feet.

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The three large waterfalls are located in the southern section of the park in an area appropriately named Portage Canyon. The three falls are located within a few miles of each other and a trail along the gorge’s rim leads to all three falls.     

The Seneca Indians called the canyon area “Seh-ga-hun-da”, which translates to “Vale of the three falls”. The three falls are named the Upper Falls, Middle Falls and Lower Falls.

Upper Falls of Letchworth

The Upper Falls are 71 feet high and considered the least impressive of the three. There is a railroad bridge just upstream from these falls.

Middle Falls of Letchworth

At 107 feet high, the Middle Falls are the tallest of the three and the easiest to visit. The Middle Falls are sometimes lit up at night. There is a lodge right next to the falls and they are hard to miss from the parking area.

Lower Falls of Letchworth

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Though the lowest of the three falls at 55 feet high, the Lower Falls are considered the wildest of the three and most impressive to many people.

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There over 50 tributary waterfalls in Letchworth and many are like this one. Beautiful when flowing but often dry or just wet patches along the canyon walls.

Some of the main tributary waterfalls include,

Deh-ga-ya-soh Falls

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Just downstream from the Middle Falls, Deh-ga-ya-soh Creek plunges some 150 feet into the canyon. The name is thought to mean “nameless spirit” and was given to the falls by William Pryor Letchworth who bequeathed the land for the park to New York State in 1906.

Wolf Creek Falls

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This falls plunges some 225 feet into the Genessee River Gorge in a series of cascades but only portions of the falls are visible.

In 2007, Letchworth State Park was named one of the top 100 campgrounds in the United States and can be reached by taking Exit 7 off Interstate 390.

Image via Wikipedia

For more great waterfalls in NY State see Beautiful Taughannock Falls: In NY State and Taller Than Niagara Falls and Cohoes Falls: Hydroelectricity Gone Wrong or Right?  Also see the world’s tallest man-made waterfalls built by the Romans in 271 BC, Marmore Falls: Rome’s Beautiful Gift to the World and Guyana’s Beautiful gift to the world, Kaieteur Falls.  New York State’s most famous waterfalls, Niagara is unfortunately also known as a top suicide site and you can read about it here, Most Popular Suicide Sites.