Lower Falls of the Genesee River (Letchworth State Park, New York, USA)

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Lower Falls of the Genesee River (Letchworth)

The Lower Falls of the Genesee River in Letchworth State Park

The Lower Falls of the Genesee River is the last of the three major waterfalls on the Genesee River in Letchworth State Park in Western New York. Although it lacks the height of the other falls in the park, it has the width and character as well as the gorge backdrop. In fact, I think of the three main Letchworth waterfalls, this one more prominently exposes the geology of the area as well as give you a chance at photographing the falls with Autumn colors. Since we were here in June, that was one of the first things I realized when I noticed postcards of this waterfall in nearby stores, and ever since, we've been wanting to come back to the East Coast for some Autumn waterfalling.

Unlike the other Letchworth waterfalls, this one requires a little more exercise as you'll be descending a bunch of steps (and ascending them on the way back up) before following a trail takes you closer to the falls. In order to get the various views you see here that are close to the falls, I recalled having to follow some faint use trails (almost more like scrambling). Just this out-and-back walk is a little over a half-mile round trip (though it probably seemed longer due to the heat and humidity when we were there).

On the way back out, I took a brief out-and-back detour to get deeper into the gorge and try to view the falls from further away from within the gorge itself. I'd imagine the scene here would be even more dramatic with Fall colors.

Directions: We approached this waterfall from the town of Portageville (see the directions for Upper Falls or Middle Falls). Then, we took the park road for roughly 2.5 miles to a fork on the right.

We followed this signposted fork and descended to the Octagon and Lower Falls car park in another mile.

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Looking towards the Lower Falls along a neighboring gorge

Chicken scratch sign pointing the way to Lower Falls

More signs as you make it to the bottom of the stairs

Looking downstream from the bridge within the gorge

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Looking directly at the wide lower falls