Upper Falls of the Genesee River (Letchworth)

Letchworth State Park / Castile / Portageville, New York, USA

About Upper Falls of the Genesee River (Letchworth)

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Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

The Upper Falls of the Genesee River was one of three major waterfalls on the Genesee River in Letchworth State Park.

This waterfall was actually just a short distance upstream of the Middle Falls.

Letchworth_SP_13_056_10152013 - Upper Falls of the Genesee River in Letchworth State Park
Upper Falls of the Genesee River in Letchworth State Park

I guess we could’ve combined the two waterfall entries on this website.

Instead, we felt like we had enough to say about this particular waterfall to warrant its own page.

The Portage High Bridge

As you can see from the photographs on this page, the distinguishing feature of this 40ft waterfall was the Portage High Bridge, which was really a railroad bridge.

The bridge was said to have originally opened in 1852 as the highest wooden railroad bridge at the time at 234ft above the Upper Falls of the Genesee River while spanning 850ft across the gorge.

Of course the current bridge that we saw was made of iron as the original wooden one was said to have burned down in 1875 under “suspicious circumstances.”

This rebuilt railroad bridge was definitely active and still in use as it was said to link Buffalo and Hornell courtesy of the Erie Railroad Company.

Accessing the High Falls of the Genesee River

Letchworth_009_06182007 - Upper Falls of the Genesee River in Letchworth State Park as seen in early Summer back in 2007
Upper Falls of the Genesee River in Letchworth State Park as seen in early Summer back in 2007

The walk from the car park that served both the Upper and Middle Falls was merely a couple of minutes uphill along a concrete path flanked by a lawn on one side and a concrete barricade on the other.

There was a coin-op binocular here to perhaps get a closer look at the bridge as well as some possible bird life that might fly by here.

The views of the falls (such as what you see at the top of this page) could be had all along the concrete walkway (even as far away as the car park itself).

The paved walkway continued to climb up along the gorge walls going by the Upper Falls, and it probably went up to the base of the Portage High Bridge where there was another car park up there.

View of High and Middle Falls from Inspiration Point

It turned out that this waterfall (as well as the Middle Falls) could also be seen from a much different perspective.

That alternate view was at the Inspiration Point (see directions below).

Letchworth_SP_13_170_10152013 - This was the view of the Upper and Middle Falls with the Portage High Bridge way up above both falls as seen from Inspiration Point
This was the view of the Upper and Middle Falls with the Portage High Bridge way up above both falls as seen from Inspiration Point

It not only allowed us to see both waterfalls, but we were also able to appreciate the grandeur and depth of the Grand Canyon of the Genesee River.

Indeed, from this vantage point, we could totally see how it earned its moniker of the “Grand Canyon of the East”.

More about Upper Falls

Since the falls flowed on the Genesee River, which was the major river system responsible for carving out this canyon, it was pretty obvious that the falls also flowed year-round.

In fact, the photos you see from both the Summer and Autumn that we’re featuring on this page further attested to its consistent appearance.

By the way, I’ve seen some conflicting figures in the literature reporting the height of this waterfall to be 71ft.

However, I think that might be a generous figure given our field observations.

Authorities

The Upper Falls of the Genesee River resides in Letchworth State Park near Mt Morris in Livingston County and Wyoming County, New York. It is administered by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual subscribers. See Membership Options.
Content is for subscribers. See Membership Options.
Tagged with: letchworth, state park, livingston, wyoming county, castile, portageville, western new york, new york, finger lakes, waterfall



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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
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