Chagrin Falls is a 20-foot waterfall on the Chagrin River in the center of the village of Chagrin Falls, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. The falls drew the village's first settlers, gave the town its name and powered its early mills, and they sit just off North Main Street in the middle of downtown.
The falls
The river spills over a single vertical block ledge about 80 feet wide, with lidar measurements recording a drop of about 20 feet. Locally it is also called High Falls. The ledge is part of an escarpment of Berea sandstone and Bedford shale that runs just west of North Main Street.
Getting there
The Falls Viewing Areas are at 53 N Main St, on the west side of the Main Street bridge, with viewing areas on both the north and south banks reached by staircases. A multilevel deck with benches sits on the south side, entered from North Main Street opposite Bell Street beside a public parking lot, along with stone steps down to the riverbank. The village began replacing the staircases in October 2025, closing both at first and then keeping one open while the other was rebuilt, with work possibly continuing into spring 2026.
When to go
The village closes the staircases in bad weather. The village holds its Blossom Time festival over Memorial Day weekend.
On site
The viewing areas have seating and a close-up view of the falls. Swimming and diving are prohibited from village property along the river.
History and name
At their peak in the 1800s the falls powered nine mills within about a mile. A 4-foot dam on top of the falls fed a grist mill on the south bank, and a sluice carried water to industries on the north side. Settlers from New England arrived in 1833, and one account traces the name to François Seguin, a French trader of the early 1700s. An Ohio Bicentennial Marker was placed at the top of the stairway in 2003.
Nearby
Falls Creek Falls is about 1.7 miles away, Quarry Falls on the Aurora Branch is about 1.8 miles away, and Deans Fall is about 6.2 miles away. Cleveland is about 16.4 miles to the west.
Distances are straight-line.