Spanning the Mohawk River in the city of Cohoes, Albany County, New York, Cohoes Falls drops 60 feet as a broad horsetail waterfall across a shale ledge roughly 1,000 feet wide. Flow is regulated by hydropower diversion, with public viewing provided by two parks adjoining the School Street generating station.
The falls
The Mohawk crosses the Sand Hill Shale here, where the river has worn the bedrock into a rounded brow so the water slides down a 75-degree slope rather than plunging free. A field survey documents a single 60-foot drop with an average width of 950 feet, while byway guides list 90 feet. High flow reaches about 5,700 cubic feet per second, falling to about 412 when water is diverted for power generation.
Getting there
Falls View Park, maintained by Brookfield Renewable beside its School Street hydroelectric plant, has its entrance and off-street parking on North Mohawk Street. A 192-foot pedestrian bridge leads to the upper viewing area, with footpaths connecting to several viewpoints. The park is open May 1 to November 1 from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Overlook Park, also next to the plant, remains open for viewing all year.
When to go
Flow is strongest from November to May; during summer, diversion leaves considerably less water cascading over the rock. High water provides the fullest display. Outside the Falls View Park operating season, Overlook Park offers year-round views.
On site
The upper amphitheater, picnic area and fishing platforms at Falls View Park are ADA-compliant, while the lower deck is accessed by a steep stairway rated strenuous. Dogs are not allowed. Access to the riverbed is closed: water can rise quickly from upstream operations or distant storms, and the gorge contains deep channels, slippery silt-covered rock and falling shale.
History and name
The first dam upstream of the falls was built in 1831 to power local textile mills, and the 2008 project relicensing established minimum aesthetic flows over the ledge. Navigating boats past the cataract required a flight of 16 locks, historically known as the "terrible 16s." The name Cohoes translates as "falling canoe."
Nearby
Buttermilk Falls, also on the Mohawk, is about 1.3 miles away. Devils Kitchen Falls and Upper Goulds Creek Falls on Goulds Creek are about 2.5 miles away, and Mount Ida Falls about 4.8 miles.
Distances are straight-line.