American Falls is the smaller of the two main waterfalls at Niagara Falls, dropping 70 to 110 feet from its crest onto a huge pile of fallen rock in Niagara Falls State Park, New York. About 830 feet wide, it takes roughly a tenth of the Niagara River and is the fall visitors see face-on from the American side.
The falls
The river spills over the edge between Prospect Point and Luna Island, where the smaller Bridal Veil Falls splits off. Rockfalls over the past 150 years, the largest at Prospect Point in 1954, have piled talus at the base and given the crest its jagged shape, so the free drop is 70 to 110 feet; measured to the river surface below, the fall is 188 feet. Earlier surveys listed 361 feet, a figure no current source supports.
Getting there
Niagara Falls State Park is free to enter. Parking in Lots 1 and 2 costs $10 a day, or $15 on summer weekends; Lot 4 is free. Prospect Point gives the classic view along the crest, and the Observation Tower beside it leads down to the Maid of the Mist boats, which in 2026 ran from April 24 to November 8 ($30.25 for adults, $19.75 for ages 6 to 12). On Goat Island, Cave of the Winds takes visitors down onto wooden decks at the foot of Bridal Veil Falls ($23 for adults in summer, tickets sold on site only).
When to go
The falls run all year, but not at full flow: under a 1950 treaty, at least 100,000 cubic feet per second must go over Niagara during daytime in the tourist season and 50,000 at other times, with the rest diverted to hydropower. In 2026, fireworks went off at 10 pm from May 15 to October 12, and the falls are lit every night. In 1848 an ice jam upriver briefly stopped the falls altogether.
On site
Stay behind the railings. Stunting at the falls is illegal on both sides of the border. Dogs must be on a 6-foot leash and are not allowed on the boardwalks or in buildings, and drones are banned. Bring shoes that can get wet for Cave of the Winds.
History and name
In 1969 the US Army Corps of Engineers built a temporary dam and turned the American Falls off from June to November to study the rockfalls; they bolted weak sections of the cliff before letting the water back.
Nearby
Bridal Veil Falls is about 0.1 mile away, across Luna Island, and the Horseshoe Falls about 0.6 mile, at the far end of Goat Island.
Distances are straight-line.