Hoosick Falls is a waterfall on the Hoosic River in the village of the same name in Rensselaer County, New York, where the Main Street bridge crosses the river. No height has been recorded, and the falls remain unconfirmed.
The falls
The Hoosic River drops through the center of the village, where it also runs through flood-control chutes that lead into a nearly non-navigable series of ledges.
Getting there
The falls are in the village itself. The Hoosic River Greenway, a joint project of the Village of Hoosick Falls and the Hoosic River Watershed Association on a former railbed, crosses Main Street at the bridge over the falls, where there is a parking area; a second lot is at the ballpark trailhead. The greenway is easy and nearly flat, with gravel, grass and dirt surfaces, running about 2.5 miles one way to Sewer Plant Road.
When to go
Wildflowers line the greenway in spring and summer, with color in the riverside trees in fall.
On site
The greenway crosses the Main Street bridge directly over the falls. Leashed dogs are allowed on the greenway. Entering the flood-control chutes is illegal and dangerous; paddlers have no public take-out between the Rock Cut parking area and the chutes and must leave the river there.
History and name
The falls powered the mills the village grew up around, beginning after the Revolution with the Caledonian and later Tremont cotton factories. The Walter A. Wood Mowing and Reaping Machine Company made farm machinery here from 1852 to 1923 and sold it on every continent.
Nearby
The Tubs is about 7.2 miles away, across the Vermont line, Hemlock Falls about 7.3 miles and Factory Hollow Falls about 9.2 miles.
Distances are straight-line.