Exploring The Genesee River

The 157-mile Genesee River originates 10 miles south of the Pennsylvania border. As it flows north, it passes over Letchworth’s three major waterfalls and meanders through several towns, including Mount Morris, Geneseo, Caledonia, Avon, Rush, Scottsville, Chili, and Henrietta. At Genesee Valley Park, the river merges with the Erie Canal and continues north through Rochester, flowing over Court Street Dam and High, Middle, and Lower Falls before reaching Lake Ontario.

The Genesee River is often mistakenly thought to be a rare example of a river flowing north. However, several north-flowing rivers, including the Niagara and Oswego Rivers, are within an easy day trip from Rochester, and dozens more are found within New York State. Nevertheless, the Genesee is the only river that flows across the entire state of New York.

Major Trails

Genesee Riverway Trail

The GRT is a 24-mile National Recreation Trail that runs alongside a 12-mile stretch of river through Rochester’s urban corridor. This trail is a great way to explore the city’s scenic, historic, and cultural areas. It starts at Lake Ontario and travels south through Turning Point Park, Seneca Park, Maplewood Park, High Falls Historic District, Corn Hill, and the University of Rochester, ending in Genesee Valley Park. Along the way, the GRT crosses eight bridges and three waterfalls. Although it is mainly paved and dedicated, some areas are steep and narrow or require the use of streets, mainly through the city center. The GRT connects with the Genesee Valley Greenway Trail and Erie Canalway Trail in Genesee Valley Park, making the park a great starting point for a hike or bike ride.

Genesee Valley Greenway

The greenway—also a designated National Recreation Trail—passes through Scottsville and Rush in Monroe County. It then goes through Caledonia, Avon, Geneseo, Mount Morris, Letchworth State Park, and Portageville in Livingston County, and finally ends in Cuba in Allegany County. At Wadsworth Junction in Scottsville, you can connect with the Lehigh Valley Trail, which features a unique trestle bridge crossing the Genesee River.

City of Rochester

The Genesee River stretches about 12 miles from Genesee Valley Park to Lake Ontario.

Aqueduct Park

Aqueduct Park is a pocket park located on the Genesee River, adjacent to the historic Lawyers Cooperative Publishing/Aqueduct Building, which now serves as the headquarters for Constellation Brands. Despite being privately owned, the park is open to the public and is a popular spot for downtown employees who want to enjoy their lunch with a view of the river. Graves and E. Main Streets

Austin Steward Plaza at Genesee Crossroads Park

The newly renovated Austin Steward Plaza (formerly Major Charles Carroll Plaza), completed in July 2024, links Main Street with Andrews Street. The pathways, including a footbridge over the river, are designed to accommodate visitors using wheeled transportation methods, such as wheelchairs, strollers, bicycles, and skateboards. Additionally, there are seating areas provided for individuals to enjoy a peaceful moment by the river. 69 Andrews Street

According to the city’s website, Austin Steward was one of Rochester’s earliest prominent Black business owners. He was an entrepreneur who not only gained freedom from slavery but also opened a successful business, operated the first school for black children in Rochester, and wrote his memoir, “Twenty-Two Years a Slave, Forty Years a Freeman.”

Major Charles Carroll, along with Col. Nathaniel Rochester and Col. William Fitzhugh, was one of Rochester’s founding investors. He never lived in the immediate area, but his financial contribution helped to fund the development of the hundred-acre tract that would become the heart of Rochester. Learn more here: Rochester’s founders held people in slavery, but would name changes make up for past injustice? by Justin Murphy, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Bausch + Lomb Riverside Park

The University of Rochester maintains this linear park that stretches along Wilson Boulevard to the Ford Street Bridge. It features several pedestrian bridges, initially used for the Lehigh Valley Railroad, which allow for crossing the Genesee River. 711 Wilson Boulevard

The Genesee
University of Rochester
Words by T. T. Swinburne ’92 
Old melody arranged by Herve D. Wilkins, ’66

Full many fair and famous streams
Beneath the sun there be,
Yet more to us than any seems
Our own dear Genesee.
We love her banks and stately falls,
For to our minds they bring
Our dear old alma mater’s halls
Where sweetest mem’ries cling.

No castled crags along her way
Romantic splendors cast;
No fabled or historic lay
Recalls the golden past.
But more than battlemented walls,
Or legends they may bear,
Are alma mater’s vine-clad halls
And mem’ries ling’ring there.

As flows the river gath’ring force,
Along her steadfast way,
May we along life’s devious course
Grow stronger day by day.
And may our hearts, where’er we roam,
Forever loyal be
To our beloved college home
Beside the Genesee.

Blue Cross Arena Memorial Park

The park behind Blue Cross Arena offers a spectacular view of the Rundel Library at night. A platform lets visitors glimpse the abandoned subway and canal aqueduct under Broad Street. 1 War Memorial Square

Corn Hill Landing

Corn Hill, Rochester’s oldest residential neighborhood, boasts impressive examples of early architecture and some of the city’s original homes. Take a river cruise onboard the Riverie from the Corn Hill Navigation waterfront center. The area features several restaurants with waterfront seating. Exchange Blvd

Genesee Gateway Park

For an excellent view of the Rochester skyline from the east side of the river, visit this linear park located between Ford Street and the Frederick Douglass–Susan B. Anthony Memorial Bridge at I-490. This park includes a playground, a full-court basketball court, picnic areas, and a car-top boat launch. There is ample parking behind the Bivona Child Advocacy Center for accessing the Genesee Riverway Trail (GRT). If you head north along the GRT, you can also visit the Roc City Skatepark. 151 Mount Hope Avenue

Genesee Valley Park

Genesee Valley Park (GVP) was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in 1888. Located where the Erie Canal, Red Creek, and Genesee River intersect, the park offers visitors the opportunity to rent kayaks and canoes from the Genesee Waterways Center. The park features four beautiful concrete footbridges that connect the park across each waterway. Originally, the Erie Canal ran through Rochester over an aqueduct, which is now the Broad Street Bridge. In 1918, the state changed the canal route to follow the city’s southern border through Genesee Valley Park, leading to the addition of the bridges. 1000 E. River Road

High Falls

The area known as High Falls includes the waterfall, a historic district, and the future site of Rochester High Falls State Park. Popular spots to view the falls from the northeast include High Falls Terrace, the Pont de Rennes Bridge, and Genesee Brew House’s rooftop patio while enjoying a casual meal and a tasty beverage. Visitors can stroll along cobblestone streets on the west side of the river to explore the area’s hydropower history and catch a glimpse of the falls near the Gorsline Building’s viewing terrace. 4 Commercial Street

Learn more about the proposed state park at High Falls

Please note that the Pont de Rennes pedestrian bridge is closed for construction through late 2024.

Maplewood Park

The two-mile linear Olmsted-designed park runs alongside the river, stretching from Middle Falls to Kings Landing, the oldest cemetery in Rochester. It begins at the Maplewood Rose Garden in Lower Maplewood, where many visitors start their walk by descending the stairs to access the Genesee River Trail. As you walk upstream, you’ll come across Lower and Middle Falls. Heading downstream will take you through Middle Maplewood and along Seneca Parkway, also part of the park system designed by Olmsted. Passing under the New York State Route 104 Veterans Memorial Bridge, the trail continues into Upper Maplewood and ends at the Pure Waters Pedestrian Bridge, which connects to Seneca Park.

This area, known as Casconchiagon—River of Many Falls—was once the site of a Seneca Nation village until 1819.

Kelsey’s Landing became a terminus for the Underground Railroad after the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was passed by Congress. Boats would dock here and guide freedom-seeking African Americans, including Frederick Douglass in 1859, to safety across Lake Ontario to Canada.

Ontario Beach Park

At the northernmost tip of the city, the Genesee River borders the park to the east. Besides a sandy beach with plenty of parking, visitors can enjoy a leisurely stroll on the boardwalk and pier, indulge in the original 1902 Abbott’s Frozen Custard, ride on the 1905 Dentzel Carousel, and tour the 1822 Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse. 50 Beach Avenue

Promenade at Erie Harbor

The public walkway and seating area behind Dinosaur Bar-B-Que is ideal for viewing the Court Street Dam, especially when the water level is high. Roc City Skatepark is a short two-minute walk from this location. 103 Court Street

Seneca Park

The 20-acre Seneca Park Zoo is a small portion of the 300-acre county park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in 1893. The zoo operates a seasonal ZooTram shuttle, transporting visitors between the extreme ends of the park for a nominal one-way fee. Many people walk through the zoo and take the tram back up to the main entrance, appreciating Seneca Park’s scenic views. Beyond the zoo, you will find a trout pond surrounded by pavilions, a playground, and hiking trails. The north trail leads toward Lake Ontario over a tiny but steep waterfall, with several risky descents to the river’s edge using deteriorating wood steps. The south trail ends at the scenic Pure Waters Pedestrian Bridge, part of the Genesee River Trail, which spans the river to connect with Maplewood Park. 2222 Saint Paul Street

Turning Point Park

The park’s most striking feature is a 3,572-foot-long bridge over the Genesee River Turning Basin. The boardwalk takes visitors onto the river, close to blue herons, swans, turtles, deer, and other wildlife. Consider starting your walk from the north at Petten Street by the marina and O’Rorke Bridge for minimal elevation change. Along this section, you’ll see the abandoned 150-foot Spirit of Rochester, which offered lake cruises from 1985 to 2004. To begin at the south end, park in the Boxart Street lot. Most people walk north and down the steep, paved road toward the river, but you can also take the train-grade path by heading south for a half-mile from the parking lot and turning left at the Genesee Riverway Trail’s split near Brewster Harding Park. This route through Bullock’s Woods follows a seasonal creek with a small waterfall. 260 Boxart Street

Fun fact: Lights on ROC coordinates the lights that color Rochester’s skyline. Their calendar shows what the colors represent on a particular day. lightsonroc.com

Monroe County

Black Creek Boat Launch

At the junction of Black Creek and the Genesee River is a concrete ramp for motorboats and an accessible kayak launch. From here, kayakers can paddle either Black Creek or the Genesee River. Motorboats can travel south on the Genesee River toward Rush or go north to connect with the Erie Canal. Alternatively, you can continue to Corn Hill Landing before reaching the Court Street Dam. 16 Black Creek Road, Chili

Breese Park

You’ll find a large parking lot, picnic tables, and woodland play areas along a hard-packed gravel path that follows the river. To see the native bluebells and trillium in full bloom, visit between late April and early May. 108 Westcombe Park, West Henrietta

Greater Rochester

Genesee Valley Wildlife Management Area

The Department of Environmental Conservation manages 717 acres of riverfront property, including mature forests, open fields, and wetlands. The property spans both Livingston and Allegany Counties, and there is roadside parking available near the end of Otis Smith Road. Please be aware of hunting seasons before visiting this area. 10527 S. River Road, Hunt, Livingston County

Indian Fort Nature Preserve

Managed by Genesee Valley Conservancy, this 60-acre research reserve provides an area for hiking and birding. The reserve features a pond, creek gullies, and small waterfalls best seen in the spring or after heavy rainfall. The forest trails can be muddy. Visitors can bring their kayak and paddle less than a mile upstream to reach the mouth of Canaseraga Creek. 3432 Jones Bridge Road, Geneseo, Livingston County

Letchworth State Park

To experience the stunning beauty of the Genesee River through Letchworth State Park, plan a day trip that includes a visit to the Mount Morris Dam and Lower, Middle, and Upper Falls. Take a hike along Trail 1 for breathtaking views of the gorge. You can also join Adventure Calls Outfitters for a guided rafting trip downstream from Lower Falls to St. Helena, a journey of about five and a half miles. Admission fee. Park Road, Mount Morris, Livingston County, and Castile, Wyoming County

Explore More

Go on a four-hour round-trip journey to visit the source of the Genesee River in Gold, Pennsylvania, in the Pennsylvania Wilds region. The rain that falls in this mountain area flows in three different directions and is the start of three major rivers: the Allegheny, Genesee, and Susquehanna.

Google Map of Locations

View the map separately here.

The Genesee is a spectacular river! The Letchworth gorge, with its three cataracts, has been called “the Grand Canyon of the East,” and where the river passes through the City of Rochester, there is another deep canyon with three additional cascades. The walls of these canyons, and of smaller tributary streams, offer a view into the geologic past reaching back more than 400 million years. The fossil record in the Silurian and Devonian rocks traversed by the river is one of the most diverse to be found anywhere in the world.

Upstate New York, Field Guide, by Bradford B. Van Diver

Where are your favorite spots along the Genesee River?

I’d love to hear from you—please share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.