Exploring The Genesee River

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 throughout New York State. The Genesee is New York’s only river to cross the state from boundary to boundary. It begins in northern Pennsylvania, about 10 miles south of the state line, and flows north to Lake Ontario, completing its 157-mile journey.

Along the way, the river passes through Letchworth State Park, descending over Upper, Middle, and Lower Falls before meandering through communities including Mount Morris, Geneseo, Caledonia, Avon, Rush, Scottsville, Chili, and Henrietta. At Genesee Valley Park, it intersects with the Erie Canal before continuing through Rochester, flowing over the Court Street Dam and High, Middle, and Lower Falls on its way to Lake Ontario. 

Several parks, trails, and attractions along the Genesee River also appear in other sections of this guide. Here, they are arranged from the river’s mouth at Lake Ontario south through Rochester toward Letchworth State Park, showing how these places connect along the river corridor.

Major Trails

The Genesee Riverway Trail (GRT) is a 24-mile National Recreation Trail that follows a 12-mile stretch of the Genesee River through Rochester’s urban corridor. The trail connects scenic, historic, and cultural landmarks such as Lake Ontario, Turning Point Park, Seneca Park, Maplewood Park, High Falls Historic District, Corn Hill, the University of Rochester, and Genesee Valley Park. Along the way, it crosses eight bridges and passes three waterfalls. The GRT connects with the Genesee Valley Greenway Trail and Erie Canalway Trail in Genesee Valley Park, making the park a convenient starting point for a hike or bike ride.

Genesee Valley Greenway State Park features the 90-mile Genesee Valley Greenway Trail, a designated National Recreation Trail that follows portions of the historic Genesee Valley Canal and the former Pennsylvania Railroad corridor from Chili through Letchworth State Park to Cuba in Allegany County. The Greenway connects to the Genesee Riverway Trail and the Erie Canalway Trail in Genesee Valley Park. At Wadsworth Junction in Scottsville, it also connects to the Lehigh Valley Trail near the historic trestle bridge crossing the Genesee River.

City of Rochester

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

Ontario Beach Park marks the mouth of the Genesee River at Lake Ontario. Visitors can enjoy the beach, marina, fishing pier, historic carousel, and the northern terminus of the Genesee Riverway Trail (GRT).

Turning Point Park features a 3,572-foot boardwalk over the Genesee River Turning Basin, where visitors often spot blue herons, swans, turtles, deer, and other wildlife. For the easiest walk, begin at the north end near Petten Street, the marina, and the O’Rorke Bridge. To start from the south, park in the Boxart Street lot. Rather than following the steep paved road to the river, consider the train-grade path: walk south for half a mile to the Genesee Riverway Trail split near Brewster Harding Park, then turn left through Bullock’s Woods. This route follows a seasonal creek with a small waterfall.

Seneca Park is a 300-acre county park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in 1893. The 20-acre Seneca Park Zoo occupies a small portion of the park. Beyond the zoo are a trout pond, pavilions, a playground, and walking trails. The north trail leads to Lake Ontario over a small but steep waterfall, while the south trail ends at the scenic Pure Waters Pedestrian Bridge, which connects to Maplewood Park via the Genesee Riverway Trail. Several unofficial paths also descend steeply to the river’s edge.

Maplewood Park is a two-mile Olmsted-designed linear park that follows the Genesee River from Middle Falls to King’s Landing, Rochester’s oldest cemetery. At the Maplewood Rose Garden, stairs descend to the Genesee Riverway Trail. Along the trail are the sites of Casconchiagon, a Seneca Nation village known as the River of Many Falls until 1819, and Kelsey’s Landing, which became a station on the Underground Railroad after passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. In 1859, Frederick Douglass fled Rochester by boat from Kelsey’s Landing, crossing Lake Ontario to Canada. Walking upstream leads to Lower and Middle Falls, while heading downstream passes beneath the Veterans Memorial Bridge and continues to the Pure Waters Pedestrian Bridge, which connects to Seneca Park.

High Falls encompasses the 96-foot waterfall, the surrounding historic district, and the future site of Rochester High Falls State Park. View the falls from High Falls Terrace, the Pont de Rennes Bridge, or the rooftop patio at Genesee Brew House. On the west side of the river, stroll along Browns Race to explore Rochester’s early industrial history and catch another view of the falls from the Gorsline Building viewing terrace.

Austin Steward Plaza at Genesee Crossroads Park links Main Street with Andrews Street. Its pathways, including a footbridge over the river, are accessible to wheelchairs, strollers, bicycles, and skateboards. Benches provide a place to sit along the way.

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

Aqueduct Park, near Graves and E. Main Streets, is a pocket park on the Genesee River adjacent to the historic Lawyers Cooperative Publishing/Aqueduct Building, now home to Constellation Brands. Although privately owned, the park is open to the public and offers a place to sit along the river.

Blue Cross Arena Memorial Park links Court Street and Broad Street. Its overlook lets visitors peer into the abandoned Erie Canal aqueduct and Rochester Subway beneath Broad Street, one of the city’s most unusual historic sites.

The Promenade at Erie Harbor is a public walkway and seating area along the Genesee River behind Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. It provides views of the Court Street Dam, which is particularly impressive during periods of high water.

Corn Hill is Rochester’s oldest residential neighborhood, with homes representing many of the architectural styles popular during the early and mid-19th century. Along the river, Rochester By Water offers sightseeing cruises aboard the Riverie, and a nearby car-top boat launch provides access to the Genesee River. Several restaurants along Exchange Boulevard offer waterfront dining.

Genesee Gateway Park offers one of Rochester’s best skyline views from the east side of the Genesee River between Ford Street and the Frederick Douglass-Susan B. Anthony Memorial Bridge. The park provides access to the Genesee Riverway Trail (GRT), a car-top boat launch, and picnic areas. Head north on the GRT to visit Roc City Skatepark.

Bausch + Lomb Riverside Park follows the Genesee River through the University of Rochester River Campus between Wilson Boulevard and the Ford Street Bridge. Several pedestrian bridges, including one converted from a former Erie Lackawanna Railroad crossing, connect the riverbanks and create a variety of walking loops.

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.

Genesee Valley Park sits where the Genesee River and the Erie Canal meet. The park connects the Genesee Riverway Trail, Genesee Valley Greenway Trail, and Erie Canalway Trail, making it a hub for walking and cycling. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in 1888, the park features four historic arched pedestrian bridges that frame views of the river, canal, and Red Creek. Visitors can rent kayaks and canoes from the Genesee Waterways Center to explore.

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 in Chili provides a concrete motorboat ramp and an accessible kayak launch at the junction of Black Creek and the Genesee River. From here, paddlers can explore either waterway, while motorboats can travel south toward Rush or north to the Erie Canal and downtown Rochester before reaching the Court Street Dam.

Breese Park in West Henrietta features an accessible stone-dust trail through the woodlands along the Genesee River, with a nature-inspired play space and fitness trail. Visit between late April and early May to see native bluebells and trillium in bloom.

Greater Rochester

Indian Fort Nature Preserve is a 60-acre preserve in Geneseo, managed by Genesee Valley Conservancy, that offers hiking and birding through forests, past a pond, along creek gullies, and over small waterfalls. The waterfalls are best seen in spring or after heavy rainfall, and trails can be muddy. Paddlers can continue less than a mile upstream to the mouth of Canaseraga Creek.

Mount Morris Dam is the largest concrete gravity dam east of the Mississippi River. Completed in 1952, it protects communities downstream, including Rochester, by controlling flooding on the Genesee River. Scenic overlooks at the Mount Morris Dam Recreation Area provide views of the dam and gorge, while seasonal ranger-led walking tours explore the dam and its role in flood control.

Letchworth State Park follows the Genesee River for 17 miles through a deep gorge, where the river descends over Upper, Middle, and Lower Falls before continuing north toward the Mount Morris Dam. Scenic overlooks and trails provide access to many of the park’s most memorable views, including the Mount Morris Dam Overlook near the park’s north entrance.

Genesee Valley Wildlife Management Area in Livingston County, near Hunt, is a 717-acre property managed by the Department of Environmental Conservation, featuring mature forest, open fields, wetlands, and Genesee River frontage. The property spans Livingston and Allegany Counties. Roadside parking is available at the end of Otis Smith Road. Be aware of hunting seasons before visiting.

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.

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

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Where are your favorite spots along the Genesee River?

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