wheelchair access to vew falls

A place to discuss waterfalls. Including the parks that house them and the hikes to get to them.

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mrsdge
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Hi everyone, I'm new here and I think your site is really amazing . I was wondering if anyone could help me find or suggest falls that are accessible to view by wheelchairs. My husband and I are both disabled and would like to plan a trip in the spring or summer . We would like to be in the finger lakes region or east of that. we both have power wheelchairs and would like to find the most remote yet accessible falls. I know that's a tall order but i thought the best people to ask are the ones who have been there. I have visited so many websites my head is spinning. Some of them say they are accessible but don't really describe the access. I worry that we will drive a few hundred miles from south Jersey and then not be able to see anything when we get there. I really appreciate any suggestions anyone could make. it's something we have been wanting to do for awhile and you could help us make our dream reality
Thanks so much
Jeduthan
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It's a fair trip from southern NJ, but Cohoes Falls has a viewing platform fully accessible to people using wheelchairs. I'd suggest visiting in the spring during high water flows, as a hydro plant siphons off much of the water during the summer.

I'd suggest contacting John Boyd Thacher Park at 518 872 1237. The park contains a number of falls, and the park staff could tell you to what extent trails to any of them are wheelchair accessible.

I'd also suggest contacting the Hyuck Preserve at 518 797 3440. The preserve also contains several falls and trails which may be wheelchair accessible.

If you were to come to see the Cohoes Falls, as you'd be in the area I'd recommend stopping at the New York State Museum. It's fully accessible and would compliment your visit to the falls nicely. I'd also recommend the Saratoga National Historic Park. It has a small museum, and a driving tour of the grounds. Each stop on the driving tour features areas that are wheelchair accessible.

Another option to consider is looking for falls that may not be accessible, but are viewable from the roadside. Examples would be Stockport Falls, Rossman Falls, and Upper Stuyvesant Falls in Columbia County. Roadside views for Rossman and Upper Stuyvesant are at a distance, so for a closer view you might want to consider binoculars depending on your eyesight.
mrsdge
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Thank you so very much for the your help. We are so grateful that you took the time to give us so much information. We will definitely check out your recommendations. It sounds like a wonderful adventure for us.
Thank You Again
L_G_D
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Thacher Park does have some wheelchair accessible areas, but viewing the falls themselves might be tricky. Both of the larger falls are viewable from the lookout near the Lagrange Bush parking lot, which is closest. There is a grassy area that needs to be crossed, it is fairly level, but slightly uphill. There are some paved pathways from that parking lot as well, but they don't really lead anywhere exciting, plus they were in need of some maintenance last time I was there. For just a good view, but of no falls, the Cliffside Overlook should be fully accessible. Viewing the falls in late spring is probably the best time, during the summer they tend to dry up. There is a map here showing these parking lots. The Hailes Cave parking lot is also nice and shouldn't give too much trouble, again, a mostly flat grassy area with a slight hill to the fence, but getting past the curbs at the edge of the parking lot may be troublesome, but there may be a way around them.

Cohoes falls should be easy to get to, as mentioned, it's just a matter of hitting it when the water is flowing good.

As far as the Finger Lakes goes, I'm only familiar with Taughannock and I do recall the one viewing platform might be wheelchair accessible, but I'm not sure. Someone who has more knowledge of that area could probably answer that.
LGD
mrsdge
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Thank You so much for taking the time to help us.
It IS always best to ask someone who has been there. We are looking at J B Thacher Park and Taughannock as possibilities and the link to the map of the lots is very helpful. between the suggestions I have gotten from all of you nice people on this site and Google Earth I think we can make real progress ; ) It just would never work without your input because the websites are pretty but not very informative for special needs.
Thank You Again for being so thoughtful and giving of your time . We are so very grateful
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Matt
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I totally recognize the lack of information about accessibility on the web, and I I try to make notes about it when i travel to these places. So any profile page I write about a park will have at least my impressions. You can find it under the "Information / Accessibility / Accommodations" sections of the pages on the main site. I will try harder to understand the needs of disabled persons more when it comes to parks and getting to the attractions within (I'm pretty sure not being disabled makes me ignorant to some details) and be more thorough in my notes.
I haven't been to Thacher yet, but when I do, I'll make notes.

Thanks for signing up and being a part of the community. Looking forward to hearing your impressions of the finger lakes. Do you photograph at all?
mrsdge
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Matt, I can't thank you enough for your thoughtfulness. Very few people give much thought to what it is like to have a disability and to be honest I don't blame them. Disability is something you deal with when you have to. My husband and I have both been disabled since we were children so we have just learned to do what we have to do. Crawling down the beach to get to the ocean brings a few odd looks but we get there and that's what matters. I like to hope that seeing us doing that makes people appreciate what they have and stop taking things for granted, (my pet peeve ; ).
Speaking of pet peeves, i know that alot of people think going into a pristine area and bulldozing for a paved path is very very wrong and, again, to be honest i tend to feel the same. On the other hand, i think in the grand scheme of things it's basically not going to make a difference or hurt anybody to have a few accessible places in the world. Believe me there aren't many : )
that's enough "philosphising" (?)
Yes we do like taking pictures and hope to post some here when we get back, I think we'll have some great ones. With the help we have been getting from all the nice people on this site i really think this trip is going to be a wonderful time for us.
Again i want to thank You so much for being such an understanding and kind person.
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