Cohoes Falls

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

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Matt
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hmmm... maybe I should get out there this year.
L_G_D
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If you're planning a trip to see these, I would say try sooner rather than later, because as soon as the power plant refit is done, I'm sure the water volume will be reduced greatly.

You can get an idea of the layout from the views on Bing maps, these are old enough that the new park isn't built yet, and see that the water level is much lower. In some pictures I've seen it almost dry. In the Bing shots, you can see there is a triangle-shaped piece of land at the bottom of the falls that is under water right now. Once that clears off, I imagine you can get quite close to the bottom of the falls for nearly unobstructed views. It's just a matter of hitting it at the right time.
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George
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I visited the Overlook Park today at sunset, on what is supposedly the last open day of the season. There was plenty of water from yesterday's rain, and it was hard to tell whether the power plant was diverting enough to dry them significantly in lower water.

If you plan to photograph here with an SLR, bring a beanbag or similar support. The wall is too high to shoot over with a tripod, but it's wide enough to set a camera on.
Evening Falls 1.jpg
In this shot you can see a log approaching the brink. I didn't see it when I took the shot, and I wish I'd waited a second or two longer.
Detail 2.jpg
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Detail 1.jpg
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L_G_D
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Cool shots.

Was the lower area along the river open yet? It doesn't look flooded like it was when I was there.
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George
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No it wasn't open. There was a lot of water down there, but it was hard to tell if that's why it was closed, or because it was getting dark. Supposedly the park closed for the season on November 1.

There is another viewpoint from the Waterford (north) side that I hope to check out. With the sun pretty far south these days, the setting sun would have been directly in the view yesterday. If we get an evening with layering clouds and the possibility of crepuscular rays, I may head over.
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I've seen pictures from the other side, I think there's one in Dunn's book. When I was there, I could see someone walking around over there. No fences to get in the way there, but I don't know if you can get a good head-on view. I think you have to walk in along the power lines.
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Cohoes Falls in January 2007
Image

More photos for your enjoyment: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jorowi/set ... 794969076/
Videos: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p ... DA0DC68C1F

More to come this Summer when the flood plain is expected to open.
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Went over there Saturday under the bright sun, so the contrast was high, but I got lucky when I was getting ready to leave, the park steward arrived and opened the access to the lower viewing area. I talked to him a bit and he said there can't be any type of schedule when they allow access, it all depends on how the water levels are that particular day, and if they've been low enough for the rocks to dry off. Otherwise, they are too slippery for people to be walking around down there. So, if you arrive and want to know if the lower area is open, look for this sign at the top of the stairs:

Image

There is also a small glass booth near the canal to the right of the bridge once you cross where the steward may be stationed, if he is, you can ask when the river bed might be opened.

Once out on the rocks, I walked around looking at the power plant, and got a close up shot of the overflow

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Then one of the whole plant. The water you see here is just the excess, the water being used to generate power is released under the building after flowing down four huge pipes that are behind the building and can't be seen in this shot.

Image

You can see in this shot that the rocks are tilted layers of shale that can be tricky to walk on, and hold numerous small pools of water.

Image

And finally, here's a panorama of the falls from close up, this is reduced greatly from the original size, click to enlarge.

[img2]http://a.imageshack.us/img819/4522/dsc6 ... sfalls.jpg[/img2]

I'd like to get back some day when the light is a little more forgiving.
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