Overlook Park & Falls View Park

Cohoes Falls View Park

The four-acre Falls View Park is located adjacent to Brookfield’s School Street Hydroelectric Plant on North Mohawk Street in Cohoes, New York. The park offers a view of the scenic Cohoes Falls that spans the Mohawk River between Cohoes and Waterford, New York. Visitors to Falls View Park can now enjoy a wide range of recreational and historical features from areas never before open to the public.

Whether you enjoy fishing, hiking or taking photographs of the Falls, each visit will define a new experience. Falls View Park is a carry in/carry out park, open to the public from May 1 through November 1, from 7:00am-7:30pm. The park is staffed by a full-time park steward. Dogs are not allowed. Off street parking is available to visitors.

Background

Since its unveiling on August 21, 2008, Falls View Park has become a point of pride for the City of Cohoes and Brookfield. It also marks a unique public/private collaboration between Brookfield, the City of Cohoes and the National Park Service’s Erie Canalway Heritage Corridor.

Thousands of visitors gather annually at the park’s upper and lower levels to enjoy spectacular views of the Cohoes Falls.

Upper Level

Visitors to Falls View Park can enjoy easy access to a variety of amenities contained in the park’s upper level:

• A two-bus drop-off area on North Mohawk Street;

• Park entrance, off street parking and informational kiosk, also located along North Mohawk Street;

• A 192-foot pedestrian bridge that brings visitors into the heart of the park is topped with IPÊ wood, a strong, dense wood, harvested only from naturally sustainable forests;

• Interpretive panels and signage highlight the historical, educational and geological significance of the Cohoes Falls, Mohawk River and other nearby points of interest; and

• An 80-person amphitheater, picnic area and fishing platforms – all Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant.

Lower Level

Additions to the park’s lower level were revealed at a public celebration hosted by Brookfield in May 2010. The Lower Level of the Park is open during regular Falls View Park hours, 7 AM to Dusk. Visitors to the lower level, accessed via a steep stairway, will find:

• Fishing platform and viewing deck at the back of the hydropower plant’s powerhouse.

Please also note that the descent and ascent to the lower level by the stairway can be physically strenuous for some individuals.

Riverbed Access

For your safety, access to the riverbed is closed to visitors. Please remember to observe any alarms or warnings from the park personnel.

Fast Rising Waters: The Mohawk River drains an area of more than 3,450 miles above Cohoes Falls. Distant storms and snowmelt send torrents down the river even when conditions are bright and sunny here. Upstream canal and powerplant operations can raise water levels rapidly, and unpredictably.

Deep Channels: There are sudden deep drop-offs and fast moving water across the base of the falls and in the center channel.

Rough and Slippery Footing: Floods and debris that course down the Mohawk several times every year scour holes in bedrock, rearrange gravel, uproot trees, and coat rocks with slippery silt.

Falling Rock: The Greywacke shale of the lower Mohawk gorge is soft and somewhat unstable.

Brookfield Renewable maintains Falls View Park; for additional information or questions, please contact Mark Luciano at (518) 636-1455 or by email  

Don't Forget...

Cohoes Overlook Park

For those wishing to find a year-round view of the Falls, visit Brookfield’s Overlook Park adjacent to the hydroelectric facility on School Street.  Visitors can enjoy an overlook view of the Cohoes Falls or have an afternoon picnic at this spectacular attraction. No visit to Cohoes is complete without taking in a view of the Cohoes Falls.