I really don’t like shopping. I generally try to avoid it. But on a recent vacation I did buy some clothes. Turns out it did not all fit me. The closest location to return the clothes is 2 hours away from me in Rochester, New York.

So, how to justify a 2 hour drive to return clothes that don’t fit? Photography for the win.

I have a guide book for waterfalls in New York and I have been slowly trying to check off as many as I can to see and photograph. And I know there are several in the Rochester area.

So off I went to Rochester to photograph waterfalls and return clothes I guess.

I am not sure exactly what I expected but wandering around a suburban/urban area to find waterfalls is not exactly the same as driving around the countryside and hiking through state parks. It was not quite the vibe I usually like on my nature experiences. But I could definitely see how if you lived in this area these little natural oasis must feel vibrant. I guess I am just spoiled for nature.

There were actually quite a few waterfalls noted to be in the Rochester area. Two of them however, were pretty much in the main urban areas of the city and I am not much of a city person. Driving around an unfamiliar city just looking for random parking spaces based on wha t a book says is not for me. And when the guide book notes that there is a parking garage nearby to park in that is a red flag that the scenery is not the vibe I am looking for. Although I am sure the waterfall is beautiful and has been captured by other photographers more comfortable with cities than I.

It is also hard when you are using a 20 year old guidebook. It is disappointing when waterfalls in the book are no longer accessible for one reason or another. Sometimes the waterfall is now on private property or the trials that lead to the waterfall have been destroyed. Or some combination of the two. It just feels like waste of time. I seemed to run into both combinations for a few waterfalls I tried to visit.

I started with Corbett’s Glen / Postcard Falls which was a nice spot. Really just one little falls. But nothing else to really explore or look at as it was in a suburban setting and nestled up against private property and a bridge.

Linear Park Cascades was contained in a nice little nature area. There were some hiking trails and a little bit of seclusion from the surrounding suburban landscape. The stream flowing through the woodland landscape was beautiful. There were several spots where the water met some resistance from rocks and created some nice little rapids. This was probably my favorite spot on this trip

Next up was Norton’s Falls. The guide book noted there was an upper and lower falls to see. I wasn’t sure exactly how to get to the upper falls, but the lower falls seemed pretty self explanatory. It is a very large waterfall near a power station. I photographed it so as to exclude the man made structures that to my eye ruin the view. Then I attempted to hike along the river to find the trials that should lead to the upper falls. However, these trails seemed pretty self to have fallen into complete disrepair and vanished from the landscape through lack of upkeep. I ended up scrambling up the steep embankment of a river valley, camera and tripod in hand in order to return to my car. Probably not my smartest decision, especially with one hand holding a tripod.

My last waterfall stop was at Seneca Park. I had been to the Seneca Park Zoo in the past, but I did not realize it was so named because the zoo resided in the larger Seneca Park area.

The guide book noted two separate waterfalls one could hike to. The general hiking trails were nice, but the trail that lead to the first waterfall in the guidebook noted as cascades was pretty much destroyed from weather and disrepair. After my last experience I decided not to try and go down to the falls using the dilapidated trails.

Thankfully the trail that lead down to the Zoo Falls area was still in good enough shape to traverse. There was not much water running in these falls during this time of summer heat, but it had lots of potential for good water flow that would create a nice falls in higher water level times. And the time of day I ended up arriving did not lend itself to the best photography as there was quite a lot of light shining directly on the water creating a bad glare.

Overall it was nice to get outside my normal comfort zone with waterfalls. But it also made me sad to see several potentially beautiful locations for people to enjoy that are simply not maintained and fall into disrepair and can no longer be accessed. I am thankful to live in an area where investment is placed in our natural areas.

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