The 10 Best Waterfalls in New York
Niagara needs no introduction and no directions — so it isn't on this list. These are the ten New York waterfalls you might not know stand taller, burn stranger, or hide better: a free-fall higher than Niagara, a falls with a gas flame in its grotto, and the tallest cascade in the state, painted by the Hudson River School and still worth the climb.
Every entry reflects current, verified access — including one gorge the 2026 spring floods rearranged.
Kaaterskill: 260 feet in two tiers, the state's tallest and its most-painted — respect the platform boundary that nine people didn't.
Directions, season & rules for Kaaterskill Falls →
Taughannock: 215 feet of free-fall — taller than Niagara — at the end of the East's easiest world-class waterfall walk.
Directions, season & rules for Taughannock Falls →
Lucifer: 115 feet threading Treman's hand-cut stone stairways — the CCC's finest gorge architecture.
Directions, season & rules for Lucifer Falls →
Ithaca Falls: a 150-foot curtain crashing through downtown, free, five minutes from parking.
Directions, season & rules for Ithaca Falls →
Chittenango Falls
A tiered plunge on Chittenango Creek.
Chittenango: 167 limestone feet guarding a snail that lives here and nowhere else on Earth.
Directions, season & rules for Chittenango Falls →
Salmon River: the 110-foot curtain that built Oswego's ice-climbing scene — ADA overlook on top, steep gorge below.
Directions, season & rules for Salmon River Falls →
Eternal Flame: a 30-footer hiding a natural-gas flame behind the water. Bring a lighter.
Directions, season & rules for Eternal Flame Falls →Carpenter: Skaneateles Lake's 90-foot secret, now with a free accessible boardwalk to the view.
Directions, season & rules for Carpenter Falls →
Shequaga: 156 feet at the end of Main Street, floodlit nightly — the state's easiest waterfall date.
Directions, season & rules for Shequaga Falls →
Stony Brook: three WPA-framed falls — flood-limited this season to the lower gorge, and still charming from the open half.
Directions, season & rules for Stony Brook Falls →Rankings reflect our research, not a verdict on your trip — every spot page takes community ratings and conditions reports, and that's where the real answer to "is it worth it?" lives.