Canaseraga Creek
Canaseraga to Dansville
| Difficulty | IV-V |
| Length | 10.1 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 52 fpm |
| Gauge | Canaseraga Creek Above Dansville Ny |
| Flow Rate as of 59 minutes | 37 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | June 8, 2016 |
Canaseraga Creek is known by few, but it is one of the finest whitewater creeks in Western New York. It is a seasonal class IV-V creek south of Rochester that drops a whopping 230 feet over 1.5 miles. Most of this altitude loss occurs over a series of nine stair-step waterfalls that range in total height from 10 feet to 40 feet.
The 'meat' of Canaseraga Creek occurs in the first 1.5 miles, deep in the Poags Hole canyon. The creek drops 230 feet over a series of nine stair-step waterfall drops.
The creek has a relatively small watershed, meaning that the window of paddling opportunity is also relatively narrow. It floods periodically during the spring, and the highest recorded flood peak was 11,000 cfs on June 22, 1972. Two inexperienced paddlers lost their lives on Canaseraga Creek in separate incidents in 1999 when they washed into strainers.
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The putin is located on river left upstream from the Perry Road bridge, approximately 1-1/2 miles northeast of the town of Canaseraga.
4 feet high
The key to running the first drop is 'stay far left.'
You may scout this falls from the road above the river right bank.
The first waterfall drop is a river-wide ledge drop with a powerful recirculation.
Boof on far river left into the eddy.
This eddy is a good place to collect the group for the next drop, a powerful class IV/V.
24 feet high
The second fall is actually a series of three 4-foot drops leading into a 13-foot high river-wide vertical drop onto a solid, flat rock slab in very shallow water.
Run these drops on far river left, and take the final jarring drop close to the river left bank.
Scout from the river right bank.
6 feet high
The third waterfall drop is located approximately 200 yards beyond the second drop.
It is a steep slide into a deep pool.
Avoid the recirculation on far river left.
You may scout this drop from the river right bank.
35 feet high
This waterfall, also known as the Mill Falls, is a series of stair-step ledge drops and waterfalls adjacent to an old, three story mill that is located about one-half mile downstream from Third Falls.
Scout and/or portage around the Mill Falls on river right.
At low water (below stage 1.6 feet) you can portage across easy ledges below the mill.
At high water (above stage 1.6 feet), you may need to portage around the top of the mill and then across steep tree-covered ledges just downstream from the mill.
Ropes may be required, depending upon your comfort level with hauling a boat across steep terrain.
This stair-step cascade is the most difficult drop on Canaseraga Creek.
Run far left all the way down. Alternately, portage on river right immediately in front of the mill.
10 feet high
The fifth waterfall drop begins 100 feet downstream from the fourth drop.
It is a diagonal, 10-foot high ledge that slopes steeply into a deep pool.
Beware of the severe danger of running this waterfall on far river right.
Two boulders form a hideous sieve at the bottom of the drop on far river right, a trap nicknamed The Room of Doom.
10 feet high
The sixth drop begins about a half-mile downstream from Mill Falls.
It is a double drop consisting of 2 ledges.
The second drop forms a river-wide recirculation.
Run far right over a slide.
10 feet high
The seventh drop is a vertical waterfall drop onto a solid, flat rock slab in very shallow water.
Boof on far river left with some speed.
11 feet high
The eighth drop is an 10-foot high vertical waterfall with a drop onto solid, flat rock slabs in very shallow water.
Boof far left.
8 feet high
The ninth drop is an 8-foot high slide over broken ledges into a pool.
After the nine waterfalls, the creek drops another 220 feet over the remaining 4.2 miles to the first Poags Hole bridge.
After the nine waterfalls, be watchful for the dozens of strainers in this remote canyon.
Two paddlers drowned in strainers on Canaseraga Creek in 1999.
There are several takeout options in, and south of, Dansville.
When traveling south on Poags Hole Road from Dansville, you'll cross Canaseraga Creek 3 times.
Set up a shuttle at the bridge of your choice.
First Poags Hole Bridge, at 5.7 miles.
Second Poags Hole Bridge, at 6.7 miles.
Third Poags Hole Bridge, at 7.2 miles.
Dansville, at 7.5 miles.
Jan 1, 1900
Marty Murphy powers down the 30-foot high 'Mill Falls' on Canaseraga Creek. (January 2000, 1.8 feet on the Canaseraga gauge.)
The Perry Road Bridge, putin for Canaseraga Creek, at very low water.
Jim Albano is dwarfed by Second Falls. Think it looks intimidating? You should see it with a couple of feet of water pouring over it! Run far right left (black arrow).
Third Falls at very low water. Boof the ledge in the middle, where Jim Albano is standing.
Sixth Falls at very low water. It is actually a double drop. Run far river right. The ledge below Jim Albano forms a strong recirculation.
Fifth Falls, showing the Room of Doom rock sieve on far river right (immediately below Jim Albano). Fourth Falls is visible in the background.
Typical stream passage on Canaseraga Creek below the nine waterfalls in Poags Hole (1.8 feet on the Canaseraga Creek gauge).
An impressive view of the cascades of the Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Falls at low water (less than 1.0 foot).