Canaseraga Creek, New York, US

Canaseraga to Dansville

Mill Falls (Class 5)

Mill Falls (Class 5)
Photo by Harry A. Marinakis, M.D.

Gauge Information

River Description

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.

Finger Lakes Area Runs

Bowman Creek                        Cascadilla Creek                  Canandaigua Outlet 

Canaseraga Creek                  Canisteo                               Cayuga Lake Hole 

Cayuta Creek                          Conesus Creek                     Fall Creek (1.) 

Fall Creek (2.)                         Fall Creek (3.)                       Great Gully Creek 

Honeoye Creek                       Irondequoit Creek                 Keshequa Creek 

Keuka Outlet                         Lock 32 Whitewater Course    Owasco River (Outlet) 

Salmon Creek                         Sixmile Creek                         Sugar Creek 

Taughannock Creek (1.)         Taughannock Creek (2.)         Trumansburg Creek 

Vanbuskirk Gulf

Western New York Area Reaches

Beaver Meadow Creek                     Canadaway Creek (1.)                                      Canadaway Creek (2.) 

Canaseraga Creek                           Cattaraugus Creek                                           Cattaraugus Creek, S. Branch 

Cazenovia Creek, W. Branch (1.)    Cazenovia Creek, W. Branch (2.)                     Chautauqua Creek 

Clear Creek, N. Br.                           Conesus Creek                                              Eighteenmile Creek 

Eighteenmile Creek, S. Br.                Ellicott Creek                                                    Genesee (Letchworth) 

Honeoye Creek                               Keshequa Creek                                            Little Chautauqua Creek 

Murder Creek                                  Niagara                                                             Oak Orchard Creek 

Oatka Creek                                    Rushford Lake Outlet                                       Sugar Creek 

Twentymile Creek

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