Upper Stony Brook Falls

Take Interstate 390 to the town of Dansville and exit onto southbound Route 36 at the southern end of town. Continue 1.5 miles south on Route 36 from the I-390 underpass to the entrance to Stony Brook State Park on the left. Follow the park road all the way to the large parking area at its end in another half mile. The Gorge Trail begins at the far end of the parking area, and meanders at a leisurely pace up the glen adjacent to Stony Brook. Proceed for approximately three-quarters of a mile to where the trail passes adjacent to the creek, but before reaching the old Trestle piers (if you reach a staircase you've gone too far). Drop into the creek and walk upstream in the creek or along the gravel bars or bedrock shelves for another 400 feet to reach the base of the falls. Try not to contribute to further slope erosion by staying in the creek or on solid bedrock as much as possible.Stony Brook State Park located just outside of Dansville, New York is home to four significant waterfalls, several minor cascades, and one of the nicest glen trails in the Finger Lakes area. None of the waterfalls seem to have ever been formally named, and colloquial names seem to have never stuck for the largest of the falls, for whatever reason (they certainly aren’t lacking for stature). The uppermost fall on Stony Brook is a scenic veiling fall dropping 38 feet in a narrower part of the glen, with cliffs flanking one side of the falls, and broad bedrock ledges running downstream on the other. The falls face away from the trail, and the trail climbs above the falls via a staircase set back in the forest from the falls, so no clear views are available from the trail – instead one must detour into the creek several hundred feet downstream from the falls, and walk upstream to achieve a clear view of the falls. Note that adjacent to where the stairs begin to climb above Upper Stony Brook Falls there is a well-trodden path that leads down to the creek next to the remaining piers of a long-demolished Railroad trestle. Signs indicate that these paths are closed to use to help prevent erosion. If you wish to visit the upper falls, descend to the creek further downstream from the bridge piers where easy access directly from the trail is possible without contributing to erosion of the adjacent slopes. Stony Brook drains from an area covering approximately 21 square miles, and seems to retain at least a modest flow of water all year long. During the winter and spring months, the volume of the creek will swell to such levels that walking in the creek would be foolishly dangerous, but during the summer months the flow is low enough that pleasant creek walking up the glen is a safe undertaking. The glen trail appears to be open seasonally, so accessing the falls in exceptionally high water may not be feasible in the first place.