High Falls State Park represents a transformative vision for Downtown Rochester’s historic High Falls and the long-hidden gorge below. Building on years of grassroots advocacy and public planning through the City’s ROC the Riverway initiative, High Falls State Park will provide inclusive access to a historic and wild landscape in the heart of Rochester.

The Genesee River and its valley were central to the Seneca people and earlier indigenous inhabitants, with High Falls an important site of fishing and gathering. Later, High Falls powered the mills that drove Rochester’s earlier growth. As industrialization moved to fossil fuels and greater technological complexity, the gorge hosted a manufactured gas plant and Bausch + Lomb’s main manufacturing facility. Yet even in this era of heavy industry, Frederick Law Olmsted recognized the potential of High Falls as a park site and the connective importance of the Genesee River corridor. As industry receded, regional non-profits and the City of Rochester picked up on this idea, leading to an announcement of High Falls State Park by Governor Hochul in 2022.

A year-long Framework Planning effort began with a process of deep research, engagement, and discovery. Through a multi-faceted engagement strategy, the design team worked with longtime park advocates while reaching new audiences through pop-ups at local events, an online survey, and direct mailers. Working with community members, the team developed a vision statement and five goals based on the key themes identified by participants: ecology, heritage, equity, connectivity, and programming.

The Framework Plan embodies this collective vision: that High Falls State Park is an oasis of natural beauty in the heart of Rochester that connects communities and visitors with the awe-inspiring Genesee River gorge and waterfall, as well as the city’s rich ecological, cultural, and industrial history. The design begins with the site’s dramatic topography, using it to shape access, ecology, and experience. Beginning at one of nine gateways leading from street level, visitors descend through steep cliffs and forested slopes to the bottom of the gorge, where the landscape opens into formerly industrial terraces with open lawns, enclosed plazas, playgrounds, and overlooks framed by restored meadows, woodlands, and specialist plant communities adapted to the gorge’s microclimates.

Completed in Fall 2025, the Framework Plan offers a pragmatic, phased strategy for site control and environmental remediation. It serves as a vital coordination tool between the State of New York, the City of Rochester, and private landowners. The first phase, revitalization of a street-level city-owned park, will serve as one of the key gateways to the new State Park, offering immediate public benefit while the complex remediation of the lower gorge progresses.