A focus on Medina’s hidden treasure

ORG making video to highlight Medina Waterfalls

Photos by Tom Rivers

This photo was taken on Sunday evening. I was standing in the water at the Oak Orchard Creek, not too far from shore. I was determined to get an unobstructed view of the falls. There are a lot of trees and branches that get in the way on land.

MEDINA – I was back at the Medina Waterfalls on Sunday evening, this time with Michael Gaughn and Kelsie Withey, who are making a video of the site. They are working for the Orleans Renaissance Group to highlight some of the unknown treasures in Medina.

Gaughn knows I like the waterfalls and think it’s an outrage that such a glorious asset is largely underutilized. The falls are right off the canal near the Horan Road bridge.

Mike Gaughn and Kelsie Withey ventured to the Medina Waterfalls on Sunday, making a video about the hidden treasures in the community.

The waterfalls are very difficult to get to by foot. It’s a treacherous journey, meandering past fallen trees, walking through thick brush and sinking in mud. The embankment can be steep at times and you could easily slide down and end up in the Oak Orchard Creek.

The Oak Orchard Creek runs along the canal towpath leading to the Medina Waterfalls.

I’d like to see a ladder off the towpath so people could get down to the falls without it being so difficult and risky. There should also be some hand railings to grab onto by the embankments.

I’d like the officials from the village of Medina, town of Ridgeway and Orleans County to work with the State Canal Corp. to make this site much more accessible to the public.

There could be a pedestrian bridge across the creek, a walking trail, and maybe an elevated platform by the towpath so people could view the falls without descending into the brush.

Here is the view of the top of the waterfalls after the Oak Orchard Creek passes under the Erie Canal.

I walked near the crest of the waterfalls for the first time on Sunday. These waterfalls are loud and fill the air with mist. They could be a big draw if they are more accessible.

I was only a few feet away from the top of the falls.

Gaughn and Withey are working on videos for the Bent’s Opera House and other hidden treasures in the community. Gaughn thinks the Oak Orchard River in this spot resembled many of the streams that are attractions in the Adirondack Mountains.

Withey captures footago of the Oak Orchard Creek and the Medina Waterfalls.

The Waterfalls turned the Oak Orchard Creek into a bubbling, suddsy stream. You can see the spire from St. Mary’s Catholic Church when you’re down in the gorge.