The name "Cohocton" is derived from an Iroquois term, Ga-ha-to, meaning "log floating in the water" or "trees in the water".

The river is a popular destination for fly fishing.

[6] The Cohocton River rises in southeastern Livingston County, approximately 15 miles (24 km) northeast of Dansville in Tabor Corners.

It flows generally southeast through rural Steuben County, in a winding course through a valley of the Allegheny Plateau, past Cohocton, Avoca and Bath.

At Painted Post, just west of Corning, it is joined by the Tioga River from the southwest to form the Chemung, a tributary of the Susquehanna River.