Manificient Falls in Watkins Glen State Park, NY, USA

Watkins Glen State Park -  New York State

For the second day of our Finger Lakes Tour, we visited the Watkins Glen State Park.

Park visitors could park their cars at either the  south parking lot (at the bottom of the park) or at the north entrance ( the park’s upper entrance) and  start walking the trails from either direction depending on where they have parked their vehicles.  

 We parked our cars at the south entrance.

Tunnel entry leading to the Gorge Trail at Watkins Glen, NY, USA

We climbed 800 stone steps to the top of the canyon

 There are a number of trails at Watkins Glen. 

Starting at the main entrance, we took the Gorge Trail and climbed up the 800  stone steps leading to the park’s upper entrance. 

This trail led us past, and at times  behind some waterfalls, cliffs, pools and some special rock formations.

Going behind the staircase waterfalls and water curtains at the park

The scenery  walking up was breathtaking!

 There were bridges, stone walls and pathways,  numerous waterfalls, abundant green native plants cascading over pools and cliffs.

Rainbow Falls at Watkins Glen State Park

Special rock formation

We observed the layers of rock formations and marveled at the force of nature which created this unique and awesome scenery.

Staircase falls - Breathtaking scenery at Watkins Glen State Park

Watkins Glen State Park provided us with many opportunities to hone our photography skills. 

   

With frequent stops for picture taking to capture the magnificent  views of the waterfalls and canyons, it took us about an hour and half before getting to the top. 

Abundant opportunities for picture taking

 The neatest thing about this visit was going behind some of the waterfalls and seeing the water from another angle.

We reached the upper entrance and saw a couple of dog owners hanging on to their pets wondering what they should do as they were greeted by a sign stating clearly that no dogs were allowed on the trail. (  it probably meant  no dogs allowed on the Gorge Trail - the main trail.)

 We were pretty sweaty, thirsty and tired by the time we reached the top of the canyon. 

Watkins Glen - A great place to observe interesting rock formations occurred over the years

Notice the differences in the plants between the north and south side of the cliffs

At the park’s upper entrance, there were  parking and washroom facilities, a restaurant and a playing ground for kids. Taking a rest from our trail hike, we replenished ourselves with some ice cream from the restaurant. I never had ice cream that tasted so delicious!

Time to rest and pause for a group picture!

For tired hikers, there was a shuttle bus available to take them back to their cars in either parking lots.

The shuttle bus charge was very reasonable: $3.00 per person. ( I wished there was shuttle bus service like that when we climbed Mount Fuji in Japan last year.)

Lots of fun with our group!

We did not take the bus but opted for hiking back down to the south parking lot instead. It only took us less than forty minutes getting to our vehicle. Not bad at all.

We had lunch at one of the fast food place outside the park and took a walking tour of the Watkins Glen Village and its waterfront.

The Watkins Glen State Park is a magnificent park and a great place to hike and enjoy nature’s spectacular scenery! It was the highlight of our Finger Lakes tour and we absolutely enjoyed every minute of it!

R.T.

Watkins Glen State Park

Watkins Glen

 NY, USA