We’d done our homework and read up on Watkins Glen State Park, but we were still stunned by what an exceptionally beautiful place it is. I’d say it’s probably the top highlight of the whole tour so far. It is such an inspirational place - you can’t really believe that these beautiful falls and rapids keep coming one after another as you climb through this narrow canyon - 19 falls in roughly a mile, with a cumulative drop of about 400 feet. Everything about it - the falls, the walls, the stairs, the bridges, the tunnels - blend together to make for an exceptional experience.
We visited the park first thing in the morning, hitting the trail by perhaps eight or eight thirty. It’s the perfect time to be there because there are still so few people about. It’s quieter, folks aren’t jostling past you on the trail, and you can fully appreciate the splendor of this place. The park gets over a million visitors a year, and by midday the trails are normally crowded during the summer months and on the weekends.
Looking back from the entrance to the park at the dome of the Schuyler County Courthouse.
Scott AndersonTo Bill ShaneyfeltNearly got the whole animal, but he slithered off the path too quickly. Still, if I only got a piece of him this was pretty good. Reply to this comment 3 years ago
Looking back from within the gorge, we can se how near the town the park is. The first cross street is the Main Street through town, and the courthouse is just around the corner behind the trees.
There is A LOT of stair work hiking the gorge. The Gorge Trail is only a mile and a half long but climbs 832 stairs. More, if like here you’re going down and then climbing back up for some reason.
I lost track of how many of these stone bridges cross the gorge. Five, maybe. Each one seems spectacular, seen from above or below or looking down into the gorge from them.
The phenomenal scenery is enhanced by the stonework of the stairs and arched bridges, built in a CCC project begun in 1935 after the previous infrastructure was washed away in a massive flood.
In Watkins Glen. I always feel humbled and somewhat saddened by these CCC projects that have left such a wonderful legacy. Why can’t we do something like this again?
Returning back to town along the north rim trail. Compared to the gorge trail it’s a relaxed walk in the woods, with an occasional view down into the canyon below.