Upstate NY waterfalls: Watkins Glen, Letchworth, Niagara Falls

8/10/18

I’m in bliss.  We’re currently camping right on Lake Ontario.  There’s a big open view from our campsite to the water.  We got here last night as the sun was setting on the lake and it was gorgeous. We quickly decided we would stay two nights. The lake is massive and looks like the ocean.  I definitely want to come back here, there’s yurts you can stay in too. Also there’s free hot showers and big clean bathrooms. We’re big fans of New York State Parks. We’re about 4 days into the trip and so much has already happened.

Dan came to Nyack late Friday night as I was desperately trying to finish everything.  We didn’t end up leaving until 4 PM Saturday. It was raining and I was already exhausted. Dan said he wanted to go to Binghamton because he had never been and it was a short drive away to Letchworth the next day.  I looked up camping near there and didn’t find much but did read about a place called Watkins Glen that sounded really pretty. Dan found a spot in state forest on the free camping site. It took a while for us to find it in the dark.  When we got there we heard gunshots in the woods which was unsettling and I quickly jumped into bed. We woke up with green all around us. There was a lot of garbage around from past campers and I made the resolution to pick up trash whenever I see it, so we took 10 minutes to clean up the area before leaving.  

We decided we wanted to visit Watkins Glen and started making our way, with lots of pit stops.  First at a Cider Mill for some free samples and baked treats, then at a pumpkin festival where we did a corn maze. Next we stopped in Owego because it had claimed to be the coolest town in America, it was mostly thrift and antique shops that were open.  We continued driving and made it to Seneca Lake and had lunch overlooking the water.

After lunch we drove to the entrance of Watkins Glen State Park.  We started the trail up along the gorge to just check it out for the next day but it was so cool and beautiful that we ended up doing the whole thing right then and there.  It’s this amazing stone trail that’s built into the gorge walls and goes under waterfalls. It’s like a fairy land winding through the woods and water.

Afterwards we found a campsite 10 minutes away that is completely free and has bathrooms!  It’s called Sugarhill Recreation Area. There were stalls there that other campers had their horses in.  We picked a spot secluded from the others, you just drive up to a picnic table and fire ring. I made the bed while Dan tried to make a fire, which was a struggle because it was so wet.  He got it going enough to make our soup and we went to bed right after.

The morning was wet and misty, raining on and off.  We got ourselves ready then climbed up the fire tower on the property and ate pumpkin bread at the top.  

The drive that day was so beautiful with changing trees everywhere and blue skies.  We drove right along Seneca Lake the whole time and stopped in Geneva. It was a really pretty town right on the lake and reminded me of Burlington a little. We stopped in Rochester as well to get a cooler at REI and a Rochester specialty, a garbage plate.

We got to Letchworth, refferred to as the Grand Canyon of the East, right before sunset.  We got a campsite and went to the free showers, woo! The next day we explored Letchworth, driving on the park road and stopping at all the overlooks. The main attraction of the park is 3 big waterfalls all in a row.  We first walked a trail to the lower falls. It was extremely muddy and misty but awesome because you could get so close, standing right at the top of the waterfall. We then drove to the middle and upper falls which are right next to each other and has a path going along the side.  Both are massive and had rainbows coming out of them.

10/11/18

Yesterday we visited Niagara Falls but on our way we saw bright turqouise waters of the Niagara River and a pull off so we stopped and ended up doing the 3 mile Devils Bowl hike that went right along the river.  It was so stunning. The water was insanely bright blue, rushing by so fast and the leaves were so colorful. It was gorgeous. There were tour boats going up the rapids and everyone would get soaked, it was like a natural roller coaster/ water park ride.  We went to the end of the trail where there was a natural whirlpool and headed back. So many of these places have been so stunning, this was one of my favorite trails ever.

We then drove to Niagara Falls, only 15 minutes away, and got on the Maid of the Mist.  Everyone was excited and wearing hot pink ponchos, quite the sight. The falls are so massive they almost seem fake.  We got completely soaked, laughing the whole time. It’s definitely a must to get that up close to them. We drove over to the Canadian side to have dinner and get new views of the Falls.  It was like the Vegas strip, very weird. They light up the water at night to a changing rainbow, and you can get much fuller view from the Canadian side.

Highlights:

• Watkins Glen State Park

  • Sugar Hill Recreation Area for free camping with bathrooms, ten minute drive from the park.  Features horse stalls and fire tower you can climb.

• Letchworth State Park

  • Upper, Middle and Lower falls, be sure to go to all 3!  Lower falls is a short hike to and is muddy at the base.

  • Free showers at the campgrounds!

• Niagara Falls

  • Four Mile Creek State Park, campground right on Lake Ontario with free showers and only 20 minutes away from the Falls.

  • Devils Bowl hike goes along beautiful Niagara River

• Hungrys, Rochester, NY Home of the garbage plate; french fries, macaroni salad, onions, mustard, sausage and chicken fingers all mixed together.