Watkins Glen

Friday, we checked out of the hotel and headed towards Montour Falls.  First, we made a stop at She-Qua-Ga Falls, a waterfall towering over the town.

There were a couple parking spots on the street to pop out and get a couple pictures.  It was a very scenic waterfall.  

Then we drove just up the road to Aunt Sarah's Falls, another roadside waterfall right on the edge of town.

The water level was a little low, but it was an interesting waterfall.  An initial free fall, followed by cascades fanning out to a final free fall.

There might be more waterfall above, but it didn't look like there was any way up.

Next, we headed up the road to Watkins Glen State Park.  Arriving before 9, we had no trouble parking, but it was starting to get crowded.  Unfortunately, dogs are not permitted on the Gorge Trail, so we had to take turns.  I went up through the gorge while Sandy and Alex hiked the North Rim Trail.  Immediately, I came to the first waterfall - Entrance Cascade.

Climbing a staircase, Sentry Bridge led over the waterfall. There was a nice view of the park from up here.

Another unnamed waterfall was just upstream of Entrance Cascade.

Across the bridge, Couch's Staircase led up to South Rim Trail, but I stayed on the Gorge Trail.

Minnehaha Falls and another unnamed waterfall were just a little further.

Minnehaha Falls drops into a heart-shaped pool.

I could see Cavern Cascade from here and the trail led up to the waterfall and behind it.

I could feel the spray of the falls as the trail went right behind and there was a cool view looking down.

Another staircase led to up to the area known as Glen Obscura.

Whispering Falls was here, but difficult to see from the trail.  A better view was from the Suspension Bridge.

Continuing on, I passed by Diamond Falls.

From here, the trail led through Glen Cathedral, a more open area.

Central Cascade was just ahead and signaled about half way through the gorge.

Folly Bridge led over the top and there was a view of Glen of Pools ahead.

Continuing on, Rainbow Falls soon came into view.

This tributary waterfall drops down into the gorge at the base of Triple Cascade, perhaps the most iconic spot in the park.

Triple Cacsade dropped into a scenic little pool.

From here, there was another stone bridge to cross back over again and I could see more of the upper section of Rainbow Falls from here.

Next up, the trail passed by Pluto Falls.

There was another unnamed tributary waterfall on a small seasonal stream that I had to pass under.

Just above Pluto Falls was the small Glen Omega Falls.

Mile Point Falls was the last waterfall in the gorge, though it was hard to get a view.

The creek leveled off from here and the last portion of the hike was quite easy.  At the end, I climbed the stairs at Jacobs Ladder and met Sandy and Alex.  Sandy hiked through the gorge while Alex and I hiked back on North Rim Trail and stopped at a few overlooks.  One had a view of the upper section of Rainbow Falls.

Another overlook had a nice view of Glen of Pools.

Alex and I arrived back at the trailhead and waited for Sandy to finish and then we took off.

We drove along Seneca Lake following NY-414 to a pull-off after passing the beautiful Hector Falls.

The waterfall was easily visible from the road, but I climbed down to the base to get some pictures from different angles.

It's a really nice waterfall for how easy it is to visit.

Next, we headed back to Montour Falls and a small parking area at the end of Catlin Street.  It was just a short hike to the creek at the base of Deckertown Falls.

The waterfall has multiple sections and is very scenic.  I climbed up for a better view of the upper sections.  I think there's more waterfall above, but private property.

We had one more stop in the area, just up the road at Havana Glen Park.  From the trailhead, we could see Portal Cascade, a small waterfall on McClure Creek at the start of the gorge.

The trail headed into the gorge and was quite scenic though just about 0.1 miles long.

It ended at the base of the beautiful Eagle Cliff Falls.

We scrambled around and got pictures of the falls from different angles.

I think that there are more waterfalls upstream, but no way to get up there.

After this, we were getting hungry and headed to Village Marina for lunch overlooking the lake.  Then we left New York, heading south in Pennsylvania and stayed at the Econo Lodge in Wilkes-Barre.

Letchworth Falls

Thursday, we headed further west to Letchworth State Park and entered at Portageville.  We parked at the first parking area at the railroad bridge across the gorge and above the upper falls.  Unfortunately, it was quite sunny with just a few clouds in the sky.  The pink-blazed Gorge Trail descended and soon we could see Upper Letchworth Falls.

The horseshoe-shaped drop in Geneesee River was producing a massive amount of mist.  Continuing down the trail, we could see more of the falls.

There was one overlook with a pretty good view of the falls and railroad bridge above, but entering the gorge itself is prohibited.

The Gorge Trail continued down along the west rim and soon we came to the top of Middle Falls.

This is the biggest waterfall in the gorge at 107 feet high and 285 feet wide.

The heavy mist made a beautiful rainbow.

After some pictures, we continued on the trail enjoying views of the mighty gorge.

The next point of interest was at Inspiration Point with views of the Upper and Middle Falls and Genesee Arch Bridge.

An artist was painting the scenic view here.  The trail continued down the gorge further and in about a mile or so, we came to a split and turned on Footbridge Trail to head down to the river at Lower Falls.

It's the smallest of the three and the light was poor.

The trail continued to its namesake, a footbridge over the river.

It was a cool spot as one of the only places in the park to get down into the gorge.

There was a decent view looking upstream towards the falls.

We got some views of the waterfall and gorge and then turned around here.

Hiking back up, we spotted a milkweed tussock caterpillar.

Once back on the Gorge Trail, it was an easy hike back to the car.

Our next stop was in the town of Warsaw, about 30 minutes away.  We parked at Warsaw Village Park and followed a path up the sledding hill to an another trail.  Going left, the trail led to the creek and then very steeply down to get in the creek.  With no real trail, we creek-walked up Stony Creek getting out of the water in only a few sections.

The creek-walk ended at the base of Warsaw Falls.

At 80 feet, it was quite impressive and surprising to find tucked away in the rolling farmland.

After some pictures, we headed back.

From Warsaw, we drove back Ithaca and had a nice dinner at Mix.  On the drive, we passed by a waterfall and so after dinner, made a quick stop at Buttermilk Falls State Park.  From the parking area, Buttermilk Falls was visible.

We hiked around the small pond to view from the other side.

Gorge Trail led up along the waterfall so we could view from the side.

But it was getting late, so we didn't hike any further.

We then headed back to the hotel for our last night in New York and got ready to check out in the morning.