Watkins Glen State Park
Quick Overview
Watkins Glen State Park features a spectacular gorge carved by Glen Creek over thousands of years.
Things to Do
- Hiking
- Photography
- Camping
- Pet Friendly
In-depth Take
The 90 minute hike through WGSP's main gorge is probably one of the best attractions in all of New York state. It is only open from Memorial Day through Labor Day, and it will be relatively crowded on the weekends and on holidays-- but it is 100% worth visiting. From a time standpoint, it takes around 60-90 minutes to traverse the main trail. There are dozens of distinct features, ranging from high waterfalls, cutaway tunnels and lots of rock formations. The main Gorge Trail is likely on par with Niagara Falls as far as novelty goes-- but there are more attractions to see than just waterfalls here.
The history of how the gorge was first used for driving water mills, then later as the current tourist destination is interesting enough-- but the unique, varying color layers of shale, sandstone and limestone make the trek to rural upstate New York worth the effort. The town of Watkins Glen has a number of both chain and local only restaurants. There is a small harbor, salt processing plan (one of the region's top employers is Morton Salt, which mines salt out of the adjacent Seneca Lake) as well as historic Corning, NY (of Corning Glass fame) just 30 minutes away.
The secondary trails are pet friendly, but the main gorge trail is not.