THE
FAIRY TALE GORGE
Watkins
Glen is one of the most famous destinations in Upstate New York for good
reason. Glen Creek drops over 19
waterfalls in less than 2 miles during its run through the gorge. It passes through a series of slot canyons
and pools in between all of those waterfalls.
The trail is closed in the winter, and it is only open from dawn until
dusk. Because it is so popular, I had
planned to hike it at first light. My
plan had been to stay in the campground there so I could start the hike as
early as possible. That plan had been
thwarted by the campground closure though.
We
got up before first light and broke camp.
The sky was just beginning to brighten as we headed out of the
park. On the way out
we did the quick walk over to Buttermilk Falls.
Buttermilk Falls is quite tall, and I imagine it is impressive when the
water is up. It was not up during our
visit. In fact, it would be best
described as a wet rock. There is a lake
upstream, and I imagine that lake had absorbed most of the rainfall that had
passed through on Sunday night and Monday.
We
stopped at a little café and picked up breakfast sandwiches and coffee. Then we made the 30 minute
drive over to Watkins Glen State Park.
When we arrived at the South Entrance, we found that there was no
entrance fee that day, for no particular reason. That kind of made up for paying full price at
Letchworth State Park the previous day, despite one
of the waterfalls being off limits due to construction.
It
was a cool, foggy, drizzly morning, and the park was largely deserted. Hooray!
Dogs are not allowed on the trail through Watkins Glen, so we left Boone
and Kona in the car. They were not happy
about this, but they settled down quickly after we left. They were pretty tired from all the hiking
and traveling over the last few days.
We
decided to hike the gorge upstream. We
hiked to the rim and descended Couch’s Staircase to the Gorge Trail. The Gorge Trail follows Glen Creek through
the length of the gorge. We backtracked
briefly to a bridge spanning the stream to view the last waterfall on Glen
Creek. Beyond the bridge is a tunnel
that leads to the parking lot at the main entrance. That area was under construction during our
visit, but coming in from the South Entrance worked out just fine.
Upstream
from that final waterfall is Cavern Cascade, which is one of the most beautiful
waterfalls in the gorge. It is actually
a sheer drop squeezed between the narrow walls of the canyon. Just below it was a lovely cascade leading
into a slot canyon – one of several in the gorge. There were a couple of photographers here, so
we waited a few minutes to get access. It
was worth the wait, as Cavern Cascade is one of the most photogenic features in
Watkins Glen.
From
there we climbed up steps to the top of the falls before passing through the
Spiral Tunnel. Next up was The Narrows –
my favorite of the slot canyons in the gorge.
The rocks were covered in freshly fallen leaves, adding beauty to an
amazing place.
From
there we passed through the Glen Cathedral to reach the Central Cascade. A stone bridge spans the gorge at the top of
this waterfall. Immediately upstream was
a neat area of cascades and pools. Just
above that is arguably the most spectacular drop, Rainbow Falls. Here the creek runs under another stone
bridge before cascading down into a series of lovely pools. Just below the bridge, a tributary stream
tumbles over the rim of the gorge, creating a freefalling waterfall that the
trail passes behind.
Until
now, we had only seen a few photographers and hikers. Here we began to see more people. Luckily, we were near the end of our
hike. Above Rainbow Falls we passed
through one last slot canyon – the Spiral Gorge. After enjoying the rocks, pools, and
waterfalls in that stretch we reached a junction at the Mile Point Bridge. The Gorge Trail continues another mile to the
Upper Entrance. That stretch of creek is
mellow, so we climbed steps up to the bridge and returned to our car on the
South Rim Trail. That only took a few
minutes. We woke the dogs up and planned
the next leg of our journey.
Originally,
I’d planned to hike in Ricketts Glen State Park in Pennsylvania that
afternoon. It was only mid-morning, so
we still had most of the day to work with.
Unfortunately, I made a serious error when planning the trip. I’d noted that it was a 30
minute drive from Watkins Glen to Ricketts Glen. When I put directions into Google Maps, I
found that it was actually over 2 hours!
Oops. The hike at Ricketts Glen
is 7 miles long and passes 22 waterfalls.
It isn’t one that you can rush through.
Also, Christy’s parents were expecting us for dinner, and their house is
2 ½ hours from Ricketts Glen. We had time
to kill, but not enough to stick with the original plan.
While
researching the trip I stumbled across some waterfalls north of Williamsport,
PA. Those hikes are shorter than
Ricketts Glen, and they were pretty much on the way to Christy’s parent’s house. We decided to head that way.
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