Letchworth State Park, NY

About 90 miles southeast of Buffalo, NY is an amazing state park. Letchworth State Park, coined the Grand Canyon of the east, traverses 17 miles of the Genesee river through a deep gorge. Within the gorge are three beautiful waterfalls. Since this was our first stop after visiting Niagara Falls, the bar was raised high for this New York state park and its waterfalls. So how did it fair?

This was a short visit for us, with only 2 1/2 days to explore the park, so we needed to make the best of our time. The weather made that a bit challenging with some light off and on rain. We stayed at Woodstream Campsite and had the entire front part of the park to ourselves with a corn field across from us and a small stream behind us.

DAY 1

With the short drive from Niagara Falls we had most of the afternoon to explore the park, so we got right to it. Our first stop was the start of the Gorge Trail, which you can hike the entire distance of the gorge if you so desire. We took a short hike, albeit a lot of stairs, to the Upper Falls. You wouldn’t think we would be impressed after just coming from Niagara Falls, but this waterfall is big and beautiful. The friendly hiking path allows you to get many vantage points of the falls and the gorge itself. In the backdrop is an amazing bridge which crosses the gorge. I just love it when man and nature harmonize in that way.

TIP: If you want to avoid the hike (and stairs), go further down the road where there is a large parking area. The falls are just a short walk, backtracking from there. But where’s the fun in that?

We finished the day with a nice dinner and drinks at The Whistling Farmer Pub overlooking a golf course.

DAY 2

We needed to wait out the morning showers so we went down to the Castile Cider Mill for some homemade cider donuts. We are ruined forever! These were the most amazing donuts either of us (including cheating miss no gluten) have ever had. We added a bushel of fresh McIntosh apples and some cookies from a local bakery, which were to die for, to our shopping list. Off to pick up the puppy dogs and back out to the park.

The park road traverses the entire gorge, so you can enjoy most of the beauty from a driving experience with the many pullouts and overlooks. We stopped at all of them and the views are quite impressive. The Middle Falls are very nice as well and at one point you can see both the Middle and Upper Falls with the bridge in the background.

Our favorite spot was probably the Lower Falls area. The walls of the gorge get higher here and the river gets tighter and makes some S turns. The Lower Falls does require a short hike but its worth it. There’s also a very special spot where a small stone walking bridge goes over the river to a path on the other side. This was an incredibly beautiful area of the gorge.

TIP: when on the trail to the Lower Falls, look for a couple of narrow walking paths that go down to the river through the trees. Not only will this give you another vantage point of the Falls, it’s also the way to the forementioned walking bridge.

Before we called it a day, we headed back to the Upper Falls for some more photo ops since the sun was now shining bright.

DAY 3

On our last day we set out to explore the Mount Morris Dam. The Dam was constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1954 to alleviate regular floods to the towns and farm fields downstream. The Mount Morris Dam is the largest concrete gravity flood control device east of the Mississippi. Although it’s designed to allow water to go over the dam if needed, that has never happened. However, it has proven it’s worth several times avoiding catastrophic floods downstream. We stopped in the visitors center and got fulfilled with the history of the dam from a park ranger. They also do daily tours of the dam but timing wasn’t right for that. Will have to put it on the “next time” list.

TIP: Never miss an opportunity to engage with a park ranger. They are full of great information and they love to share it. We learned so much talking to the gentleman at the dam visitors center.

We were pleasantly surprised and pleased with Letchworth State Park and it was a nice break from the crowds of Niagara Falls. It’s such a chilled area where you could easily spend an extended amount of time, or just explore the park for a day or two. Either way, it makes for a great stop. Be sure to check out our other pictures of Letchworth State Park.