Watkins Glen State Park is a natural oasis with a gorge path boasting 19 waterfalls, like the impressive Cavern Cascade. The park offers camping, hiking, …See more
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Sep 18, 2024
The park and water falls were breath taking and speaking of breath taking. Make sure you wear good walking shoes and expect to get wet. Also there are a lot of stairs. Full review by Dena L
Sep 18, 2024
We wanted to hike the Gorge trail but no dogs are allowed on the trail. Later we found out that there are local retirees that you can hire to sit with your dog at the base of the trail while you hik… Full review by A2Skater
Sep 10, 2024
Since roughly 22 million people walk these trails every year, we decided to get there at the 8 am opening to beat the lines and get the best views! This park did not disappoint. The trails were well … Full review by John L
i visited the park on a bus trip years ago. I remember being dropped off and we walked down and the bus picked us up at the bottom. Which entrance should i start from to redo that trip?
A:
Your best bet is to park in one of the main parking lots right on N. Franklin St., the main thorough-fair in Watkins Glen. This is the main entrance and then you walk through the gorge …
Your best bet is to park in one of the main parking lots right on N. Franklin St., the main thorough-fair in Watkins Glen. This is the main entrance and then you walk through the gorge along the gorge Trail, which ultimately does ascend. All 19 waterfalls can be seen in the 1st mile of the hike— it is at this point that there is a path up to the north rim and to the parking lot where it sounds like you first entered the last time you were there. You can take the shuttle bus from this parking lot back down to the main entrance or there is the north rim path you can take all the way back. If you choose to continue the hike all the way until the end, the last bit is a killer, called Jacob ladder— Very steep and lots and lots of steps.
My husband has Parkinson's and can't walk very far. If we drive to the top, can we see ANY of the river or waterfalls? Thanls.
A:
Hello and and I’m sorry for my delayed response. If I recall correctly , from the upper parking area , there are still some steep stairs that you need to take to walk down to the first …
Hello and and I’m sorry for my delayed response. If I recall correctly , from the upper parking area , there are still some steep stairs that you need to take to walk down to the first level where you can view the falls. And that’s viewing the falls looking down stream which isn’t as impressive as looking at them up stream. Again my memory isn’t the best but from the parking area in the center of town , after crossing the street, there is this small plaza where there is an information booth. Again if I recall, there are no steps or a few steps to access this plaza at the start of the trail and from here you can look up at the first series of falls. My suggestion is you arrive relatively early and get a spot in the lower parking lot in town and before having your husband walk across to the plaza, just run over and check it out to see if there are steps and also to check out the view of the falls. I really don’t think the upper lot is a good option. I hope that helps.
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