"Grand Canyon of the East" Part Deux

    Beautiful weather out and the rents were both off so I made my second trek to Letchworth State Park. For those who are new to this blog or need a refresher here is the previous post.

We drove to the most southern entrance near the town of Portageville, NY.

 The most popular and scenic views of Letchworth are the series of waterfalls starting right by the Portage entrance. The woman gave us bad directions or we were bad with directions but we ended up at the larger parking and tourist spot near the Middle falls. There is ample parking along with many different services from bathrooms, a small foodstand, and playground and a museum about the park(regret not checking out). Great for making a day of it with the family. Now onto the scenery.

The Genesee River drops three times on its path through Letchworth. The first waterfall we encountered was the Middle falls. The Middle falls are the most impressive and largest at 107 feet and only a stones throw from the parking. The Upper and lower falls are both accessible to everyone  but the lower falls are another story.

It's a few mile hike to the lower falls and has both uphill and downhill sections but most are downhill as the continue downriver. The downhill portions can be steep and using the stairs is highly recommended. My dad tried to cut a corner and took a nasty stumble which left him with a sore foot and the nickname "Captain Clutz" for the rest of the day. Along the way there are informational signs about local foliage and natural and human history surrounding the gorge.

Middle Falls and the Upper falls near the railroad bridge

 The lower falls has a parking area near it so its perfect for those with kids who wouldn't be able to handle the couple mile hike. The stairs down to the lower falls still aren't a cake walk either.

photo credit

A sign at the top of the stairs tells visitors the face 120 stairs down to the lower falls which doesn't sound like much till you make you back up. The sign of course makes you want to count the steps. Going down we all came with different numbers of stairs, none came to 120. The steps are not perfect and have some broken so watch your step.

Down river of the lower falls

This path continued down river away from the lower falls but I stopped taking it once its became rather pure mud from the water coming down the gorge wall. I did climb up a steep hill near this section and get a few pictures. Its was rather steep and covered with rather brittle shale which explained the "keep off" sign. Had a couple teenage boys follow me up. Saw a groups of what I first assumed were Amish tourists but due to the use of cameras my second guess of Mennonite. (Amish Mafia you actually taught me something).

The Lower falls can be found at a dead end path. I was able to find a path even lower path closer to the falls and great for taking a picture and relaxing in the mist from the falls.

Lower falls

The hike down your all energetic thinking this is easy. Then begin the hike back. Those 120 stairs were fun. Much easier to count going up and the trip back was interesting. A group of turkey vultures circles near the ledge on our way back. Of course the question was raised if they were there for us? Once returning to the Middle Falls, the Upper falls are a quick and easy 10 minutes or less upriver.

Train tracks frames the photo perfect

Located above the Middle Falls is the Glen Iris Inn.

Photo from Iloveny.com

Hungry from our hike we decided to get lunch here. It's definitely a upscale restaurant but doesn't discourage the dirty, sweaty hiker from stopping in for a bite. They have a menu if you just want to grab something small or beverage like tea or wine on the porch and an nice upscale restaurant inside with delicious food. Because the Inn is located inside the park they allow the $8 entry fee you pay to go towards you meal as $8 in credit as long as you present you pass. I've heard its a great place for weddings. This picture is a hint to my next trip to Letchworth. Below are links to the the Inn and the park.

Glen Iris Inn

Letchworth State Park

The view outside the Glen Iris Inn

Another attraction would love to try is the hot air balloon ride. The cost is the only deterrent, at $245 and requiring reservation, a considerable amount at this point in my life. The ride takes you down the river and must be awesome. Maybe one day but that kind of money can get me many other places I'd like to visit.