WATERFALLS AND GORGES GALORE
Hiking Taughannock Falls State Park and Watkins Glen State Park
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Taughannock Falls site
NY State Parks: Taughannock Falls
Taughannock Falls hike photo slideshow
Watkins Glen waterfalls
NY State Parks: Watkins Glen
Watkins Glen hike photo slideshow
As part of celebrating Ann's upcoming birthday and our 6 year anniversary, I took on the task of finding someplace interesting to visit. In the end I found two state parks - one neither of us had been to, and one I hadn't been to. And both were fantastic choices.
Taughannock Falls
Taughannock (pronounced "tau-han-nock") Falls State Park is near Ithaca, off the western shore of Cayuga Lake. The gorge is 400 foot deep in spots and has trails along both rims and along the stream at the bottom of the gorge. The primary attraction, of course, is Taughannock Falls, which at 215 feet is higher than Niagara Falls and is almost the highest waterfall in the northeastern US. (Apparently there's a falls in Letchworth which is slightly higher, but that one spends much of the summer dried up.)
We picked a good day to visit - while it was somewhat overcast and cool, the rain a couple of days before meant there was a good flow going over the waterfall. We parked at the overlook and after watching the falls for a bit, hiked down the north rim trail (downhill all the way, ending in a steep set of stone steps down the hillside... all of which meant lots of uphill on the way back!) and then up the gorge trail. There were plenty of people around, but it wasn't crowded. The trail goes to a viewing area which was covered in spray - pretty darn cool (made me glad I have a waterproof camera!) There were numerous small waterfalls along the way, and a variety of neat rock formations. Unfortunately, all too quickly it was time to make the uphill hike back to the car. I'd definitely like to go back some time and walk the south rim trail... there's also another waterfall further upstream (only 100 feet high, but still...) Who knows... maybe I'll go for a run there sometime this summer.
Watkins Glen
When I told Ann that the other place we were going was Watkins Glen, her response was, "That's right, you've never been there. You're going to love it." And was she ever right!
Watkins Glen State Park runs along a gorge containing the Glen Creek and numerous waterfalls. At the end of the most recent Ice Age, about 12000 years ago, glaciers dug out the 38 mile long trough that became Seneca Lake and steepened the valley side. Since then the creek has eroded the weaker sedimentary rock and made waterfalls at the harder rocks, leaving behind a gorge that descends 400 feet in 2 miles and contains 19 waterfalls, with cliffs up to 300 feet on either side. The gorge was opened as a private tourist resort in 1863, and in the early 1900's the various tunnels were dug by hand. The area became a state park in 1906. Now it is easily one of the most spectacular parks in New York State (right up there with Minnewaska, in my book - and that's saying a lot!) (Much of the historical info here came from Rich and Sue Freeman's books on hiking in the Finger Lakes region.)
Anyway, enough history, on to the hike!
Hiking Taughannock Falls State Park and Watkins Glen State Park
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Taughannock Falls site
NY State Parks: Taughannock Falls
Taughannock Falls hike photo slideshow
Watkins Glen waterfalls
NY State Parks: Watkins Glen
Watkins Glen hike photo slideshow
As part of celebrating Ann's upcoming birthday and our 6 year anniversary, I took on the task of finding someplace interesting to visit. In the end I found two state parks - one neither of us had been to, and one I hadn't been to. And both were fantastic choices.
Taughannock Falls
Taughannock (pronounced "tau-han-nock") Falls State Park is near Ithaca, off the western shore of Cayuga Lake. The gorge is 400 foot deep in spots and has trails along both rims and along the stream at the bottom of the gorge. The primary attraction, of course, is Taughannock Falls, which at 215 feet is higher than Niagara Falls and is almost the highest waterfall in the northeastern US. (Apparently there's a falls in Letchworth which is slightly higher, but that one spends much of the summer dried up.)
We picked a good day to visit - while it was somewhat overcast and cool, the rain a couple of days before meant there was a good flow going over the waterfall. We parked at the overlook and after watching the falls for a bit, hiked down the north rim trail (downhill all the way, ending in a steep set of stone steps down the hillside... all of which meant lots of uphill on the way back!) and then up the gorge trail. There were plenty of people around, but it wasn't crowded. The trail goes to a viewing area which was covered in spray - pretty darn cool (made me glad I have a waterproof camera!) There were numerous small waterfalls along the way, and a variety of neat rock formations. Unfortunately, all too quickly it was time to make the uphill hike back to the car. I'd definitely like to go back some time and walk the south rim trail... there's also another waterfall further upstream (only 100 feet high, but still...) Who knows... maybe I'll go for a run there sometime this summer.
Watkins Glen
When I told Ann that the other place we were going was Watkins Glen, her response was, "That's right, you've never been there. You're going to love it." And was she ever right!
Watkins Glen State Park runs along a gorge containing the Glen Creek and numerous waterfalls. At the end of the most recent Ice Age, about 12000 years ago, glaciers dug out the 38 mile long trough that became Seneca Lake and steepened the valley side. Since then the creek has eroded the weaker sedimentary rock and made waterfalls at the harder rocks, leaving behind a gorge that descends 400 feet in 2 miles and contains 19 waterfalls, with cliffs up to 300 feet on either side. The gorge was opened as a private tourist resort in 1863, and in the early 1900's the various tunnels were dug by hand. The area became a state park in 1906. Now it is easily one of the most spectacular parks in New York State (right up there with Minnewaska, in my book - and that's saying a lot!) (Much of the historical info here came from Rich and Sue Freeman's books on hiking in the Finger Lakes region.)
Anyway, enough history, on to the hike!
The first thing we did was go up through a tunnel and out onto the Sentry Bridge, which overlooks a waterfall and gives a nice view out into the gorge. What a beautiful place! Took the path along the stream, climbing up stairs and even walking behind waterfalls in two spots. It was a little bit like walking through a rainforest in spots, with the sun trickling down through the vegetation and water splashing down the sides of the cliffs. Bridges crossed the creek in a number of spots as we climbed higher and higher.
Eventually the trail leveled off and the stream bed became a bit calmer. No surprise, the crowds also thinned out quite a bit. About a half mile later we reached the top of the gorge, and climbed a long, steep staircase to the rim, where we took a wide dirt path back down almost to where we started, and crossed the gorge on a suspension bridge 85 feet above the creek. Apparently, during the great flood of 1935, water came within 5 feet of this bridge! I can't even imagine that much water blasting through the glen. Much of the stonework (bridges, walls, etc) that we saw was built after that flood.
From there, we hiked back down a long stone staircase to the main path along the creek. It was getting fairly late, and close the time for the park to close, but we took a few more minutes to go back up the trail and marvel at the beautiful waterfalls and rock formations. Needless to say I would have loved to stay longer, especially since there weren't as many people around! But finally we made our way back through the tunnel and down to the car, and started the long drive home (Watkins Glen is at the southern tip of Seneca Lake - as already stated, a long lake indeed!)
So, while it was a bit chilly and cloudy at times, overall this was a great way to celebrate - spending time with my sweetheart and wandering around some absolutely fantastic places. I definitely want to go back to both parks again!
So, while it was a bit chilly and cloudy at times, overall this was a great way to celebrate - spending time with my sweetheart and wandering around some absolutely fantastic places. I definitely want to go back to both parks again!
JMH
