Watkins Glen

After multiple times visiting Letchworth, I've always enjoyed a certain style of "easy" hikes in nature.  Trying to get my family on board has always been a bit challenging, but I decided it was time to pull the "We're doing this because I say so" card to go visit a spot I've wanted to visit since seeing my parents' pictures years ago--Watkins Glen.  It's a bit of a hike (no pun intended) to get there, since it's deep in the Finger Lakes.  But since it was my last week off and we don't have much else going on this summer, it seemed like a good option.  Bonus points that we got a slightly cooler day (and avoided a few raindrops that weren't even in the forecast), but I'll admit that hiking while masked--even on a day in the 70s--is still a bit of a challenge.  Despite that, it was totally worth it.

The drive out was interesting.  The first part was the usual Thruway trip, but once we got off to the country roads, it was a rather scenic trip.  The town of Geneva (home of Hobart and William Smith Colleges) was adorable, and I wished we had a little more time to explore the town and the campus.  Beyond that, we saw winery after winery as we drove along Seneca Lake.  They probably only had a fraction of the business they normally would because of the coronavirus, but they were all so cute and I hope someday I get to visit some of them.  Watkins Glen itself was quite charming, as well, and we marveled at what it must be like during NASCAR race week (which isn't happening this year).  There were a decent number of tourists around despite all that's going on, so I can only imagine at a normal time, let alone race week.  

We parked in one lot briefly while we figured out where we needed to go, and ate a "picnic" lunch we brought with us in the van.  Eventually we headed out, complete with masks.  The first view on the way in was pretty impressive by itself...

Here's Carter with a model of the gorge...

The first stone bridge was visible right away, and we had to go into a little tunnel stairway to get there.

The view from above was pretty outstanding.  This was looking back out toward the entrance...

...and this was in the other direction!

I loved how twisty this waterfall looked from this angle.

We took a few steps forward and the area beyond the waterfall came into view.  Look at that skinny little crevice!

Up close, the rocks are so interesting and stunning.

There are 19 waterfalls along the Gorge Trail, and each one was more beautiful than the next.  

You could walk behind this one!

Jacob was oddly hesitant to walk there, though I'm not sure if he was more worried about his shoes or his hair!  Tweendom is weird.

Sorry the pic is a bit blurry, but you can tell by his body language here that Jacob wants to get no closer to the waterfall than he is.

It always amazed me how the views behind us were just as interesting as the views ahead of us.  It's such a skinny little gorge!

This suspension bridge was a little less charming than the stone bridges, and I think it made everyone envision the shaky, creepy bridges you usually see in movies like Indiana Jones.  I read later on that when the area flooded in 1935 and pretty much destroyed the park, the water was less than 10 feet below this bridge, which would have been a rise of 80 feet!  Crazy to imagine!  Anyway, remember this one for later.

I was fascinated by the "shelf" appearance of this waterfall.  I don't know if it is how shale erodes, or just something weird about this one, but it was neat. 

The rock formations and the waterfalls were other-worldly and truly peaceful.

The rock walls were soaring above us the whole time, sometimes with precariously hanging trees and roots.  Much of the time it was very enclosed, but once in a while it opened up like this.

Click to zoom and see the small waterfall here...

There were numerous stairways throughout the path, usually taking us up to another great view, waterfall, or bridge.  You can see the boys heading up one here, with yet another waterfall in the distance.

One of my favorite things was how so many of the waterfalls had pools like this under them.  They'd have these deeper, circular "hot tub" type ponds right below the waterfall, almost like the water had carved it out over the years.  I could almost picture people hopping in and hanging out!

Another bridge!

The area just beyond that bridge (or before it, if you're the water) was really cool.  The water wound through the rocks and came out into this pool.

Prior to that was a series of small waterfalls.  So pretty!

I believe this is called the Rainbow Falls, probably because the light shines in just right at some time of day to create a rainbow.  It's just a thin drizzle off the rocks from above, and this was another one you can walk behind.

Another picturesque bridge and waterfall were just beyond it.

Looking down from the bridge to the falls (on the left)...plus the cascading waterfalls and pools directly below...

Every new vista was more breathtaking.

The rocks were so amazing to see, with layer upon layer stacked so high.

Unfortunately, the trail was closed after the first mile, supposedly due to it being more difficult to social distance.  I do hope to go back someday, maybe in fall, when that section is open.  But we caught one more photo on the last bridge before heading back on the Indian Trail, since the Gorge Trail was one way.

The Indian Trail was decidedly less scenic, but it did have a few highlights.  Jacob liked this random rock on the side of the path...

Carter was fascinated by the tiny trickle of a stream that ran next to the path for a while.  He seemed to think that a rock or two would block the current, so he was attempting that here, to no avail.

In one section it appeared everyone left a stack of rocks behind.  There was a huge section full of stacks, and they continued down a wall along the path for a little bit, too.  There was a cute extended Indian family there having a blast contributing their own stacks.

Back closer to the entrance, we got to go on the suspension bridge I showed earlier.  I thought this view looked a little like those Escher drawings that have stairways and paths that defy logic and engineering.

This was the view on the other side, more of the very narrow gorge from very high up.

The rest of the walk back involved a LOT of stairs.  Even going down it was quite the workout.  We were definitely ready for a break by the time we got down all of those.  Back near the entrance, I ran back to look at something we missed when the path split to our trail, and caught this different view of the first bridge we were on, with a hint of the waterfall in the background.  

We were pretty hot despite it being very cloudy and not as warm that day, so we decided to walk down the street to an ice cream parlor I found in my gluten-free app the previous day.  Not only did they have gluten-free cones for Jacob, but they also had dairy-free options for Craig.  We all got something tasty and enjoyed it on the patio, happy to unmask and relax for a bit.  

At that point, we headed back to the van.  Jacob really wanted to stop at the outlet mall back near the Thruway because he's been dying to get to a Nike outlet, and we still had to get home in time for some basketball training that evening.  Here are a couple scenic views from the drive...

So many grapevines!  And the lake in the background!

From this angle it almost looked like we could drive into the lake.

Overall it was a pretty good day.  I neglected to mention that Carter slipped in mud early on, so we had to clean him up a bit, and Jacob was a little grumpy about a couple things, but for the most part the boys got along and it made for a very nice walk.  It was neat to see in person and I hope to make it back again someday, hopefully with a camera that does a better job capturing the details.  It was nice to sneak in another adventure before my furlough weeks come to an end.  I'm pretty bummed about being stuck at my desk for the rest of the summer, but hopefully we can take advantage of the weekends and evenings we have left before we start a very unique fall.