Exploring Watkins Glen State Park in NY

($10/car) (38F morning, 2.4 mile loop, 800’ elevation), mostly in stairs. We met Chris’s brother and his wife (Dan and Shanshan) in the parking lot. The main attraction here is a walk through the gorge along the river and waterfalls that carved out the gorge. The carved stone and waterfalls create a kind of magical environment. We started at the main entrance and went up and came back along the rim. This park gets extremely busy so get there early unless you like crowds.

https://parks.ny.gov/parks/142/

9.0

difficulty: 5

A lovely walk at Taughannock Falls, Trumansburg, NY

(1.5 total out and back, 183’ elevation). Another very popular spot. We were there early evening and the crowd seemed to be thinning out. You walk along a pretty trees path inside a tall gorge and when you get closer to the 215’ falls you can go down and walk along the stone river bed as well which gives you a great view of the 400’ walls and down the river. There’s quite a big, pretty park along Lake Cayuga well worth visiting as well. The drive from Watkins Glen to this park goes through beautiful farmland and the way back offers some impressive long range views.

https://parks.ny.gov/parks/taughannockfalls

8.7

difficulty: 3

Dinner from Jerlando’s Ristorante and Pizza Co., Watkins Glen , NY

We ordered pizza to eat at a local park and then walked to Colonial Inn and Creamery for some delicious hand-crafted ice cream to celebrate our time together.

https://jerlandospizza.com & https://gocolonialinn.com/