Letchworth State Park, Finger Lakes Trail (FLT)

Visited April 17, 2021

Letchworth State Park is in two counties: Livingston County and Wyoming County. The Finger Lakes Trail (FLT) side of the park is mostly in Livingston County.

Mount Morris Dam & William B. Hoyt II Visitor Center address: 6103 Visitor Center Rd, Mt Morris, NY 14510 Parking Lot

Park Address: 1 Letchworth State Park, Castile, NY 14427

48 degrees Fahrenheit, overcast (but it didn’t rain)

The William B. Hoyt Center and its bathrooms will not be available until after May 2, according to the sign on the door. There was a one-unit, unisex, wheelchair accessible outdoor “porta-potty” style building. Rustic but served the purpose after a two-hour car ride.

Dogs on leash are welcome. Come prepared to pick up after your dog. “Pets are to be supervised at all times and either be crated or on a leash not more than 6-feet in length. Proof of rabies inoculation shall be produced if requested by staff. Pets are not permitted in playgrounds, buildings, golf courses, boardwalks, pools and spray-grounds or guarded beaches.”

This park has many miles of trail on both sides of the canyon. (Be sure to pack in water with you and bring your trash home with you.) The trails had many muddy spots with mud a few inches deep. The trail was a single file dirt trail. We wore long pants because it was 48 degrees, but you could probably manage with shorts in warmer weather. The trail was level for most of the 3.5-mile section we were on but there were some areas of significant incline. We went over at least three short bridges (I didn’t really count so there may have been more.) I have to say that I really enjoyed this hike. The terrain variations and the differences in views and tree plots kept the scenery from getting stale. The spring flowers are a little behind other WNY trails so in a few days or weeks, the trout lilies will be amazing.

The FLT was marked with golden yellow blazes. The red blazes will not lead you astray. If you leave the yellow to follow the red, they will rejoin the yellow-blazed trail very shortly. We followed the yellow blazes the whole way out and used the red on the way back.

We passed a runner, three individual hikers, three hikers with a Golder retriever, four hikers (one with a loaf of French bread sticking out of his pack--I think they will eat well), a hiker with a dog, and two more runners. Kudos to the runners; what ambition! Two bicyclists came through the parking lot as we were packing up to return home.

This park offers picnic pavilions, swimming pool, and cabins. You can sign up for white water rafting (which we did years ago and it was very fun) and hot air balloon rides. During non-windy days during the summer, you may see hot-air balloon enthusiasts setting up their own balloons and flying away. Seeing the balloons floating over the gorge is really exhilarating.

Flying mosquitos were not a problem for us today. Wesley did manage to pick up a tick though. I went over him with a lint roller before we jumped in the car but it didn't show itself until we had been on the road for a few miles, sneaky hitchhiker.

No cost for parking this time of year.

Vehicle Entrance Fee: Cash or Check Only $10 per vehicle

Collected: 5/7 - 10/24: 9 am - 5 pm, daily

Plentiful parking in a paved lot. Total spots will host 60+ cars. There were 4-6 cars there during our 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM visit. A short distance south of this lot is an un-paved lot that will hold maybe 5 cars. I have pics below of the trail crossing past this lot.

While in the park, my husband, my daughter and her boyfriend, and I saw a hawk, turkey vulture, wildflowers (trout lilies, leeks, wild geranium, violets), gorgeous giant trees (oak, hemlock, pine, maple, and many more), and a number of happy dogs.

Letchworth State Park is part of the WNY Summer Hiking Challenge. I joined the Summer 2021 Challenge and this was the 7th trail I completed for the challenge. https://outsidechronicles.com/challenge

Letchworth has numerous geocaches. Many of the ones we found over the years took us to some of the “less travelled” sections of the park so we learned about the park in a way that we didn’t when we just hit the main trails by the falls and the Glen Iris. Visit www.geocaching.com for more information.

For more information about the park and its trails:

https://parks.ny.gov/parks/letchworth

I strongly recommend peeking at this site. I didn’t realize that when we saw a man flying his drone last fall, he had been required to fill out a permit to fly the drone! This park allows hunting during the various seasons so hunters have to fill out permits. It is good to keep this in mind when deciding where to hike in November and December. Consider wearing blaze orange at that time of year if you visit the remote sections of the park.

Nearby:

We have to drive two hours to get to the park. We stopped at the Red Osier one year and loved it so much that we came back with my parents to celebrate one of their anniversaries.

https://redosier.com/

I would recommend making reservations if you plan to stop in.

6492 East Main Street (Route 5), Stafford, New York 14143

The Glen Iris Inn on the park grounds is very nice. We have been there to celebrate autumn birthdays and anniversaries a few times.

http://www.glenirisinn.com/

I strongly recommend calling ahead for reservations, especially during the autumn leaf-watching season.

Genesee Country Museum, 1410 Flint Hill Road, Mumford, NY 14511

https://www.gcv.org/

This is one of my favorite places on the planet. History comes alive here and to do it justice, do not come with less than five hours to explore. I will be writing it up sometime this summer as it has five miles of nice nature trails associated with it. The last time we explored them was in March for their Maple Weekend Event a few years ago and it was a great event.

https://www.gcv.org/explore/nature-center/

Twisted Rail Brewing Company, 169 Lakeshore Dr., Canandaigua, NY 14424

https://www.twistedrailbrewing.com/menu

This brewery has a beautiful setting to enjoy from the patio, a great vibe, and fantastic selection of beers. I recommend their stouts and porters. The wait staff was friendly and efficient when we visited in the autumn of 2019. They had live music on the day we stopped by.

Young Lion Brewing Company, 24 Lakeshore Drive, Canandaigua, New York 14424

https://younglionbrewing.com/brewery

This brewery had a new, fun vibe, with a Connect Four game that we took out to the patio and enjoyed with our excellent flight of beers when we visited on a gorgeous sunny afternoon in the autumn of 2019. Clean bathrooms, as I recall. Note added 5/25/21: Recently, they posted on Facebook that they are dog friendly so check out their website for more information about bringing your hiking pal along.

Reinvention Brewing Company, 9 N. Main St., Manchester, NY 14504

http://www.reinventionbrewing.com/

Prior to COVID, we visited this microbrewery numerous times being introduced to it by relatives of the owners. It is a nice small place to visit with games that invite you to settle in and enjoy your flights. Clean bathrooms, as I recall.

Naked Dove Brewing Company, 4048 State Route 5 and, 20, Canandaigua, NY 14424

http://www.nakeddovebrewing.com/

We visited this brewery on the day they were celebrating October Fest 2019. We played giant Jenga and enjoyed the singing of a German fraulein. They hosted a hot pretzel vendor that day, and I still regret not buying one.