Letchworth State Park, Gorge Trail

Visited May 28, 2022 and May 29, 2022

Letchworth State Park is in two counties:  Livingston County and Wyoming County. The Gorge Trail side of the park is mostly in Wyoming County.

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

I entered via the Castile entrance around 9:30 AM and turned right.  I stopped at the first two overlooks to enjoy the fog breaking out of the gorge.  I should have taken a photo of the new machine that takes a credit card to open the gate for admittance into the park.

60s and 70s (degrees Fahrenheit), muggy, mix of overcast and misty rain with breaks of beautiful sunshine

There are numerous facilities available for restroom use during the summer season.  

Dogs on leash are welcome in the park but not in the B Cabin Loop so Wesley stayed home to take care of the rest of the critters.  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. The Canyon Trail is single file in some areas and wide in other areas.  Shorts will be sufficient on this trail.  There was enough mud due to the recent rains that I was glad to have waterproof hiking shoes.  The knees really feel the inclines and stairs this year so I regretted forgetting my trekking poles this weekend.  This was the first time I camped at the park in years and I really enjoyed exploring the area around B Cabins at hours I am not usually in the park.  (With a two-hour drive from home, I usually see the park between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM.)  On Saturday after our picnic dinner, we looked up to realize that the weather conditions had been favorable for a few hot air balloons to go up so my friend, Mike, and I followed them.  What fun it was to see the brilliantly-colored balloons peeking through the freshly-green May foliage of the park.  Trail 1 goes along the canyon but there are side-trail loops and parking lot access to the main road to circle back and make whatever length hikes you have time for.  While I waited for everyone to wake up, I meandered about Trail 1.  Then my friend, Melissa, and I picked up Trail 1 where Mike and I left off yesterday and headed south turning right on a trail before we reached the Middle Falls.  The trail looped us back to B Cabins with part of the trail following along the road.

May 28, 2022: 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM 1.3 mi.  Trail 1 and Trail 5

May 29, 2022: 7:00 AM-7:45 AM 1.48 mi. Trail 1 

May 29, 2022: 8:05 AM - 9:40 AM 4.1 mi. Trail 1 

Bug spray and a hat kept the worst of the mosquitos away.  

Vehicle Entrance Fee: Cash or Check Only $10 per vehicle collected: 5/7 - 10/24: 9 am - 5 pm, daily.  

The paved lot by the CCC Statue/Lower Falls will host 40+ cars.  The lot under the train trestle has room for around ten cars.

We saw wildflowers (phlox, violet), birds (robin, woodpeckers), gorgeous giant trees (oak, hemlock, pine, maple, and many more), and a few dogs. 

Letchworth State Park is part of the WNY Summer Hiking Challenge.  I joined the Summer 2021 and Summer 2022 challenges.  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.

Visited May 24, 2021

Letchworth State Park is in two counties:  Livingston County and Wyoming County. The Gorge Trail side of the park is mostly in Wyoming County.

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

We entered through the Castile entrance and turned right.  We used the Lower Falls/CCC Statue/Rafting Departure Site Parking Lot to visit the Lower Falls.  We drove south to park under the train trestle and used the Gorge Trail to get to the Upper and Middle Falls. The walks to the falls and backtracking to the car still totaled less than four miles but well over one hundred uneven stone steps so bad knees or hips could lessen your enjoyment of this trail.  We did the hikes described in less than three hours.  If you have the time to walk the full trail, it is seven miles.

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

There are numerous facilities available for restroom use during the summer season.  Choices are fewer during the winter.

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. The Canyon Trail is single file in some areas and wide in other areas.   Shorts will be sufficient on this well-maintained trail.  The only muddy parts of the trail were on the steps around the Lower Falls. There were many people on the trail today but far fewer than the hundreds that packed the trail when we visited last fall.  This is a nice trail with beautiful sights to enjoy and benches or picnic tables to rest at.  I really enjoyed the Lower Falls, but we did do that one first and it is the falls I see the least because when we visit with older family or younger family with strollers, the Lower Falls are challenging to reach.  I have been visiting sections of this trail my entire life as leaf watching for my parents' anniversary or father's birthday is a family favorite.  Today, conditions were right for feeling a nice mist at each falls.

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. 

Mosquitos were not a problem for us today.  

Vehicle Entrance Fee: Cash or Check Only $10 per vehicle collected: 5/7 - 10/24: 9 am - 5 pm, daily.  We asked for a copy of the park map and received one when we were at the entrance gate.

Total spots at the lot by the CCC Statue/Lower Falls will host 40+ cars.  The lot under the train trestle has room for around ten cars.

While in the park, my husband, my daughter and her boyfriend, and I saw juvenile bald eagles when we stopped at Inspiration point before leaving the park.  We had a juvenile bald eagle fly right over our heads when we were at the Lower Falls. We saw wildflowers, gorgeous giant trees (oak, hemlock, pine, maple, and many more), and a number of happy dogs. Wesley enjoyed the many "beautiful dogs" compliments along the trail and he made friends with a sweet child who wanted to pet the dog.

Letchworth State Park is part of the WNY Summer Hiking Challenge.  I joined the Summer 2021 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.

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 and I still regret not buying one.