Letchworth State Park, Trail 19

Visited May 2024

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.  I parked on the side of the main road near the sign for Trail 19 ina gravel area that has room for approximately 4 vehicles.

60s and 70s (degrees Fahrenheit), mostly sunshine sunshine

There are numerous facilities available for restroom use during the summer season, but there were none at the trail head for this trail.

Dogs on leash are welcome in the park.  Wesley stayed home for this hike.  Recommendation: Carry a paper copy of the rabies vaccine for the dog.

I hiked with friends this day.  We were not trying to break any speed records, and we went about one mile on this trail and then retraced our steps back to our cars.  We enjoyed the sunshine, the CCC ruins, the waterfall, the "tunnel" under the road, and the beautiful phlox in bloom. We had the natural surface trail to ourselves.  If I was going to hike this trail again with an intention to hike the entire trail, I would check out the park map and connect to 19A to loop back to the car.  There were areas of incline but most of the trail was relatively level.  Some sections of the trail were single file and some sections were wide enough for two or three people to walk side by side.  Some sections were in full sun and some were shaded by the trees.  This was a beautiful walk with the sounds of the water when were were near the falls and the sounds of birds singing throughout our mid-day walk.

There was a very healthy population of poison ivy at the trail's edge.

Happily, I did not see any litter on this trail.

Bug spray and a hat kept the mosquitos from bothering me, but the mosquitos were really focused on my friend's daughters.

Vehicle Entrance Fee: $10 per vehicle

We saw wildflowers (phlox, daisy), berry briars, ferns, birds, gorgeous giant trees (oak, maple, and many more), and a fox crossing the road as we were driving back to our B cabins. 

Letchworth State Park has three trails in this year's Summer 2024 Challenge.  I did not visit any of these trails during my visit.  Maybe next time.  https://outsidechronicles.com/challenge

Many of our family's earliest visits to Letchworth were due to geocaching outings and geocaching events where we met many wonderful people.  Visit www.geocaching.com for more information.

Letchworth State Park hosts many different events.  We have enjoyed the Stone Tool Technology event at the end of August and the hot air balloons on Memorial weekend throughout the years.  The park is beautiful all year long, but is extra special when the leaves change color during autumn.

For more information about the park and its trails:

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

I strongly recommend checking the site before visiting the park.  There is an app to download maps of the park that I forget to look at before I visit and the park has many areas with no cell reception. 

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 and when to hike.