Watkins Glen State Park

Located at the southern end of the Finger Lakes area in New York is Watkins Glen State Park. This long and narrow state park runs along the course of Glen Creek. If you’re up for a hike, you can walk up creek and down for a four mile round trip or you can simply hike it one way and take the shuttle back. We opted for the former although by the time we hit Jacob’s Ladder at the end of the trail, we could have sworn we had climbed all the way to the heavens.

The way that the water careens through the gorge here is an adventure. There are several places along the path where we could walk behind the waterfalls and reach out and touch them as they cascaded down in front of us.

When this hiking trail was first constructed in the 1800’s, it was labeled as “enter at your own risk” due to the unstable ladders and walkways that were constructed around it. At the time, it was the only way to access the area. It wasn’t until 1935 when a flood swept through the area that improvements were made and the stone walkways you see today were constructed. 

In several places they hollowed out the mountains to allow visitors to pass between through the gorge. Although I didn’t notice it at the time, the way the light hit this area, it makes the golden ratio spiral. 

This area, Rainbow Falls, is the pinnacle of the hike through Watkins Glen. Water cascades down the rock face to the left while the creek funnels in from the right. The water had been pouring in this day due to heavy rainfalls, so the water was brown, muddy, and flowing rapidly. 

The view behind the gentle waterfall was just amazing. The water hit the rock wall below and splashed everyone walking through. Little kids loved it and would giggle as they passed by and held out their hands to catch it.

From above the bridge on the other side, you can better see the falls coming down from the rock face.

Ellie grabbed a quick picture of me as I was taking photos of the waterfalls. I guess I take a lot of photos. Lol!