Watkins Glen State Park is a natural oasis with a gorge path boasting 19 waterfalls, like the impressive Cavern Cascade. The park offers camping, hiking, …
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5.0/5 · 4,876 reviews
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Nov 6, 2024
The park is absolutely beautiful but there were way too many people. It was single file in and out. Make sure you wear shoes that can get wet. Full review by christina b
Nov 1, 2024
Incredibly beautiful park. There are lots of steps. We entered at the main entrance, walked up the gorge trail and took the north rim trail back. That route still ends with a great number of steps… Full review by LEHankins
Oct 28, 2024
Went to the park on a Wednesday afternoon, was nowhere near as crowded as the weekends (from what I am told and have seen in friends pictures). Being there on a non crowded day made for much better p… Full review by Campbug
i visited the park on a bus trip years ago. I remember being dropped off and we walked down and the bus picked us up at the bottom. Which entrance should i start from to redo that trip?
A:
Your best bet is to park in one of the main parking lots right on N. Franklin St., the main thorough-fair in Watkins Glen. This is the main entrance and then you walk through the gorge …
Your best bet is to park in one of the main parking lots right on N. Franklin St., the main thorough-fair in Watkins Glen. This is the main entrance and then you walk through the gorge along the gorge Trail, which ultimately does ascend. All 19 waterfalls can be seen in the 1st mile of the hike— it is at this point that there is a path up to the north rim and to the parking lot where it sounds like you first entered the last time you were there. You can take the shuttle bus from this parking lot back down to the main entrance or there is the north rim path you can take all the way back. If you choose to continue the hike all the way until the end, the last bit is a killer, called Jacob ladder— Very steep and lots and lots of steps.
My husband has Parkinson's and can't walk very far. If we drive to the top, can we see ANY of the river or waterfalls? Thanls.
A:
Hello and and I’m sorry for my delayed response. If I recall correctly , from the upper parking area , there are still some steep stairs that you need to take to walk down to the first …
Hello and and I’m sorry for my delayed response. If I recall correctly , from the upper parking area , there are still some steep stairs that you need to take to walk down to the first level where you can view the falls. And that’s viewing the falls looking down stream which isn’t as impressive as looking at them up stream. Again my memory isn’t the best but from the parking area in the center of town , after crossing the street, there is this small plaza where there is an information booth. Again if I recall, there are no steps or a few steps to access this plaza at the start of the trail and from here you can look up at the first series of falls. My suggestion is you arrive relatively early and get a spot in the lower parking lot in town and before having your husband walk across to the plaza, just run over and check it out to see if there are steps and also to check out the view of the falls. I really don’t think the upper lot is a good option. I hope that helps.
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