Letchworth State Park

This is my first park to visit from The Discoverer’s list of Best State Parks in Each State. As I visit each state park, I will give you my thoughts, experiences and helpful hints.

Letchworth State Park, renowned as the “Grand Canyon of the East,” is one of the most scenically magnificent areas in the eastern U.S. The Genesee River goes through the gorge over three major waterfalls between cliffs–as high as 600 feet in some places–surrounded by lush forests. Interestingly, when we visited the park, the water levels were very low as you can see by many of the pictures. We spent two days in the park, which I would highly recommend.

Photos: History of the Park | It certainly is a great park!

On our first day we decided to hike the North section of the park and we hiked a portion of the High Banks (20) Trail. It is an out and back trail and we did a total of 5.0 of the 8.6 miles. At the trailhead you will get great views of the Mount Morris Dam. As you proceed south, you will get an idea why they call this the “Grand Canyon of the East” as the river snakes through the gorge. The Hogsback is super cool as the river makes a hairpin turn. It’s also interesting that the river flows north to Rochester and Lake Ontario – it seemed counter intuitive to me as most rivers in the world flow south.

Photos: The Mount Morris Dam | The Genesee River | Cool Trees

Photos: My hiking partner in crime (my sister) | Hogsback Overlook Info

On day 2 we did the South section – where most people go as this is where the falls are. On this day we hiked the Gorge Trail (1) doing a total of 8.25 miles out and back – not quite the total 12.9 miles, but still a long day of hiking. We parked at the historic Glen Iris Inn, which was William Pryor Letchworth’s former residence and now adapted for use as a hotel and restaurant. It is located on the top of a cliff overlooking Middle Falls and as we were going to have lunch there at the end our hike, a perfect place to park.

Our first stop – the Middle Falls. It was pretty cool to see these falls in the morning with some clouds and fog, then later in the day with blue skies and sunshine. From there we headed South to the Upper Falls (I still can’t wrap my head around the river flowing north!) At the south end of the park there is a cool railroad bridge spanning the gorge.

Photos: The Middle Falls | View looking north from the Middle Falls

Photos: Different views of the Upper Falls and Railroad Bridge

We then proceeded back north, past the Middle Falls and the Glen Iris Inn and up to the lower falls. Throughout the park and along the trail you will see some spectacular trees and hike through some beautiful areas. Once you get to the upper falls, be sure to take a detour to the Footbridge Trail (6A) where you can actual cross the Genesee River. I think it is one of the most beautiful areas of the park.

Photos: Along the Gorge Trail

Photos: The Upper Falls | View from the footbridge | Me on the footbridge

Photo: One of my favorite views of the gorge

We continued north to Humphrey’s Overlook and the Great Bend Overlook. At this point, we were all a bit tired and we turned around and headed to the Glen Iris Inn for a much needed rest and lunch. As a note, we stayed at an AirBnB in Portageville, NY at the south end of the park. It wasn’t fancy, but clean, nice and super convenient to the park.