Watkins Glen is Gorges Too!

Last Monday, my shift at Wegmans ended at noon, Ron's started at 12:30 and Sam was at school. I decided to use my free time to hike Watkins Glen Gorge. The only bummer of the whole trip was that i had to pay $7 to park. Ron laughed later and said, "since you went to hike, why didn't you park somewhere else and HIKE in?" Good point.

It was a beautiful day. Warm, with sporadic clouds and a nice breeze.

If you ever make it to this neck of the woods, put this hike into your plan. It wouldn't even take up the whole day, though it would be easy to make a day of it. I hiked 80% of the length and back in a little under two hours, and i was not "power hiking." There were plenty of tourists, as i expected, but i was not looking for a secluded hike. I also wanted something pretty easy, and this hike is. While the steps from the beginning never seem to stop (there are about 800 from the Entrance to the Upper Level), they are intermittent and there is plenty to see and lots of flat areas to walk before the next section of about 10-20 steps.


It's a very well maintained park. And the gorges really are just that - GORGES! I know that is Ithaca's little catch phrase, with several scenic parks in that town, including Ithaca Falls, Buttermilk Falls State Park, Lake Treman, Enfield Glen, Treman State Park, Lucifer Falls, Taughannock Falls, and Cascadilla Gorge.

I took what i think might be the lesser-traveled path back to the entrance, the shaded and wooded well-marked path on the opposite side of the gorge. I could faintly hear the water and the people from below on the Gorge Trail, but i was able to enjoy the trees and shade and the quiet.