Letchworth State Park - Extra Pics

As I was hiking and came up behind a group of buildings. I thought it was a nature center. I walked up some steps with a grandstand on my right, lo and behold, an olympic sized swimming pool.

I think this is a diving pool.

I got back to the Inn and had lunch. I then left the park and drove up the east side to the town of Mt. Morris. On the way back I took more pictures of the Mt. Morris dam. From the east side.

As I came back into the park from the south entrance. I got to the trestle and could see this hot air balloon. I remembered that they had balloon rides advertised and though that this was leaving the park.

I drove to the Inn and could hear the balloon firing. I went to the Middle Falls overlook and took this next picture.

The balloonist took the balloon below the level of the falls and then went up and out.

Here is a picture of the front door decoration at Glen Iris.  I sat and had a gin and tonic in one of these chairs facing the falls..

Here is the Middle Falls at night.

Here is the staircase in the Inn.   Fairly ornate red oak,  The rooms are all named after woods. I stayed in Red Oak, small but OK, on the third floor, Pack light, there is no elevator.

All in all a very nice trip.  It is about 3 1/2 hours from Cleveland. The Inn and restaurant are very nice.  There is a spectacular suite on the front facing the falls with balcony. The park is nicely maintained with excellent facilities. That's it for now.

Letchworth State Park - Day Two continued

The gorge gets very narrow around the Lower Falls.  In fact, so narrow that a pedestrian bridge was built to give access from the west side of the gorge to the east side,  I didn't go far on the east side, the trail was very muddy. This is the Lower Falls.

 

The pedestrian bridge crossing the gorge.  On the left side of the photo is a pinnacle outcropping.  Almost separated from the east bank.

Pinnacle below the bidge.  Taken from the middle of the bridge. Here the trail would continue on to the east side of the gorge.

More gorge shots. Who could resist.  Thanks goodness for digital.

This is a better picture of the Upper and Middle Falls.  (continued, extra pics)

Letchworth State Park - Day Two

I stayed just outside the park in Perry, New York.  I got to the park at around 8:00 in the morning. I was going to hike the gorge trail starting at the Inn, Glen Iris; the head upstream to the Upper Falls and railroad trestle. Turn around and go north as far as I could. I got to the Inn and everything by the falls was covered in mist. I took this photo with the morning sun on my left.

This next photo is upstream from the other side of the rainbow.

A photo of the Upper Falls and railroad trestle.

Really high! Here is the Upper Falls.

Another view of the Upper Falls.

This is the stairway going up the the top of the Upper Falls and trestle.  Much of the stone work was done in the '30s by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). There is some superb stonework in the park.

 Back down and heading north, a side shot of the Middle Falls.

 
Back up the gorge looking south.

Looking back at the Middle Falls, Upper Falls (in shadow) and trestle.

Next a downstream view, which I think is the beginning of the Lower Falls. (continued)

Letchworth State Park Photos - Day One

I went on a trip to Letchworth State Park in Western New York in early August (2013), Letchworth is called "The Grand Canyon of the Eaat" because of the significant gorge/canyon.  It is quite scenic and some terrific views.  Easy access to many of the lookouts makes it a nice family trip but hiking trails are available. There is a nice Inn in the park, Glen Iris, which was William Letchworth's home and  a very nice restaurant, Carolines.  The facilities through out the park are excellent.


This was one of the first vistas I encountered when I entered the park.  A big bend in the river (Genesse) with an interesting "hogsback" protrudung into the bend.

This was a view to my right from the same lookout. It is about midpoint in the park which is approximately 17 miles long.

At the north end of the park is the Mt. Morris Dan. A dry bed dam used for flood control only. The other side of the dam has a small lake caused a a weir dam near the city of Mt. Morris.  You can see work going on in the river bottom.  They periodically clean debris from the up side of the dam. In fact there is a boom across the river a short way up stream to prevent large logs from clogging the dam. I took more photos from the other side the next day.

A side view of the dam.

This is one of the many picnic areas in the park which are very well maintained.

Another great view as I  headed south toward the lower end of the park.

Great lunch spot!

Further south.

A small falls along the way.

This a a small rapids in the river. They offer rafting in the park and judging from the size of the groups I saw, it is quite popular.

The trails along the gorge and to the lookouts were very nice, the gorge is on the left. 

The Inn at Letchworth State Park - Glen Iris.  This is the main entrance. The library is above the balcony over the porch. Caroline's restaurant is to the back and left.

Just behind me, in the above photo, is the spectacular Middle Falls. This photo was taken in the afternoon. There are three main falls.

I took several photos but was intending to hike the gorge trail in the morning. I stayed in a small town, Perry, New York.  (The Inn was full.)  I had a reservation for the next night.  This is the end of the first day.

Here is the full shot of the Middle Falls, previewing day 2..