Watkins Glen State Park - Watkins Glen, NY
Posted by: 
Rayman
N 42° 22.560 W 076° 52.284
18T E 345928 N 4693220
Watkins Glen state park is a scenic treasure in the Finger Lakes region of central New York.
Waymark Code: WM1V6G
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 07/11/2007
Views: 76
The following is an excerpt from
New York: A Guide to the Empire State as a part of Tour 27 (NY Route 14):
WATKINS GLEN STATE PARK (swimming, picnicking), entrance on Franklin St. and county road at head of glen (parking 25¢ for longer than 10 min., taxi between lower and upper entrances 35¢), is the leading tourist attraction of the village. The Gorge Trail, with 700 steps and numerous bridges, enters the glen beyond the parking space through a tunnel, crosses and recrosses the twisted formations made by the stream in the rock, and reaches the head of the gorge 1.5 miles from the start and 600 feet higher.
The glen made the headlines in August 1934 when a newspaper correspondent discovered a deer marooned on an inaccessible ledge. During the Labor Day week-end 350,000 people came to see the stranded deer. A bridge was built across the gorge, but the deer refused to budge; a reservation Indian tried his deer lore on it for three days but with no avail; an elk head, borrowed from the local Elks, was set up near by, but again without result. One night the deer somehow scrambled down the sheer rock and escaped over the top of the gorge.
Unfortunately, the admission is no longer 25¢, but the $8 fee of today is well worth it. By hiking in from the lower entrance, you'll have the opportunity to pass by several waterfalls and through two caves through the rock formations. As mentioned, the gorge trail runs about 1.5 miles from the lower entrance to the upper entrance, but there are turnarounds at the 1/2 mile and 1 mile marks. Both turnarounds take you along the top of the gorge.
A refreshment stand/gift shop is located at the upper entrance. Camping facilities for tents and campers can be found at the main entrance off route 329. There is also a swimming pool there for those staying on-site. The Finger Lakes Trail, which is part of the much larger North Country National Scenic Trail, passes through the park on the south rim of the gorge.