Watkins Glen

On the second day of a Memorial Day long weekend trip in Upstate New York, I finally visited Watkins Glen State Park, a place I had been wanting to see for years. It had just finished raining on Sunday, and as expected, the post-rain gorge scenery lived up to its reputation. It was extremely crowded, but because I had slipped in the day before in the evening for a short walk when it was quieter, most of the photos ended up almost empty of people (a very smart move, honestly). The sound of rushing water throughout the gorge was incredibly soothing and relaxing. The waterfall cave-like section in the first photo is one of the most popular viewpoints, but the entire trail is visually stunning from start to finish. It’s hard to put into words how surreal and powerful nature feels here. The hype is absolutely justified. We hiked about 2.6 miles through the most scenic section, and on the return, we took the South Rim Trail and reached a suspension bridge overlooking the gorge. Watching the rushing water and crowds from above was also quite interesting. Parking is usually $10 inside the park, or you can use a receipt from another park as well. This time, we parked for free on the street near Nickel’s Texas BBQ, which is about a 10-minute walk to the park entrance and a very convenient option.