Watkins Glen State Park, New York

During a recent vacation to western New York we spent a day in Watkins Glen in the Finger Lakes region of New York. No, we were NOT there to see the race track or anything else Formula ONE. We were there to travel back in time 12,000 years.

Watkins Glen State Park is in a 400 foot deep narrow gorge cut through rock by a stream that was left hanging, when glaciers of the ice age deepened the Seneca Valley, increasing the tributary stream gradient to create rapids and waterfalls (wherever there were hard layers of rock). The rocks of the area are sedimentary that are part of a dissected plateau that was uplifted with little distortion. They consist mostly of soft shales, with some layers of harder sandstone and limestone. Over the past 12.000 years, the stream wore its way through the surrounding plateau, creating the gorge that is the park today. Bottom line – this makes for some incredible water drops, interesting pools, and an amazing record of the layers that once made up the inland ocean bed that covered the area. Within two miles, the glen's stream descends 400 feet past 200-foot cliffs, generating 19 waterfalls along its course. The gorge path winds over and under waterfalls and through the spray of Cavern Cascade. Rim trails overlook the gorge.

We decided to ascend the gorge itself and return via the old “Indian Trail” which comes back down the plateau through the woods along the gorge rim. All in all, there are almost two miles of steps ascending through the gorge and we climbed through a little over one mile of them. Along the way we saw many beautiful pools (including the Heart-Shaped pool), passed behind waterfalls flowing down the gorge as well as some falling down from the sides of the gorge rim, dodged drips here and there, and stopped to take lots of pictures.

As we hiked down the old Indian Trail through the woods along the rim, I thought about what it must have been like to be the first to discover this gem. It would be fascinating to know more about the local history of the gorge – what went on here over the centuries and who did what here. I’ll save that for another day of research.