Letchworth is Worth the Trip

Dubbed “the Grand Canyon of the East” and rated as the Best State Park in the U.S. by USA Today, Letchworth State Park is a destination all residents of New York should check out at least once.

The park is 17 miles long and contains 14,350 acres across Livingston and Wyoming counties. The crown jewel of the park is the 550-foot-tall gorge carved by the Genesee River which features three impressive waterfalls. But there is plenty to do and see in the park if 550-foot-tall gorges do not interest you.

Visitors can make Letchworth an evening outing or a multiple-day event.

You can bring a sketchbook and draw the scenery. You can pack a picnic, drive in, grill some food and catch the sunset. Or you can eat a restaurant. You can camp in a tent or rent a cabin.

You can hike easy trails, moderate trails, short trails, long trails: you can hike a 20-mile section of the 950-mile Finger Lakes Trail if you so desire. (I did about 8 miles of the Letchworth FLT in winter. It was pretty, but not GORGEous… as in, there were no gorges and the sights of the trail weren’t dazzling). Come snow, you can snowshoe, cross-country ski, or snowmobile on those trails.

In summer, you can go swimming in the pool or ride Class II-III whitewater rapids. You can get an arial view of the park in a hot air balloon. You can attend craft shows.

Is you’re interested in history, Letchworth’s got plenty of it. There’s the history of the geography, of indigenous persons, of the man-made marvels. You can see the largest dam east of the Mississippi River or visit the abandoned locks of the Genesee Valley canal that used to run alongside the gorge.

So, how would I personally spend a day at Letchworth? A long walk next to the water, of course!

This winter I walked the 14-mile gorge trail (7 miles one direction) which hits up most of the sight-seeing views the park has to offer. You can easily get most of the same views by driving through the park and stopping at all the viewing points, but what’s the fun in that!?

I’m kidding; it is awesome that hikers and handicapped persons can enjoy the same view.

But if you do take all day to walk the trail, you can notice things like the melting of ice in the sun’s embrace.

Whatever you decided to do, Letchworth is worth your while.

Onto the pictures!

Waterfalls.

According to Uncovering New York, there are actually over 50 waterfalls within Letchworth. A lot of them are small or seasonal. The famous trio are the Upper Falls, Middle Falls, and Lower Falls.

*Upper Falls from above, a few days apart.*

A railroad viaduct.

Yes, there is a train track that runs right through the park. The Erie Railway is most prominent via the Portage Viaduct. (“Viaducts” are a type of bridge meant for railroads/roads over valleys).

Letchworth’s viaduct has got some history to it. Originally, the bridge was an 800-foot wooden span. That span burned down in 1875 and the Portage Viaduct was hastily built; just 53 days after the viaduct was built, it was ready for testing. The tests it passed! For 142 years, the Portage Viaduct regularly supported trains before it was decided the viaduct needed to be rebuilt to meet modern standards.

There were people who tried to save the viaduct for historical purposes. Who tried to rebrand the bridge as a pedestrian walk way. But when it came down to the cost, it made more sense to tear down the rickety old bridge and put up a new one.

(Yes, it was a tad rickety. The park used to allow people to hang out on the bridge, and my mother had an odd habit of hoping for a train to pass while we were on the rickety bridge).

Since 2017, a new Portage Viaduct has been showing off its parabola figure.