Watkins Glen State Park is a photographer’s wet dream (pun intended). The narrow gorge reveals amazing beauty at every turn. The gorge trail is seamlessly integrated with the surroundings and is spectacular in its own right with several bridges, tunnels, and a spiral staircase. We spent the night in the adjacent campground affording us an early start and a good bit of solitude on our five mile hike.

We continued our trek across the Finger Lakes region somewhat disappointed that severe drought conditions have left several waterfalls dry.  Our final destination for the evening was Letchworth State Park, renowned as the “Grand Canyon of the East” and winner of the USA TODAY Readers’ Choice Award for Best State Park in the United States. Jeanine managed to secure us lodging at the Glen Iris Inn even though it was fully reserved when I tried to book a room earlier in the week.  The inn overlooks the most majestic of three major waterfalls in the park and serves an amazing dinner which we enjoyed after several more miles of hiking in the area.