"Watkins Glen" Top 5 Page for this destination Watkins Glen by M0B1US

I have had so many people hassling me about this page since I posted the pictures way back that it is finally time I fleshed the page out! ;-)

Watkins Glen is one of those amazing discoveries that one finds quite by accident without the help of any guidebooks...

Basically I stumbled upon the notion of this place (and the finger lakes) as part of my USA route planning on the internet. The best thing about it was that it was roughly on the route from New York to Niagara and so would be a perfect stopping off point along the way...

The Glen is a narrow steep sided gorge which within two miles descends 400 feet past 200-foot cliffs and has a grand total of 19 waterfalls along this relatively short course.

We ended up at Watkins Glen on our trip from Batavia, NY to Hershey, PA, on our way back into the US from Niagara and Canada. Unfortunately we hadn't checked ahead to see if the state park was open and found it closed for winter.

We were still able to view much of the park from both parking areas at the top and the foot of the park, but as you can see from the pictures it was very cold so we didn't hang around for too long - especially when taking pictures meant taking my gloves off!

All this exploring in the cold made us very hungry, so it was fortuitous that as the Finger Lakes area is a popular wine growing region with plenty of wineries in the area lining the nearby Seneca Lake...

One of the several bridges

Apart from the wonderful state park and visiting the numerous wineries, I noticed that there is the Glenn H. Curtiss motor museum at nearby Hammondsport, and the famous Museum of Glass in Corning.

There are also cruises on Seneca lake as well as a number of forest trails and natural attractions.

This is a great place to come for a short stay, and I should imagine that it is a truly beautiful place during the summer months - I for one have every intention of coming by this way again!

Overview of the glen

In this area the only reliable way to get around is by car, though there is a Greyhound bus route into Watkins Glen and from there it is an easy walk to the foot of the state park.

For a guided wine tour again you would not need your own transport - in fact it would be inadvisable considering all the tastings you would be doing... ;-)

There are plenty of beautiful driving routes in the area, including the possibility of doing a picturesque loop of Seneca Lake.

• Pros:Beautiful in Winter - probably moreso during the rest of the year!
• Cons:The main walk is closed during winter
• In a nutshell:An excellent detour!