Letchworth Gorge Trail

Place: Letchworth State Park Gorge Trail

Town: Castile NY

My Hike: Gorge Trail is one of the longest trails in Letchworth State Park, it technically stretches 7 miles down the length of the gorge. It's not a loop so you have three options:

1. Have 2 cars, one parked on each end. Hike the full length then drive back.
2. Only hike part of the distance and then turn around
3. Hike the entire trail then turn around and do it again

While doing some research before going to Letchworth with my friend Christine we found out that "expert hikers" could finish a down and back route in 6-8 hours. We fancied ourselves in pretty good shape so we decided to go for the entire trail one fine Saturday in September. We did the unthinkable in terms of normal college students (got up at 5:30 in the morning on a Saturday without being held at gun point) arriving at the park around 7 in the morning. This was Christine's first time being at Letchworth and my first trip hiking beyond middle falls. It was an incredible experience, Letchworth truly is a gem of a park. Everyone who lives in the area should make a point to visit. 

Now about Gorge Trail:

Pros: It's Beautiful and you get to see all the best lookouts in the park. It's also a fun challenge to do the whole thing.

Cons: It takes you right through the most touristy parts of the park (lots of people) and its not well marked. You always know you are going in the right direction because the trail follows the gorge (which is hard to lose track of) but if you are trying to follow the trail exactly it gets insane. We got lost when the "trail" went through the touristy part with cabins and the pool. The map isn't incredibly helpful either. We started from upper falls and went down the gorge and on that route lost the trail. On the way back it was easier to follow through the tricky sections. Another con, the "trail" is sometimes just walking along side of the road, and is almost always in sight of the road (a major detractor in my book)

We finished just under our goal of 8 hours (even getting turned around at one point, stopping to eat and rest a few times, and taking a few side trails) and it was a great day. We started early enough that we missed a lot of the crowds till we got back to upper and middle falls around 3 in the afternoon. 

Notes: I wanted to mention my two favorite parts of the day. First, we saw a huge snake (easily longer than 5 feet) while finishing Gorge Trail before turning around. It was fantastic and it also scared the crap out of us when we almost stepped on it. My other favorite part was an accidental side trip. On the way back (going toward upper falls) it's easy to accidentally take a side trail portion of Gorge Trail. When Gorge Trail heads away from the gorge toward the road for a distance, this trail keeps next to the gorge, bringing you to a ridge (pictured above) and a steep portion of trail (pictured to the left). We took this by accident (and you might too if you don't look at markers carefully) but didn't regret it for a second. It added an element of fun adventure to an otherwise very straight foward trail. It meets up with Gorge Trail later so it won't get you lost. But if you find yourself on a narrow ridge with a drop on both sides ending in a steep down hill climb you will know you found what I am speaking of. I highly recommend it. Another plus: it takes you far away from the road. We met up with some other hikers who were not a fan of the steep portion though and turned around to find the actual Gorge Trail.

Summary: this is a great hike where you get to see a lot of Letchworth, but you should also expect to see a lot of people. The biggest challenges are the stairs and the sheer length. You can sprinkle in more adventures as you wish (I recommend it). For someone who likes great views this is a great hike.