Letchworth State Park is the legacy of William Pryor Letchworth, set aside in 1907 as a gift to…read moreNYS. His estate home, the Glen Iris Inn serves as an upscale dining experience overlooking the Middle Falls on the Genesee River. Fall festivities are in full swing as the deciduous trees are changing colors, drenching Inspiration Point in a magnificent autumnal glow. Today, we watched the release of monarch butterflies, walked the River-side trails, and enjoyed a carry-in picnic lunch. The park is open from 9:00 am to 11:00 pm.

What a beautiful Park. The three main waterfalls at levels high, middle and lower all are unique in…read moretheir own way. We drove to the upper and lower then hiked to see the falls. They also have a nice museum at the park. We ended with lunch at the lower falls. Had a nice burger and my husband had a chicken sandwich both tasty. On the way out saw a deer on the side of the road and stopped to see the Dam. Make sure you check out this state park if you're in the area.

We spent about 6 hours here. We arrived just shortly after 9:00 am paid $10 entrance fee. We…read moredecided to go do the tour with ranger of Lower Falls at 10:00am. But first we went to 2 look outs while we were scoping out where the octagon bldg was. Easy park to navigate. Went to visitor center their gift shop opens at 10:00. Then to Inspiration Point where we witness a couple getting married. Off to Lower Falls to hike with Conrad. He was very informative. Learned a lot about geology and the gorge and erosion moving the falls. We were the only 2 and he went my pace and we did it in an hour. Was muddy recommend hiking shoes and used my trekking poles.Had a few steps. Then to the nature center, we did not do the autism trail. Down to Glen Iris to park. The museum was closed. And didn't do council grounds. Went down by Middle Falls. Then back to car to drive to Upper Falls. And off to Glen Iris for a 1:30 reservation. Could have went earlier but it worked out. Lunch rush was over. I'll post those pics in Caroline's. And picked up a gift at the gift shop. After that we just drove the park getting out at the lookouts. Recommend the Wolf Creek stop , nice place to eat lunch if you brought food and the scenery there was very nice. We didn't hike up those steps to Tea Creek instead we drove and parked there. Our last stop was the dam outlook gift shop where we got Perry Ice Cream, which reminded me of grocery store ice cream. We really enjoyed the waterfalls here!

First the good stuff. beautiful park. well maintained with lots of nice hiking trails. Easy…read moreaccess to the upper and middle falls (by car) with a hike to the lower falls. We were there during the week so not as crowded as it probably is on the weekend. So day trips are highly recommended. The bad: we camped overnight. it was a two night minimum but at 30$ a night did not break the bank. the facilities are old and pretty beat up. still works but needing replaced. there are camping area's for pets and for those without. There is no cell reception. again, not a deal breaker but good to know ahead of time. camp sites are close but not on top of each other. For campers who need to do dishes but do not have a sink it is forbidden to do them in the bathroom. no camp sinks are provided. just had to wipe them out and wash them at our next campsite. As I said above, great for a day visit not sure i would stay overnight again. a solid 4 stars for day trips but only 3 for overnight camping.

We were looking for a somewhat short, easy hike on a chilly, windy day, and found Indian Fort…read moreNature Preserve online. It's part of the Genesee Valley Conservancy and they're working on some native plant restoration here which is always great to see. This is a small, no-frills park with room for a few cars to park in a gravel lot near the trailhead. The trails are nicely marked with colored blazes on the trees; pairing that with the PDF map downloaded to a phone made navigation easy. We walked the red trail to the river; it was an easy hike with no major areas of rocks or tree roots, making this a good choice for less sure-footed walkers/hkers. The red trail is an out and back ending at the river. There is river access at that endpoint and it is very worthwhile to go down to spend some time on the shore. The views were beautiful. We came back on the yellow trail which included views of two gorges; one on each side of a wide ridge. We also saw the giant oak marked on the map which was truly impressive and saw the falls which were just a trickle in late September. We cut back over to the red trail on a side trail rather than connect via the blue trail as there was a short section on blue that was too tricky for one person in our group. Yellow was very easy and the connection back to red was as well. Wildflowers were still beautiful in early fall. Heads up that there are no facilities here, so plan ahead!

We were the only ones there so parking was easy. There are only about 4-5 actual parking spaces but…read morecars can also park along the right hand side of the road. The rocks in some area in the creek are tough so water shoes or crocs are recommended. There is a ton of flat spaces though once past the rocks and it's really awesome to just play there on the edge of it with the current pushing you along to the deeper side.

It's a cute little park that's known for the large dam. It offers beautiful views and a nice quiet…read moreatmosphere. Trout fishermen love it here during the spring and fall months best known for trout fishing. People will pile ontop of eachother while casting. It's also a nice park for a quick hike or picnic with the family! There are two parking lots, one on each side of the creek but please be mindful of where you are walking/fishing. There are lots of posted signs for private property.

This hike is on State land across from hemlock lake. Small dirt parking area leads to a beautiful…read morenature trail along the creek. The water fall is not far and has a nice little swimming hole perfect for kids. Slippery rocks and can be buggy especially after a rain.

After hiking in Stony Brook Park, we had a bit of energy left, so stopped for a quick 0.5 mile…read moreout-and-back hike to see the beautiful waterfalls that are in Reynolds Gully. Fairly easy, but some climbing and stooping (that yoga will pay off for your flexibility to scoot under a fallen tree!) toward the end .... but sooooooooo worth it! Rocks can be a little slippery, but worth it to get a little dirty, in order to be awed by nature! GPS/Locations: Waterfall: (N 42.66758 / W 77.58907) Parking: (N 42.66833 / W 77.59166) Directions: Located on the south-east end of Hemlock Lake, on the east side of Rt. 15A. Take I-390 south to Rush and follow 15A south along Hemlock Lake. After passing Johnson Hill Road, Reynold's Gully will be a mile down on your left. Parking: Park in the small dirt area near the gully. Space for a few cars.

A lovely and gorgeous park. Hike might be a bit of a stretch - the trail is obvious for the first…read morelittle bit, once you hit the water there are no trail marking that I saw at all. We just guessed and went upstream based on other reviews we had read. If you go, water shoes might be best and plan on walking up the stream. If no water shoes, don't go after rains - it will be too muddy to make much of the walk and parts of the trail will be covered. Even on the best days you're doing some creek crossing at the waterfalls etc. long story short your feet will likely get wet here. All that said it offers wonderful views of a few waterfalls and a beautiful walk through a gorge. Definitely worth the trip!

Great hike, even in the snow. Lovely and scenic and a fairly easy hike. Well marked path.read more

Stopped in to check the state park out. We thought they had camping but it was discovered they do…read morenot. Strictly boat launch and day visits. Beautiful views though. The water was gorgeous.

The weekend before last, we took an impromptu leaf-peep drive to the Southern Tier. We haven't been…read moreto Silver Lake before, and decided to make this our destination to enjoy the scenic autumn lake. Silver Lake State Park itself is pretty small, and consists of a large parking area, a boat launch, a public restroom, a small playground, a small pavilion, and about a dozen or so picnic areas, each with a table, grill, and firepit. There is a small dock, I'm guessing for kayakers to use, which we sat on to enjoy the lake breezes; it was a very warm fall 85-degree day when we visited, so this was nice. Silver Lake itself is bigger than I thought it would be, probably a decent, roomy lake if you are a boater, maybe comparable to one of the smaller Finger Lakes. We didn't fish this day, but there were several fisherpeople along the shores too, still with plenty of room to spread out. One thing lacking from this park is any nature trails. We walked the perimeter of the picnic areas, and didn't find any trailheads. Since one of our favorite things to do as a fam' is what we call "adventure walks" through the woods, no trails here was a let-down. The main draw is really the boat launch, or if you want to picnic with lake views. Admission was $6, paid at a self-service terminal when you come in. Since they did have an open public bathroom facility (that was pretty clean), this was fair. If you're in the Silver Lake area looking for a picnic, fishing, and/or kayaking/boating spot, Silver Lake State Park will probably suit you well.

So we were going through a drive in Letchworth Park on Victoria Day weekend, and we decided to stop…read morehere for lunch. The pool was closed, and the picnic area in general was completely deserted (I suppose, understandable since it was a week before Memorial Day and the official start to the season.) There was a little bit of construction going on with the playground, but we basically had this area to ourselves. Lots of picnic tables and grills, this really is a nice area to stop. There are several reserveable large pavilions, which have more closed rooms as well as large grill areas, the kind of place you could hold a pretty gigantic picnic. There's also a park police station here. Seems like a great place to spend more time during the season.

All 5 stars are for the amazing views afforded by "The Jump-off"…read more This is a great place to stop to take in some views if you're driving through the area!

My daughter's high school graduation party was ruined because of the staff at the Ontario County…read morePark at Gannett Hill! I rented an enclosed pavilion for her graduation party in October of last year. The party was planned for Sunday, June 28th. We called Ontario County Park the week before the party several times and left several messages to see if we could decorate Saturday night and then her party was Sunday. No one returned our calls. My 17 year old daughter started decorating Sunday morning at 8:30 am. At 10 am a group of woman from Buffalo showed up at our pavilion and said they also rented the pavilion for Sunday. Our only communication with this establishment was their scheduling calendar. My daughter checked this calendar daily worried that her perfect day may be ruined. Up until Friday morning before the party, the calendar said we were renting the correct pavilion on Sunday. After the woman told my daughter that we were double booked, my daughter checked the calendar and it now said we were renting the pavilion Saturday and these woman were renting it Sunday. Someone messed up and moved us on the calendar at some point Friday or Saturday. The grounds guy and his "boss" told us that we needed to leave or they were going to call the police and have us arrested for trespassing. They told my 17 year old her mom was going to be arrested. My daughter asked the staff why no one had returned our calls all week and the "boss" told my 17 year old daughter " she should have walked her happy little a$$ around the park to find him". This is unacceptable! The police showed up and we were packed up and leaving. Now we then had 2 hours to rent tables and chairs and contact people that the party was moved. We were only able to reach about 50 people out of 100 who were invited. I am a Naples tax payer and I think if they messed up and double booked us I should have had dibs over the park in Naples instead of a group of woman from Buffalo! I spoke to a gentleman who overseas the staff and he apologized and was going to call me back. He has not called me back in almost 2 weeks. My daughter and I have not been refunded our $175 we spent on the pavilion and cabin for the weekend. Do not plan your special events at this park. It is heartbreaking to see your child's day ruined when there were plenty of things they could have done differently!

I love running here! The loop is about 1/2 a mile, but there are plenty of trails in the woods as…read morewell. Great little spot that is not very popular or crowded. Just have to work around the geese.

This is a great park with some nice elevated walkways however, the majority are stone and will be…read moreflooded after any rain. I naively came after a storm this morning and all of the trails were very wet and/or muddy. My feet are soaked leaving but I still had a good time. I saw a lot of birds including a green heron, an osprey, a bluebird, and a pair of immature trumpeter swans.