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 went to Letchworth on a beautiful fall day to check out the changing leaves and the waterfalls,…read moreetc. What a great place - the "Grand Canyon of the East". We parked at the Letchworth Upper Falls parking lot - which is big- but on a nice weekend it will fill up! From there it is about a 1/2-3/4 mile walk on the trail to the Upper Falls and train trestle. There are stone stairs on the trail- wear sturdy flat shoes , sneakers or hiking boots and watch your step on the stairs! Then you can head back to the Middle Falls and the Glen Iris Inn. The views are outstanding of the Genesee River, the waterfalls, and the rock formations on the canyon. At the Glen Iris Inn there is a gift shop and a restaurant with excellent food I hear (I haven't tried it yet but other park goers were raving about it). There are public restrooms nearby to the Inn- and also at the Inn but you are supposed to be a customer to use them. We took the long way out of the park- driving north the ~12 miles to enjoy the scenery and the colorful canopy of trees. Highly recommended for a visit! There is an entrance fee during the summer season - there was none when we went mid- October.

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!

Wow, totally low-key obsessed with this little park! It's the summer of hiking, and I've been…read moretrying to explore as many little hidden gems, parks, and hiking trails as possible. This is a state park, located in Springville just a couple of miles from where the 219 ends. Scoby Dam Park is right down Scoby Hill Road, and at the Dead End is the entrance to the park. Be sure to park to the left of the Dead End sign, as the right side is private property. This place has a very short & sweet history lesson: the Scoby Dam plant was constructed in 1925, placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. Right at the parking lot you can get a pretty gorgeous view of the water streaming over the dam! There are tons of rocks below so it's tough to get closer to the water from there, but further down the path there are a few fairly steep, but manageable declines where you can get a closer view of the falls. The trail you'll follow (just through the gates) is partially still an access road, but once you follow it you'll discover some really nice scenery and foliage. All the way at the end you'll find yourself underneath the bridges that are Cascade Rd and the 219. Overall, you'll get some pretty breathtaking views here, and what's awesome about this place is the fact that you don't have to trail hard to find them! I would totally recommend this place for people who are just starting to get into hiking, or like an easy stroll. Totally worth a visit if you're heading to/through Chataqua County.

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.

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.

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.

So amazing. Not too far into the walk there is a waterfall. This town also has such nice people who…read moremake you feel welcome.

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!

This was a first time visit for me. I have lived in the area my whole life and never knew of this…read morelittle spot. I found it on a bike ride around the area. It's the perfect spot not just for a boat launch but a nice quiet picnic or a break from a cycle ride on a road made up of 50% hills (VA doesn't have hills). The small park has a booth but also a ticket machine for admission. There is a gradual hill down into the area and it is comprised of dirt and rocks. Parking for vehicles with boats. A dock is located on one side of the park. Restrooms are also on one side. There are picnic tables and grills sprinkled around the small area but with plenty of space in between the areas to keep some privacy. A swingset in the middle of the park. This is not a big park it is for dock launch but it's a nice little spot and probably more reasonably affordable then other areas.

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.

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!

If you are in the area and have some time to spare, this is the place to visit. Go for an easy…read morewalk, listen to nature. The birds were already very busy in early March. It's a surprisingly nice nature trail, very relaxing and calm. Wooded areas, patches of grass and several ponds are a perfect environment for abundance of wildlife. Six raised boardwalks/bridges help with getting around and two octagon observation decks are great for stopping and pausing for a while. Maybe I'll find a reason to go to Orchard Park this summer or autumn, so I could explore Birdsong Park in different seasons. I'm only afraid it could be crowded during warmer months. It's approximately just 1.5 miles of trails.

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.