Letchworth: Grand Canyon of the East

For years my sister-in-law Gay kept telling me I had to go to Letchworth with her.  It was supposed to be some amazing state park, blah blah blah.  Not being a real hiker or park-goer, I couldn't imagine why she would harp so much. The year my sister and her son visited, I let Zach go with Gay's son Yair and her nephew, Ham, but I stayed home. Since he's from Albuquerque, where geographic wonders abound (e.g., the Sandia Mountains and Tent Rocks), he didn't come back raving (well, he was also a teenager...).  So I still had no idea how spectacular the park was.  It wasn't until several years ago when Gay finally convinced me to go for a bike ride in the park that I caved (she'd said the right word:  bike!).  Even though it started to pour buckets and we had to abort the ride, I understood why she had wanted to share it with me all of those years, and I kicked myself for procrastinating.





Unfortunately, the next time I got to the park was with Charlie & Gay's family, but sadly without Gay herself.










Now I am the one who pushes the Letchworth option to guests when they visit, and so far, my sister, as well as Theresa, Mary Beth, and Ryan, have taken the bait.  They've all visited in summer, so perhaps I can convince them to return in a different season (I'm curious to see the park in a blanket of snow, but my friends from warmer climates might not be?!).


On a recent visit with Charlie and Gay's husband, Yehuda, we started out at the Glen Iris Inn, as usual, and climbed all the way to the top of the trail just under the railroad bridge, which I'd never done before.















The autumn colors were at their peak, and the scenery was incredible, as always.  While the falls aren't nearly as impressive as Niagara's, they are still a natural wonder (and I love the sound of them just as much as the sight!).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC5nxA4uPKs
And since the park, because it borders the winding gorge, is enormous, and much less touristy, it's much more enjoyable.

We never seem to have enough time to explore more than one trail and a couple of scenic overlooks.  I would love to book one of the cabins sometime and stay overnight in the park (I'm still trying to convince someone else to stay in a tent with our dog so we can take him with us). And I might try another bike ride there sometime, although Gay hadn't warned me how hilly and narrow the roads are, so perhaps it was a good thing it rained all those years ago!