Well maybe not the actual edge, just a healthy distance from the edge of cliffs, that is. That's what a girlfriend and I did this past few days. We packed our bags, said goodbye to our families, and rented a cabin in Letchworth State Park in New York State. I've lived less than a four-hour drive from this gem for almost my whole life and have never heard of it.
We started out making plans to visit Buffalo to see the art gallery and some Frank Lloyd Wright homes, but since the weather was supposed to be three perfect sunny summer days I thought we should take advantage of it and do something outdoorsy. I began looking at parks in New York state and stumbled onto Letchworth State Park. What a fantastic treat to find.
The park is long and narrow and follows the Genesee River as it winds through deep canyons, some with cliffs up to 600 feet high, and three waterfalls on its way to Lake Ontario.
The park was founded in 1910 and there are beautiful historic buildings, including the home of Mr. Letchworth which is now the Glen Iris Inn - a gorgeous wooden hotel decorated with a wrap-around veranda and William Morris wallpaper.
There are miles of stone walls and beautiful bridges and wooden picnic shelters and cabins built by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) during the depression in the 1930s.
We went white water rafting which was lots of fun, but the water was a little low so it took 4 hours to raft down the section of river that usually takes 2 hours as we kept getting stuck on rocks. We had some good runs and it was a beautiful way to see the scenery from the water level. I so wish I could have brought my camera with me, but I couldn't risk damaging it in the rafts. It was quite the workout and we were mighty hungry by the time we got back to the starting point.
My friend and I also went on some of the hikes and visited many of the lookouts and sketched and painted and took a bazillion photos - oh, wait a sec that was only me taking all the pictures.
It was a relaxing few days away and I love discovering new places, especially ones as amazing as Letchworth Park. Have you ever stumbled onto a wonderful place to visit when you were really planning on visiting somewhere else? It's a great feeling, isn't it?
Linked to Travel Photo Thursday at Budget Travelers Sandbox
We started out making plans to visit Buffalo to see the art gallery and some Frank Lloyd Wright homes, but since the weather was supposed to be three perfect sunny summer days I thought we should take advantage of it and do something outdoorsy. I began looking at parks in New York state and stumbled onto Letchworth State Park. What a fantastic treat to find.
The park is long and narrow and follows the Genesee River as it winds through deep canyons, some with cliffs up to 600 feet high, and three waterfalls on its way to Lake Ontario.
The park was founded in 1910 and there are beautiful historic buildings, including the home of Mr. Letchworth which is now the Glen Iris Inn - a gorgeous wooden hotel decorated with a wrap-around veranda and William Morris wallpaper.
There are miles of stone walls and beautiful bridges and wooden picnic shelters and cabins built by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) during the depression in the 1930s.
My friend and I also went on some of the hikes and visited many of the lookouts and sketched and painted and took a bazillion photos - oh, wait a sec that was only me taking all the pictures.
It was a relaxing few days away and I love discovering new places, especially ones as amazing as Letchworth Park. Have you ever stumbled onto a wonderful place to visit when you were really planning on visiting somewhere else? It's a great feeling, isn't it?
Linked to Travel Photo Thursday at Budget Travelers Sandbox
Thank you for sharing photos of this lovely park.
ReplyDeleteFlowerLady
What a lovely place, and I've never heard of it either, so thanks for the introduction!
ReplyDeleteKat
Wow! I had no idea this was there either! I've pinned it as a possible place to camp next summer. I am sure the kids would love this kind of outdoorsy adventure!
ReplyDeleteGlad you had a good time here in the States. I've not been to Letchworth but years ago we went to Cooperstown and then Hyde Park (FDR's home.) I loved it. Your photos are, as always, beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a great place to hike and to camp. A place that some friends and I stumbled upon in Arizona is the Canyon of Chelly, a magnificent deep canyon where the Navajo still live.
ReplyDeleteWhat a pretty park! I was in upstate NY last summer, and I wish I'd known about it. It would have been worth it to stray from our itinerary!
ReplyDeleteLovely photos! I camped at Letchworth once in college. Thanks for the memories!
ReplyDeleteSorry it took me so long to visit this post, and we love Letchworth. It's about a 2.5 hour drive from our home, and is on our itinerary for this fall. Lovely in all seasons.
ReplyDeleteWe were there in 2013 and headed there again in October. It is absolutely beautiful there in the Fall. We live in Missouri and look forward to our visits to Western NY. Love it there!
ReplyDelete