New York State Parks in Autumn

For many of us who have ties to upstate New York Watkins Glen State Park, Letchworth State Park, and Stony Brook State Park are places with special meaning. From family reunions, to church picnics, to spending time there with someone special, when it comes to autumn we naturally think of these places.
I first came to the Finger Lakes region when I was fourteen or so. I had lived in Pennsylvania and Vermont before coming to the Northern Finger Lakes, and while I’ve lived all over the country since then there is something about these parks in the fall that is hard to find anywhere else. Perhaps it’s the colors and the fact that it is one of the clearest times of the year around here. Perhaps it’s the way that leafs look when in the gorges. Whatever it is, it makes this area worth visiting during the autumn.



A wooden bridge over Stony Brook in Stony Brook state park is surrounded by the yellowing leafs of autumn.

The same bridge as above, showing the wonderful stonework that supports the trail as it approaches the bridge and continues along the gorge.

The Letchworth Gorge, seen here in late autumn or early winter, after the leafs had fallen from most of the trees.


Watkins Glen, one of the crown jewels of the New York State Park System, has experienced low water this year as has most of the North East. The next blog will be more about this and more about Watkins Glen in general.