This New York Gorge Features 19 Waterfalls, Ancient Stone Paths & a Notorious 180-Step Staircase

Watkins Glen State Park, New York

Some parks make you work for the good stuff. Watkins Glen puts everything right in front of you: waterfalls you can walk behind, stone staircases built into cliff walls, and narrow gorges where water and rock have been playing tag for millennia.

Even better? You can see it all in a two-mile walk.

You can walk right behind a waterfall with rainbows

Rainbow Falls is the most photographed spot in the gorge. Water falls over layered stone, creating beautiful patterns as it drops. On sunny days, actual rainbows appear in the mist between 10am and 2pm.

The waterfall drops 21 feet into a clear pool below. You can walk on a stone path built in 1934 that goes right behind the water without getting wet. Want the best photos? Stand on the stone bridge 30 feet downstream to capture both the falls and rainbow in one shot.

You’ll walk under Cavern Cascade’s flowing water

At Cavern Cascade, you’ll walk directly behind and under a 52-foot waterfall – the tallest one on Glen Creek. The path behind it was widened in 1935 after first being carved in the 1920s. The water stays chilly at 45-50°F all year, making this spot naturally cool even in summer heat.

Millions of visitors’ feet have worn the stone floor smooth over the years. You’ll notice how the cave’s curved ceiling makes the waterfall sound louder, creating a natural surround-sound feeling when you’re there.

Early tourists squeezed through ‘Fat Man’s Delight’

There are exactly 832 stone steps throughout the 1.5-mile gorge trail. Back in the 1870s, before these steps existed, visitors had to squeeze through a tight spot nicknamed ‘Fat Man’s Delight’ to move between sections. From 1934 to 1937, 256 local workers hand-carved each step from local limestone.

They designed these steps to handle New York’s freezing and thawing cycles, which is why they’ve lasted almost 90 years. You’ll find the steps easier to climb than normal stairs because they follow a natural 1:2 grade, despite looking rustic.

You can see fossils in the massive cliff walls

The 200-foot limestone cliffs contain visible fossil layers from 380 million years ago. These cliffs slowly erode at about 1 inch every 10 years. When you visit in summer, you’ll feel how the tall walls create their own weather, keeping the gorge 10-15°F cooler than surrounding areas.

If you look closely, you can spot nine different rock layers, each showing a different ancient environment from seas to river deltas. Coming in early evening from May through August? You’ll see a beautiful golden glow on the eastern cliff faces as the sunset hits them.

A spiral stone tunnel curves through solid rock

When you enter the Spiral Tunnel, you’ll walk through a passageway carved right through solid rock in 1926. This tunnel makes a 270-degree spiral turn while climbing 15 feet upward. Workers spent 157 days hand-chiseling it using only basic tools and small explosives.

No matter the weather outside, you’ll feel a steady 52°F inside the tunnel. They purposely designed the curve so you can’t see what’s coming next, building excitement as you walk through. After a flood partly destroyed it in 1935, workers rebuilt it with the stone archway you see today.

One park offers two completely different experiences

Watkins Glen spans 778 acres with two totally different landscapes. In the lower section, you’ll walk through the famous gorge with waterfalls and stone paths. Head to the upper section, and you’ll find open woodland trails and camping areas.

There’s a 520-foot elevation difference between the lower and upper entrances, which explains why they feel so different. While hiking in the upper woods, you’ll see 14 different tree species, including eastern hemlocks that are 200 years old.

On hot summer days, you might experience up to 20°F temperature difference between the cool canyon and the open forest above.

Jacob’s Ladder will give your legs a serious workout

When you reach Jacob’s Ladder, you’ll face the park’s toughest challenge: 180 stone steps in one continuous climb. This staircase rises 85 feet straight up with no places to rest between bottom and top. A CCC worker named it in 1936, thinking of the biblical ladder to heaven.

If you’re hiking the full 1.5-mile Gorge Trail from bottom to top, this is the final challenge you’ll face. You’ll burn about 42 calories climbing these stairs. The steps have a 7-inch rise and 11-inch run, specifically designed this way to make the climb easier on your legs.

Nighttime laser shows lit up the gorge for 20 years

From 1983 to 2003, you could’ve watched the Timespell Light and Laser Show in the gorge after dark. The show used 24 bright lights and 3 laser projectors mounted on the cliff walls. Up to 400 people would gather in the Stillwater Gorge to see lasers projected 100 feet high on the opposite cliff.

During summer, the 45-minute show ran three times each night, telling the story of how the Finger Lakes formed through light and music. If you look carefully, you can still see brackets in the Glen Alpha section where the lights were attached.

In the 1990s, over 50,000 people came to see the show each year.

Cool off in a massive swimming pool after your hike

You can’t swim in the gorge, but you’ll find a huge 50-meter Olympic-sized pool in the upper section of the park. Built in 1954, this pool holds 460,000 gallons of water and measures exactly 164 feet by 75 feet. If you’re bringing young kids, there’s also a separate 30-foot kiddie pool.

Both pools stay at a comfortable 78°F throughout summer. The pool area can fit up to 500 swimmers at once, with 12 certified lifeguards on duty during busy times. Your park admission fee includes pool access, so you can cool off after hiking the gorge trail without paying extra.

Cross a suspension bridge 85 feet above the gorge

When you walk across the Suspension Bridge, you’ll be 85 feet above the creek with amazing views of the canyon below. Built in 1951, this bridge is 85 feet long and only 5 feet wide. It uses steel cables anchored into the limestone cliff walls, just like traditional suspension bridges.

From here, you’ll get a unique bird’s-eye view of Rainbow Falls and Central Cascade that you can’t see from the gorge floor. You’ll also notice how the gorge walls narrow from 200 feet wide at the top to just 30 feet at creek level. The bridge connects the North and South Rim Trails, making it an important link between paths.

Bats thrive in the pitch-black gorge at night

After sunset, the gorge becomes completely dark – so dark you literally can’t see your hand in front of your face. This natural darkness helps 7 species of bats that feed in the gorge at night.

Scientists have measured light levels inside the gorge at night at less than 0.0001 lux, dark enough to be considered a natural dark sky habitat.

This extreme darkness allows special glow-in-the-dark fungi to grow on some gorge walls. Park managers created the Timespell Light Show in 1983 to use the space at night, but now the park closes at sunset to keep this natural darkness.

Two hidden dams keep the gorge safe for visitors

Two dams control water flow through the glen, built after a big flood in 1935 caused major damage. The Glen Creek Dam, built in 1936, creates a 2.4-acre reservoir in the upper part of the park. The Punchbowl Lake Dam, built in 1937, makes a small 1.2-acre pond that controls flow into the lower gorge.

Usually, water flows through the gorge at 12-15 cubic feet per second, but during heavy storms, this can jump to over 1,000. Park rangers can adjust the flow using control gates at both dams to keep conditions safe for visitors.

These dams prevent about 85% of potential floods that could damage the historic stone paths.

Choose from three different entrances to start your adventure

You can enter Watkins Glen State Park from three different spots, each giving you a unique starting point. The Main Entrance sits at 480 feet above sea level in the village at 1009 N. Franklin Street.

If you prefer to start near the camping area, use the South Entrance at 3530 Route 419, which is at 580 feet elevation.

Want to hike downhill through the gorge? Start at the Upper Entrance at 3310 Route 409, sitting at 840 feet elevation. All three entrances have parking lots that together can hold 350 cars. From late May through October, you can take a shuttle bus between all entrances for $6 each way.

Visiting Watkins Glen State Park

You’ll find the park at 1009 N. Franklin St, Watkins Glen, NY 14891. In 2025, it costs $10 per car to enter. Just so you know, starting July 7, 2025, the main tunnel entrance will be closed for construction, but you can use other entrances instead.

The park is open every day from dawn to dusk all year. The swimming pool is open from late June through Labor Day, 11am-7pm daily. Camping starts May 16, 2025, with 305 sites you need to reserve in advance ($18-$28 per night).