At over 3 1/2 hours, Letchworth State Park is hardly in Kayuta Lake's neighborhood, but still possibly a day trip for the travel hardy.
Renowned as the "Grand Canyon of the East," the park comprises of more than 14000 acres of magnificent scenery along the Genesee River. From numerous overlooks along the main park road, we were able to see the winding river below the cliffs, approaching 600 feet high in some areas. The park lists 27 waterfalls, although a number of them can only be appreciated after a heavy rainfall. Two of the three major waterfalls can be seen at the overlook on Inspiration Point.
There are numerous picnic areas in the park, most of which have nice clean bathroom facilities with running water. We had our lunch overlooking the 70 ft high upper falls.
Downstream, the middle falls demonstrate the rainbows that inspired Letchworth to name his home Glen Iris, now a popular inn just above the falls.
To get a good view of the other major waterfalls, the lower falls, we had to climb 127 steps following the Lower Falls Trail.
We can't wait to return to try out some more of the 66miles of hiking trails around. Maybe even go kayaking or whitewater rafting, maybe even go on a hot-air balloon ride.