My mom used to take my sister and I and our friends to many of the waterfalls and gorges in the Finger Lakes region when we were little, but we have never been to the Watkins Glen State Park before. My mom told me the last time that she went there was when she was a teenager in the 1960’s. Things have changed quite a bit since then. She said you used to be able to picnic anywhere, now there is a small designated picnic area at the South entrance. My mom and her friends also used to swim in the natural pools in the park. Swimming is now prohibited since people have died from the strong undercurrents in the pools.

The park really is beautiful. The pathways, stairs, and bridges are made from natural rocks, so they blend in perfectly with the natural surroundings. There is a lot of climbing, so I definitely got my workout that day. :) It was well worth the hike though, as the scenery seemed to get more beautiful the farther out you went. My mom was telling me that her favorite part of the park as a girl was the path where you could walk under the waterfall. We were hoping that was still a part of the park, and happily, it was. My mom was so happy that it still was there. She went up to the falls and put her arms out to catch the water, and had me take two pictures of her doing it. She was so excited, it was so cute. :)

After we got to the path under the waterfall, we turned back, since we thought we had a lot of climbing to do since most of the way there was downhill. However, we took a path called Lover’s Lane that was much shorter and didn’t have nearly as many stairs, so the way back turned out to be easier than the way in.