Central Cascade

Watkins Glen State Park is located right in downtown Watkins Glen, at the south end of Seneca Lake. There are multiple parking areas available, one on either side of State Route 14 adjacent to the park visitor center, as well as larger lots available a short distance up Route 329 from downtown, and off of Route 409 near the upper end of the gorge (consult a park map for specific directions). From the lower parking lot, simply hike the easy Gorge Trail upstream. Central Cascade is encountered just over one half mile from the visitor center.Watkins Glen is rightly one of the most popular natural attractions in western New York State. Over the course of about a mile Glen Creek tumbles through a spectacular narrow canyon with sheer cliffs as much as 200 feet high, and tumbles over numerous waterfalls, most of which can be easily enjoyed from a creatively constructed path which traverses terraces and walkways perched on the side of the gorge. There are said to be 19 waterfalls located within Watkins Glen, though distinctly naming some of these features is stretching the definition of waterfall to quite liberal extremes.
Central Cascade is the fourth major waterfall encountered within Watkins Glen as one works upstream along the Gorge Trail. Located approximately halfway up the gorge (hence its name), Glen Creek pours down through a 1-2 foot wide slot and drops 41 feet in a narrow horsetail-type fall with the stone arch Folly Bridge framing the falls directly above.
Between Central Cascade and Cavern Cascade downstream are several more named features which we were unable to successfully identify during our May 2018 survey of Watkins Glen, mostly because none of them are distinct or defined enough to be considered major waterfalls on their own (none of those features would receive billing in this database were they not named in the first place). Whispering Falls and Diamond Falls are both located in the vicinity of the suspension bridge high above the gorge, while Sylvan Rapids and Glen Cathedral Falls are both located near the junction with the Lover’s Lane trail.
Glen Creek has a moderately large drainage basin, but like many streams in western New York the low elevation and broad farm lands on the plateaus above don’t promote the best ground water retention and as a result the volume of water present in the creek can vary dramatically between seasons. Upstream from the heart of the glen, the creek’s basin covers approximately 22 square miles. There are two small lakes along Glen Creek upstream of the gorge proper, but neither are large enough to contribute meaningful volume to the stream during the dry season. Though the creek flows all year long, unless it has been replenished by passing storms, expect to see a fairly small stream for much of the summer and early autumn months.