Entrance 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. Entrance Cascade is encountered just a few hundred yards past the visitor center, right at the lower portal of Entrance Tunnel.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. Starting at the bottom of the gorge, Entrance Cascade is the first waterfall is encountered in Watkins Glen as one hikes upstream, just a few dozen yards from the visitor center. The falls drop a total of 43 feet in two distinct sections; first down a swishing flume-like slot which drops 17 feet and spans no more than 2 feet in width (if that), and then upon slamming into a small pothole, the second section then plunges a nearly sheer 26 feet out of the canyon and into the wider amphitheater at the lower end of the gorge. Adjacent to the falls the Gorge Trail enters one of many tunnels blasted into the cliffs to facilitate travel upstream. Sentry Bridge is positioned directly above the falls, offering views looking straight down on the fall after one emerges from the tunnel. 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.Entrance Cascade is the proper name for this waterfall, but it has also been known as Sentry Cascade due to its proximity to Sentry Bridge.