Middle Excelsior Glen Falls

Excelsior Glen is located just outside of the town of Watkins Glen at the southern end of Seneca Lake. Take Route 414 east from Watkins Glen for 1.3 miles and park in a small pullout just south of where the road crosses Excelsior Glen Creek (there are no signs). The Finger Lakes trail begins climbing adjacent to the creek, marked by a small post and a trail register a few feet further in. The middle falls can be seen by following the Finger Lakes Trail upstream from the road for about 500 feet. To reach the base of the falls, it's necessary to scramble down to the creek and rock hop upstream a short distance (use caution as the rocks here are exceptionally slick).Excelsior Glen is a short gully located at the southeast end of Seneca Lake that harbors several very scenic, though low volume waterfalls. The second of the falls in the glen is found about one-sixth of a mile upstream from the road. The falls drop 30 feet over a very scenic veiling type fall which sheets across a cliff with a slight convex to concave shape (picture a sine curve). During periods of lower flow, the falls veil outward less than when the creek is running high, but the fan shape of the falls does seem to remain at least somewhat consistent throughout the majority of the year. The basin which Excelsior Glen Creek drains covers an area of approximately 2 square miles, and while there do appear to be some areas of swamp in the drainage, it’s largely devoid of sources of consistent ground water discharge. When we surveyed the area in May 2018 the flow was lower than we had anticipated, and without consistent rain or snow melt to continuously replenish the creek, its volume should be expected to be quite small for much of the year.