Minnehaha Falls

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. Minnehaha Falls is encountered approximately one-fifth of a mile upstream 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. The second major waterfall encountered in Watkins Glen as one progresses upstream is Minnehaha Falls, a scenic two-stepped fall with a total drop of 28 feet. The upper tier plunges 19 feet over a block-shaped plunging fall, with the water funneling into a v-shaped channel just below, and then after twisting through an S-shaped bend in the gorge, fluming down a second 9-foot fall into an even narrower portion of the gorge. Looking downstream from the viewpoint for Minnehaha Falls affords a good view through some of the narrowest parts of the canyon. Part of Cavern Cascade, the next fall upstream, can also be seen in tandem with Minnehaha Falls from certain locations along the 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.Minnehaha Falls is the accepted historical name for this waterfall, but it has also been known as Curtain Cascade in the past - though this probably only referred to the upper tier of the falls.