Rainbow 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. Rainbow Falls is encountered approximately two-thirds of a 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. Rainbow Falls is the only named tributary waterfall encountered along the Gorge Trail within Watkins Glen. The falls occur along a tiny unnamed stream which first slides over an angled pitch of moss-covered rock, then plunges over an undercut cliff in dozens of tiny rivulets which bead down onto the stone railing lining the trail as it passes directly beneath the falls, before tumbling down one final step to join Glen Creek immediately below Triple Cascade. Rainbow Falls drops for a total of 101 feet, however only about three-quarters of that drop is visible without being at least partially obscured by bushes and trees near the top of the falls. The collective view of Rainbow Falls and Triple Cascade framed with its stone arch footbridge just above is the signature vista of Watkins Glen. Just downstream from Rainbow Falls is a section of the canyon known as Glen of Pools, a very pretty chain of pothole pools separated from one another by small tumbles ranging from 6 inches to about 3 feet in height. The stream which forms Rainbow Falls has a diminutively small drainage area - only about 85 acres in size - but is likely at least partially fed by ground water seeping to the surface between layers of the bedrock near the top of the Watkins Glen canyon. The falls seem to flow with at least a tiny dribble of water throughout the year, but only flow with any meaningful volume after sustained precipitation or snow melt.