Watkins Glen State Park

A great nature hike through a wonder of nature. Start from the top or the bottom. I see something new each time I visit. There is a shuttle if dont want to hike the round trip.

Stayed the first 2 nights in a cabin. It was the best state park cabin we ever stayed in. The bathrooms were spotless the showers were hot! Then we did 2 nights in a tent. Was very nice & quite! The bathrooms on the tent side was clean but the showers were not. But overall a great place we will be booking a cabin again next year.

Watkins Glen is certainly a beautiful place to go hiking. If you get there early. And not on a weekend. With a gorge trail filled with waterfalls, it’s impressive and easy to hike. But, on a summer day, it is filled with tourists by the bus full, making it hard to enjoy yourself when there are hordes of people. The wooded trails are much less busy, but not as scenic.
The campgrounds are what bring the grade down. The grounds have a few loops, and we were on the Onedaga loop. Check out the map ahead of time. The inner circle of sites have virtually no privacy, with some sparse trees scattered throughout. The outside loop is a little better. Try to avoid a site near the bathrooms, people cut through the sites to get there.
The bathrooms are gross, one of the less clean camp bathrooms I’ve been too. The toilets aren’t cleaned, and they restock supplies right before check in. So you might be better off BYOTP if you happen to stop in around 1, and find it to not be adequately maintained. The floor always needs a good mopping too. Dirt is expected but with the showers not draining well, it’s kind of dangerous. Overall, it’s tolerable, since it is camping afterall, but I’ve been too better sites. With the popularity of the park it self it would make sense to have higher standards.
On the plus side, the pool is very nice and the facilities in that area were much nicer and better maintained.