Letchworth State Park United States

Legendary

Often referred to as the "Grand Canyon of the East" for it's gorges and stunning views.

Photo by David Zhang

A businessman named William Pryor Letchworth first saw this gorge in 1858 from the window of a moving train. He was crossing a high railroad bridge, looked down, and decided he wanted to live there.

He bought land along the Genesee River the following year. Sawmills and logging companies were moving in, and buying the land was how he stopped them.

He built a home on the cliff above the Middle Falls and named it Glen Iris. It's still standing today, now run as an inn.

The Seneca people lived throughout this valley long before that. They called it Sehgahunda, and villages lined the river.

Letchworth became fascinated by that history. He tracked down an old Seneca Council House built before the Revolutionary War, bought it, and had it moved to his estate.

For the rebuilding work he hired John Shanks, a Seneca man and a grandson of Mary Jemison. Jemison was captured as a teenager, adopted into the Seneca Nation, and spent the rest of her life among them, negotiating for Seneca land rights.

Letchworth had her remains brought to his estate and a statue made in her honor. Her cabin, built in 1800, was moved there too.

In 1907, he gave the whole thing to New York State. He died three years later.

The park protects 17 miles of gorge with cliffs reaching 600 feet. People call it the Grand Canyon of the East.

Three major waterfalls drop along the river. The Middle Falls is the biggest, a wide curtain falling about 107 feet.

Walk the rim trail between the waterfalls, the park's most popular route. Climb the stone steps to the Council Grounds to see the Seneca Council House and Mary Jemison's cabin. Visit in October, when the gorge fills with fall color, or book a hot air balloon ride over it.