Allegheny State Park

[sapblatt]

A rare venture into the NY forum for me...
We are planning on a family camping trip in August with friends from Ohio - we are thinking of meeting some were in central to western NY.
We are looking for cabins, bathhouses, etc - nothing to rural - small children, etc...we would like to have some nice walking trails, lake/river/waterfalls etc.

We have been looking at Allegheny State Park - is this a good choice?
Other suggestions?

Thanks - I look forward to hearing responses from those who know!

 

[marty]

Mike, I have camped there three times in my youth. If I recall, it was in the Red House area. We had a good time. That was back in the 1960's .

Here is what I remember most:
1. Wildlife galore - deer, raccoons and porcupines were everywhere. Not knowing better, we used to feed graham crackers and marshmallows to raccoons by hand. Wouldn't even think to do it today!
2. Great small lakes with lotsa fish. Nice for canoeing, too.
3. Nice scenery. You are up in the mountains.

No idea how things are these days. My sister went there a few years ago. Will email her and let you know!

Marty

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Also check out Letchworth State Park - it's called the 'Grand Canyon of the East'. Went to college nearby - beautiful spot.

 

[Rick]

Mike,
Allegany State Park is in NY and Allegheny National Forest is right across the border in PA.

It's been 20 years for me, but the Red House area was pretty nice then. They might have a pool now, but back then they had a beach and cabins. The beach was always crowded on weekends and the cabins were rustic, had electricity, but always filled up fast on weekends. There are some very easy walking trails with short 30 minute - 2 hour hikes , but it has been too long to remember the details.

If you venture into PA, the Kinzua Dam and a drive along the Allegheny Reservoir is nice. There are some hiking options on the Morrison Rimrock Trail, but these are longer loops of around 8 and 5 miles (think of a north loop and a south loop that connect in the middle).

The North Country Trail winds through the Allegheny National Forest. In NY State, it becomes the Finger Lakes Trail and heads East across the Southern Tier and through Letchworth State Park (indeed a spectacular place, which I visited regularly over until we moved away 7 year ago.) you can camp at Letchworth in several campgrounds. Once at Letchworth you are a short drive away from some of the Finger Lakes as well.

OK, So where the Finger Lakes Trail turns East, by Salamanca NY, Another Trail shoots North - This is called the Conservation Trail - Maintained by the Foothills Trail Club of Western NY. This trail takes you past old CCC camps and along the top of Holiday Valley/Holimont Ski slopes. but in addition, it takes you by Little Rock City (map)- A great place to take the kids (similar to Thunder Rocks in Allegany State Park, if you go). This is an area where soil creep has caused a huge wall/table of rocks (~1/2 mile long and ~1/4 mile wide) to start to break apart in car and building size blocks and slowly creep down the hill creating little streets and avenues between them, there are several small picnic pavilions and there use to be restrooms. very scenic and remote, at the end of a long dirt road on top of a forested hill, (if you decide to drive). There is also "Rock City in the Southern Tier near Olean and Panama Rocks over by Jamestown. they are a little larger than Little Rock City, but I have only been to those places once and frankly cannot remember the details of each.

You will find there is a lot to do and see in western NY and the Southern Tier. Much more than I can talk about in 15 minutes. I'd be glad to answer any questions, a the are was my stomping ground for many years, but my info is at least 7-20 years old depending on the area..

 

[Mark Schaefer]

Both Allegheny and Letchworth have good family hikes. I would give Letchworth an edge on scenery as it has many waterfalls, although it is a bit more touristy. If you stayed at Letchworth you could make short day trips to both Allegheny and Watkins Glen. Watkins Glen is the most touristy of the three, but the hike through the waterfall filled gorge is gorgeous. I visited all as a small child and later as an adult, and all were very good experiences.

You probably don't really need trail guides for this area, but if you wanted to do advance planning I have used the following three which I found useful. The 50 Hikes books have topo maps in the book. The Western New York has hikes in both Allegheny and Letchworth. The Central New York includes Watkins Glen and many smaller parks. The waterfalls book has generally short hikes, line maps, but covers all the major and many smaller waterfalls.

• Fifty Hikes in Western New York
• Fifty Hikes in Central New York
• 200 Waterfalls in Central and Western New York

There are indeed many things to see in the area. Depending on the age of your children, some interesting attractions might be Genesee Country Village & Museum (similar to Old Sturbridge Village) and Corning Museum of Glass.

 

[marty]

Mike - as pointed out by others, Watkins Glen would certainly be an interesting option, given your two sons. In addition to walking the Glen itself, there is an excellent park about half way that is great! It is a super picnic spot and has two REALLY nice swimming pools with great views over Seneca Lake. There are also lake boat cruises, a lakefront park and stuff to do in town.

I will talk with you later today about all this during our walk in the woods. Hell, this area is where I grew up!

Marty

 

[rdl]

ASP in NY has several campground, cabin, rv areas. They tend to fill up fast though so if you can plan ahead it's best to make reservations. It's not difficult to get away from the crowd around the campgrounds in ASP. There are many trails for hiking and biking. www.reserveamerica.com provides the reservation system for ASP. If you have any specific questions about the various cabin area or campgrounds, PM me -- I've hiked in ASP and ANF quite a bit but I tend to avoid the crowds and go in the spring and late fall.

ANF in PA, to the best of my knowledge, does not have any cabin facilities. It does have many campgrounds though which tend to be a little more spread out than ASP -- so you'll get a little more seclusion in PA. ANF is also a little larger area and the trail options reflect that.

Bob

 

[WBB]

There are two separate areas in ASP http://nysparks.state.ny.us/parks/info.asp?parkID=91 Quaker Lake that borders ANF http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/allegheny/ and Red House Lake in the north. There is both camping and cabins with many option depending how rustic you want. They all have electricity with stove and a fridge. They range from single rooms to up to two bedrooms. Beehunter trail has the newest cabins with shower facilities near by. Ryan trail has two bedroom cabins with an inside fireplace. This trail is nice as the cabins have screen porches and most sit on a small stream which the kids always like. The Red House Administration Building is nice place on a raining day with a small museum, store and great room which overlooks the lake.

For hikes Thunder Rocks is always a good choice. Further a field Minister Creek
http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/allegheny/recreation/hiking/minister_creek/ is well worth the drive. If you have a canoe the Allegheny river from the base of the dam to Warrens is a easy half day trip. http://sites.state.pa.us/PA_Exec/Fish_Boat/watertrails/alleg/trailguide.htm

If it is in New York it’s Allegany if it’s in PA it’s Allegheny.

 

[bubba]

Read fast... Letchworth has cabins as well as ASP. Probably not as popular as ASP, but nice. Letchworth is not as big as ASP. A side trail of the FLT goes through Letchworth and does do a connect - although this is fairly long. Letchworth also has an Olympic size pool and diving pool - but they are at the one end of the park (another smaller pool central). Some other fun stuff around the area as well.

The Genesee River makes it's way through Letchworth and has a beautful gorge (hence GC of the east). However, the river is off-limits, so water is in pools.

My summer lake place is only 15-min from Letchworth. Stay in touch and let me know your final plans.

Ellicottville, NY is also fairly close to ASP (and sorta Letchworth). A ski town now with plenty of golf and activity during the summer. Great place for dinner out one night. See there schedule of activities here

And if the kids are getting to you and you need to get away - Salamanca (gateway to ASP) is the home to Seneca Nation's Casino

 

[LivesToHike]

Letchworth State Park is small but nice...

I've never camped in Letchworth State Park, but did daytrips, including family picnics/re-unions, and High School Photography club outings there. Definitely has so nice scenery. Beautiful cascades and waterfalls.

Whatever you decide, Enjoy!

---Mike (a former Western NYer)

 

[sapblatt]

Thank you all for your input - it has been a great help - the Mrs and her friend from Ohio are disseminating all of the data and will decide soon where we go. I just said be sure there are some trails!

 

[sapblatt]

...and the winner is

Finally - Gail has selected the winner - we will be cabin camping at the Evergreen Trails Campground in Angelica, New York - looks like a great mix of what we want and where we want to be.

Thanks again to all of the NY folks for the input...