Touring the Empire State

Upper Falls at Letchworth State Park




 
Not to give New Yorkers an ego boost, but I now understand why their state is called the Empire State.  Many people tend to think of New York City and discount the rest of the state.  From what I've gathered, that really ticks off people from the Upstate, which is basically everywhere else besides NYC and Long Island.  What does the rest of the state offer?  Pretty much everything!  There is a rolling countryside with large productive farms, strategic rivers and ports, expansive waterfront along Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, quaint towns, and an abundance of natural beauty.  There is so much to see and do in the Empire State, we had to skip both the Adirondack Mountains and the Finger Lake Region.

We've had good luck booking at state campgrounds just a day or two ahead of time.  This has given us the flexibility to explore when and where we choose.


Outside Magazine's top pick for a New York state campground was Fair Haven State Park overlooking Lake Ontario, which we stayed at for 2 nights.  The sites were small and packed with some sketchy people which made for awesome people watching.  We enjoyed the well-utilized public beach, hikes along the water, and talking to the owner at the Hardware Cafe in the tiny town of Fair Haven.

Campsite at Fair Haven beside Crazy grandfather and hatchet boy

Our strategy booking campsites at the last-minute almost backfired.  Calling the reservation system for parks, Reserve America, we found that every campground in New York was booked the first weekend of July.  Luckily, well called back at the right time and found a cancellation at Letchworth State Park located on the Genesee River about an 1 hour south of Rochester.  The expansive park was named after William Pryor Letchworth, an enterprising businessman and philanthropist who manufactured leather saddles and carriage equipment during the mid 1800's.  The 14,000 acre park is referred to as the "Grand Canyon of the East", because of it deep 17 mile gorge and array of waterfalls.