Letchworth Gorge & Niagara Gorge

Hike the Gorge Trail through New York's most spectacular canyon — the Genesee River has carved a 17-mile gorge up to 600 feet deep through layered sedimentary rock, with Upper, Middle, and Lower Falls dropping 70, 107, and 70 feet respectively. The trail runs the canyon rim with continuous cliff-top views; the Upper Falls overlook loop is 2 miles and the most dramatic stretch.

Lunch at the inn built into the park itself — a converted 1850s estate perched above Middle Falls where William Pryor Letchworth once hosted presidents. The dining room overlooks the gorge, and the menu runs to New York cheeses, seasonal soups, and sandwiches built for hikers.

Use the afternoon to explore a different trail, cool off at a swimming hole, or find a scenic spot to watch the sunset.

Dinner in the village of Lewiston on the Niagara River — a longtime local favorite on Center Street serving steaks, seafood, and New York wines, in a colonial-era river town 8 miles downstream from the Falls.

Sleep at this boutique hotel on the Niagara Escarpment bluff in Lewiston — river views, a rooftop terrace, and a 10-minute drive to the Niagara Gorge trailhead in the morning.

Descend 300 feet of steel staircases into the Niagara Gorge at Devil's Hole — the most powerful stretch of whitewater in North America, where the entire flow of the upper Great Lakes churns through a 1,200-foot wide canyon at Class VI rapids. The 4-mile gorge trail continues north along the river to the Whirlpool, where the Niagara makes a sharp 90-degree turn creating a 125-foot deep vortex basin.

Lunch at the park restaurant inside Niagara Falls State Park with a direct view of Bridal Veil Falls — casual burgers and sandwiches in a room where the mist occasionally blows across the glass.

Walk the gorge rim above the Niagara Whirlpool — the river bends sharply here creating a basin where the current reverses twice daily. The rim trail delivers elevated views down into the vortex without the staircase descent, and connects along the Niagara Escarpment back toward Lewiston.