Autumn is fleeting, and so are your chances of strolling the waterfall-filled gorge trail in Watkins Glen State Park before the end of the season.

The winner Finger Lakes gem announced that the three-kilometer trail, which passes 19 magnificent waterfalls, will close for the year on November 4, 2024.

If you miss your chance this weekend, you’ll have to wait until mid-May 2025, when it’s scheduled to reopen.

Watkins Glen State Park There are other trail options, however, and you can still hike the Rim Trail year-round and take in the deep views of Glen Creek Gorge from above.

After record-breaking temperatures this week, the weather around Watkins Glen will return to cool fall days, so be sure to bundle up and wear appropriate footwear, as spray from the falls can wet the rocky trails and flights of trees. stone stairs.

Every year, visitors come by busload to this upstate New York town to hike the scenic gorge trail surrounded by 200-foot cliffs.

2024 also marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of New York State Park and the historic sites system, which includes Watkins Glen.

There is still time to finish the “Centennial Challenge” in New York State Parks for a chance to win prizes.