Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

Hours of Operation

• Park Hours: Open year-round, 6 am - 11 pm daily. Please check below for specific opening/closing dates.

• 2025 Camping Season: Peak season June 20, 2025 - August 24, 2025

  Camping/Cabins by reservation only, visit Reserve America or call 1-(800)-456-2267.

  Campground: May 16, 2025 - October 13, 2025 (all 30 AMP and 50 AMP sites)

  Cabins: Available from May 9, 2025 - November 30 2025 

  Parker's Hideaway: May 10, 2025 - November 30, 2025.
  
  *Please note within the camping season time frame, some cabins/sites may open later or close earlier. For more details, please call the park, view the appropriate brochure in the documents section at the bottom of this page, or visit Reserve America

• Humphrey Nature Center: Open daily 10:00 am - 5:00 pm. 
  
  

  Museum: May-October, Open daily 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
• Pavilion: Available for rent May - October. Reservations must be made through Reserve America. Pavilions are first-come, first served if not rented. Rentals will be posted on each shelter. See 'Letchworth Shelter Permit Application' for details on the shelters and permits you may need for your event. 
  *Please note some shelters may open/close earlier of later throughout the season.
• 2025 Swimming Pool Season:
  6/21 - Labor Day 
  Opening daily from 11:00 am-6:45 pm.

• Glen Iris Inn: May 1, 2025 - October 30, 2025

  Glen Iris Inn Operated Rooms/Locations:

  Caroline's Dining Room at the Glen Iris Inn: May-October

  *When open, the dining room now takes reservations through their website: https://www.glenirisinn.com/dining/

  Stone House: Year Round

  The Chalet House: Year Round

  Caroline's Cottage: Year Round

  Pine Wood Lodge: May - October

  Call the Glen Iris at (585) 493-2622 or visit www.glenirisinn.com for more information.

• Group Camping (non-profit groups only): April 18, 2025 - October 12, 2025
  Primitive campsites. Tent only (no campers/RVs). Must call park office for reservations (585) 493-3600.
  
  
  Genesee Conference Center: Open year-round.
  Reservations must be made with the designated reservationist through the park office, call (585) 493-3600.

Fees & Rates

Most New York State Parks charge a vehicle use fee to enter the facility. Fees vary by location and season. A list of entry fees and other park use fees is available below. For fees not listed or to verify information, please contact the park directly.

The easy-to-use Empire Pass card is $80- and your key to all-season enjoyment with unlimited day-use entry at most facilities operated by State Parks and the State Dept. of Environmental Conservation including forests, beaches, trails and more. Purchase online or contact your favorite park for more information. Learn more about our Admission Programs including the Empire Pass.

• Vehicle Entrance Fee
• Cash, Credit Card or Check
  $10 per vehicle (car, truck, van, motorcycle, etc)
  All Buses $35
  Pool & Museum included!
  
  
  Collected:
  5/9/25 - 10/19/25: 9 am - 5 pm, daily
• Camping
• Campsites:
  $30-$32 per night, 2-night minimum
  

  *Out of state resident fee for camping, $5 per night
  
  Cabins:
  $59.50-$156 per night, 2-night minimum outside peak season

  $238-$596 per week during peak season, only weekly rentals permitted during this time
  
  *Out of state resident fee, $7 per night, $28 per week

• Glen Iris Inn
• Please see: http://www.glenirisinn.com/ for rates and details and facilities they operate 
• Parker’s Hideaway
• Peak - $1000/5-day week Friday – Wednesday
  Non Peak - $1000/5-day week Friday-Wednesday; $300/night, 2-night minimum
  
  
  Access Passes are not valid for this facility.

  Brochure
• Museum
• Donation
  $1 Adult
  $.50 Child
  $3 Family
• Wood Permits
• $25/day-call the park office for more information (585)493-3600

Maps

New! Download this park's digital map to your iOS Apple and Android device.

• Letchworth State Park Trail Map (South Section)
• Letchworth State Park Trail Map (North Section)

Firewood source maps show a 50-mile radius from which untreated firewood may be moved to this campground. For more information see firewood restrictions.

• Firewood Source Map (pdf)

• Snowmobiling Map (pdf)
• Letchworth Map (pdf)
• 2024 Deer Hunting Map (pdf)
• Trail Map North (pdf)
• Trail Map South (pdf)
• Turkey Hunting Map (pdf)

Highlights of Letchworth State Park:

• Considered the "Grand Canyon of the East," Letchworth State Park is roughly the size of Manhattan Island, spanning over 14,427 acres on the Genesee River.

• Here, the river carves three unique canyons. Bare, vertical rock walls tower 550 feet in some places, with the river plunging over three large, easily viewable waterfalls, known as Upper Falls, Middle Falls, and Lower Falls. The Seneca believed that the Middle Falls were so wondrous that it made the sun stop at midday.

• In total, the park has roughly 100 waterfalls of various sizes, 25 of which are named and many only flowing during the spring season.

• Three canyons are in the park: Portage Canyon with three large waterfalls and the railroad bridge, Great Bend Canyon with the "Grand Canyon of the East" view at Archery Field, and Highbanks Canyon with the dramatic Hogsback overlook and the Mount Morris Dam.

• The exposed bedrock in the gorge is made of Devonian shales, limestone, and sandstone. Many marine fossils can be found here, as the rock was laid down in ancient inland sea.

• Habitat types in the park include early successional growth, mature and old growth woods, riparian wetlands, talus slopes, and several wetlands such as ponds, creeks, vernal pools, boggy swamps and forested seeps.

• It is thought that over 15,000 organisms live in Letchworth State Park, making it one of the state's most biologically diverse parks.

Look and listen for these birds at our Park:

• Bald Eagle
• Great Blue Heron
• Turkey Vulture
• Peregrine Falcon
• Hooded Warbler

Everyone is a Steward: Be a Letchworth State Park Hero!

• Know the rules and concerns for the area you'll be visiting.
• Leave no trace. Do not litter and leave rocks, plants, and other natural objects as you find them.
• Let nature's sounds prevail. Avoid loud voices and noises. Respect other visitors and protect the quality of their experience.
• Be courteous. Yield to other users on the trail.
• Observe wildlife from a distance. Do not follow or approach them. Never feed animals. Feeding wildlife damages their health, alters natural behaviors, and exposes them to predators and other dangers.
• Hike and camp on established, durable trails and campsites.
• Be careful with your fire.

For more information, please read our Trail Tips!

Ask a Naturalist!

Q: Does Letchworth State Park have any significance for birds?

A: Letchworth has been designated as a Bird Conservation Area. More than twenty species of wood warblers regularly nest in Letchworth State Park every year and twenty-five species have nested in the southern seven square miles of the park in a single year, perhaps the best concentration in the world.

Q: Does Letchworth State Park have any significance for trees?

A: Fifty species of trees have been located in a 25-acre virgin forest within the Portage Canyon below Inspiration Point, perhaps the most diverse forest of this size at this latitude in the entire world.

Q: Are there bears in the park?

A: Black bears can be found in the park, though it is not a common occurrence. The best chance of seeing a black bear is on the East side of the park, where there are fewer visitors.

Did You Know?

- DID YOU KNOW? Black squirrels (like the ones seen at Letchworth) are gray squirrels that have an extra pigment gene called melanin, which causes their black coloration.

- DID YOU KNOW? The park conducts an annual butterfly census every year, over 50 species have been documented in the park. Visit the Humphrey Nature Center to learn how you can help!

- DID YOU KNOW? The no-mow zones throughout the middle of the park are not only a reduction in equipment and gas use, but also a conservation effort to promote vegetation growth and habitat.

The Letchworth BCA is located within Letchworth State Park. The 17 mile long park lies along the Genesee River. The river has carved a gorge though the middle of the park that is as deep as 550 feet in some places earning it the nickname, "Grand Canyon of the East". Evaluation of the BCA criteria for designation has shown that most of the Park qualifies as a BCA. Letchworth State Park is a National Audubon Society Important Bird Area.

Open water below the Mt. Morris dam may attract in excess of 2,000 Canada Geese in winter. There are several Great Blue Heron rookeries in the BCA with a total of over 100 nests. Of 75 species of Neotropical migratory songbirds, 64 are found in the BCA; of these 46 are confirmed breeders (plus 3 rare breeders). The BCA supports suites of birds associated with forest, rivers and shrub habitats. All of the forest, grassland and shrub/scrub species for which we have high regional responsibility are found here including breeding Sharp-shinned Hawk, Black-billed Cuckoo, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Wood Thrush, Cerulean Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Baltimore Oriole, Killdeer, Bobolink, Eastern Meadowlark, American Woodcock, Willow Flycatcher, Brown Thrasher, Blue-winged warbler, Golden-winged Warbler, Eastern Towhee and Field Sparrow. More than 30 species of warblers have been recorded in the park with 25 confirmed breeders. There are an estimated 534 pairs of Hooded Warblers and 110 pairs of Mourning Warbler. This is one of the few sites in upstate New York with breeding Yellow-breasted Chats. Winter roosts of 15-20 Turkey Vultures have been confirmed. As many as 200 Turkey Vultures may be observed on a single day in the summer. State listed birds confirmed as breeders in the park include threatened Bald Eagle and Special Concern Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Northern Goshawk, Red-shouldered hawk, Red-headed Woodpecker, Golden-winged Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Vesper Sparrow and Grasshopper Sparrow. Species that exceeded the IBA species at risk threshold are American Woodcock, Willow Flycatcher, Wood Thrush, Blue-winged Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Canada Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat and Rusty Blackbird.

Key BCA Criteria:

- Waterfowl concentration site

- Wading bird concentration site

- Migratory concentration site

- Diverse species concentration site

- Individual species concentration site

- Species at risk site

Download a copy of the BCA map.

Attention Hunters: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (i.e., "bird flu") has recently been detected in New York State in a variety of waterfowl species. Although the NYS Department of Health (NYSDOH) has stated that avian influenza rarely spreads to humans, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) is encouraging hunters to take extra precautions while processing harvested waterfowl. For more information on best practices for hunters to minimize risk of exposure, please read NYSDEC Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza - What Hunters Need to Know (leaves State Parks website).

For general information on Avian Influenza, please see: Cornell University, College of Veterinary Medicine - Avian Influenza Fact Sheet (leaves State Parks website).

For additional updates on Avian Influenza, including current updates, see NYSDEC - Animal Diseases (leaves State Parks website) and NYSDOH - Questions and Answers about Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) (leaves State Parks website).

2024 Letchworth Deer Hunting Map

2024-25 Letchworth Hunter Survey

2025 Turkey Hunting Permit Application

2025 Youth Turkey Hunting Permit Application

Turkey Hunting Map