Keuka Outlet Trail

 

Seneca Falls 

Waterfalls abound in the Finger Lakes Region, with some being hard to access. But the 6.4-mile Keuka Outlet Trail makes access to two falls relatively easy. The trail, which is a former towpath and short-line railroad track, runs between the towns of Penn Yan and Dreden, New York, and links Keuka and Seneca Lakes. It follows, closely, the course of the Crooked Lake Canal, which was built between 1830 and 1833 and its name was derived from the former name of Keuka Lake. The canal used wooden locks that necessitated replacements with stone eventually. In the early 19th century, several mills dotted the outlet and sparked economic development in the region. The canal was abandoned in 1877 and later replaced by a rail line that followed much the same route. It was destroyed by the flooding that resulted from Hurricane Agnes in 1972.

Our walk along the trail was nice, but a particularly wet and muggy week meant that there were bugs aplenty. Our trust bug spray prevented bites, but not the bothersome swarms in front of our faces. We parked in the lot for Seneca Falls and walked the quarter mile upstream to see it. Remnants of equipment and machinery were prominent but did not detract from the view. Such a nice day, we decided to walk the 1.25 miles the opposite way to see Cascade Fall. The cyclists going downhill at high speeds were sometimes annoying to avoid, but as the path went from asphalt to gravel this became less of a problem. As we emerged from the canopy into the park, the clouds had increased. A man who was standing beside his bike gave me one of those looks and nodded to the sky behind me. It was dark and foreboding. I acknowledged the looming rain and shrugged my shoulders. We took a few pictures. A light rain started to fall, which quickly turned to a downpour. We sought refuge in a picnic shelter for about 20 minutes until the rain passed.

Whistle signal along the short-line railroad track that was destroyed in 1972

Cascade Falls

Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the territory was home to the Haudenosaunee (as the Seneca called themselves). They were the western most group of what was called the Iroquois Confederacy, and are matrilineal based society. Their claim to the oldest participatory democracy, one studied by Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, is well supported. Some Haudenosaunee women befriended Elizabeth Stanton, Matilda Gage, and Lucretia Mott, and were thought to have had an influence on early suffragist organizations that would coalesce in nearby Seneca Falls.

The farmstand at the Orr-chards 

After our walk, we followed Outlet Road west and stopped at the picturesque Orr-chard’s Produce Stand to purchase honey and have some nostalgia. Although there were drinks and refreshments for sale, we had plenty of water and were anxious to have lunch in Penn Yan. Yet, the charm of the stand could not keep us from stopping.

We had a late lunch at the Keuka Restaurant in Penn Yan, which served a very good lobster bisque. The town, where some people lived in some desperate house, was overall a quaint little place. Its rather odd named comes from Pennsylvania and Yankee, because the early residents migrated there from the state to the south and the New England region.