Brockport / Letchworth State Park
Driving from Oswego to Pike, NY | Camping by the Erie Canal in Brockport, NY | Hiking in Letchworth State Park | Camping in Cold Creek State Forest | August 2024
Once we were finished in Oswego, we had a week and a half before we needed to be in Wilmington, NC. We planned to take the route that felt most comfortable to us, following the Blue Ridge down rather than the coast or I-95. However, the day that we were leaving Oswego was the day that Tropical Storm Debby was hitting Pennsylvania and New York, after traveling North on our exact route. I kept a close eye on the weather and on flash flood warnings, and we decided to travel a bit further West before beginning our drive South just to avoid the worst of it. After packing up the van and checking out of the hotel, we stopped at Riverwalk Pizza in downtown Oswego to pick up some calzones and cookies. With that, we were on our way!
We drove West through the rain to Rochester, then followed the shoreline of Lake Ontario to a boat dock that was listed as a place we could park overnight. We honestly didn’t even look for things to do, because we were expecting it to just rain all day long. But after passing Rochester, the rain stopped, and though the sky was overcast, we started to wonder if we shouldn’t write off the whole day. When we arrived at the boat ramp, we found that it was right next to the highway with no privacy, and that there really wasn’t any fun way to pass the time here. So instead, we went back to iOverlander and scoured the map to find somewhere better to stay for the night. I noticed a few different parks near Brockport, NY, so we started heading South in that direction, hoping one of those would work.
When we arrived in Brockport, we drove to one of the sites listed that happened to be a visitor center right in the heart of downtown. It happened to be situated right on the Erie Canal, which is cool in itself, but here we found that camping, whether in a vehicle in the lot, in a tent on the green space, or on a boat on the canal is not only legal, but welcomed, and the town has lots to offer to those passing through! The visitor center even had bikes that you could rent for free to enjoy the towpath along the canal, as well as a bathroom with a free hot shower! We were immediately sold on the area, and spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out in the lawn, going for walks beside and across the canal, and chatting with boaters as they arrived and docked here.
Even better, the skies cleared and we ended up having a beautiful sunset that evening. We were very thankful to have found this little hidden gem, and to be able to say we camped next to such an iconic location!
The next morning, we contemplated staying another night here and attending the town’s art show, but our desire to move on to more scenic areas and be back in nature won us over. So we said goodbye to this cute little town, knowing we’d probably find a way to come back someday, especially if we keep coming to Oswego for work!
We knew of a state forest where we could camp for free a few hours South, but going there right away wouldn’t exactly fill up our day. Luckily, Letchworth State Park was on our way, which sounded like a great way to spend a few hours. We had visited the park over 7 years ago, during our last month of living in New York, and remembered enjoying the deep gorge, waterfalls, and trails. We navigated to the park, paid the entrance fee, then drove to one of the first trailheads next to the Upper Falls.
I remember being impressed with the falls last time we were here, but today they were extremely full because of Tropical Storm Debby, which made them all the more impressive! We each took turns walking down the stairs for a better view, then relocated the van to a lower parking lot where Charlotte could be more comfortable wandering around on the lawn and we could have a picnic. We continued walking along the Genesee river some more, and enjoyed all the different viewpoints and the raw power of the falls.
When we were finished at the park, we made our way further South and East to our chosen camping spot for the night, Cold Creek State Forest, South of the town of Pike. We were a little concerned about finding a spot as we drove, especially because it seemed like every town from Brockport to Pike had something going on that weekend — art shows, outdoor concerts, a county fair, and even Letchworth State Park had a big race going on — but luckily the one real spot in the forest was available. We settled in for a peaceful night in the woods, and ended our day with Charlotte taking us on a long walk down the entire road and back.
