Adventures at Allegany State Park

Welcome to Allegany State Park!

Since becoming a raft Guide at Adventure Calls Outfitters I have spent countless hours in and around Letchworth State Park but, today I'd like to share another of my favorite New York State parks with you. Allegany State Park is located in southwestern New York and offers year- round adventures and something for everyone. 

Every year I spend at least a week camping with my family in Allegany State Park.  ASP offers multiple options Tent/RV sites, cabins (ranging from four walls to cabins with multiple rooms and heat/electric) and finally cottages (full home away from home accomodations) at both the Red House and Quaker Run sides of the park.   Each side of the park also has a beach and waterfront boating and rental options.

This year we chose to stay on the Quaker Run side of the park in a single room cabin.   Since we are on vacation the idea is to relax so we try not to have any hard and fast schedules for each day but we also don't try to sit just at the cabin either.

Thunder Rocks

Our first outing for the week was a trip to Thunder Rocks.  Thunder Rocks is a series or large granite boulders left behind by glaciers during the last ice age.

As a kid I admit that I spent far too much time climbing on and around the rocks.  Unfortunately over time a number of visitors have forgotten the rules of Leave No Trace and have left graffitti and others markings on both the boulders and the trees. 

That stick guy is always getting into trouble!

Thankfully efforts over the last few years have helped to limit further damage to the formations.  Signs have been added advising visitors to not climb on the rocks and nature is retaking the rocks with vibrant miss and other plants growing on the formations.

If you plan to visit Thunder Rocks and you want to see everything I recommend spending at least a couple of hours here.

Who doesn't love fireworks?

Our next adventure was to be the beach but heavy rains during the week closed both of the beaches.  On the bright side we were still able to enjoy the fireworks over Quaker Lake for the Fourth of July.

No kid of any age can resist playing in a stream on a hot day.

While my family enjoyed the downtown around the cabin and my kids were running off playing in the streams and woods with other campers I decided to embark on a new adventure.   Thanks to fellow guide and outdoor enthusiast, Mike Radomski (Outside Chronicles) I had head about the Allegany 18 challenge.

The goal is to hike all of the original 18 hiking trails in ASP. A task covering 70 miles of trails through the woods of ASP. To see how this turns out follow my posts chronicling each trail as I complete them.