Mr. Letchworth's grand gorge

Though dwarfed in size and reputation by the mighty Niagara, the falls of the Genesee River are a place of inspiration and legend, not to mention magnificent beauty.

The falls thunder down more than 500 feet in three steep steps. The river has gouged a 17-mile-long gorge out of the high plateau of western New York state on its north-flowing course into Lake Ontario at Rochester.

The sheer-walled shale and sandstone chasm, often called the "Grand Canyon of the East," is an easy 41/2-hour drive from Pittsburgh and is a must-see. It's 60 miles southeast of Niagara Falls.

Centuries before Europeans arrived in the area, the native Seneca Indians called the falls An-de-ka-ga-kwa, "the place where the sun lingers," believing the sun god passed more slowly over their wild gorge to admire its beauty. Among their other legends is the story of Mo-na-sha-sha, the young bride who leapt into the falls with her infant rather than submit to a tribe that had captured her. The spirits of mother and child are still said to roam the forests as white-tailed deer.

Then there's the less fanciful story of Mary Jemison, an early settler whom Indians kidnapped when she was 15. Choosing to stay with her captors, Jemison married a Seneca, raised her children and lived in a stone house near the falls for 70 years.

Even though the area had been heavily lumbered by 1858, a rainbow arching over the falls that year captured the heart of William Pryor Letchworth, an early conservationist, wealthy industrialist and upstanding Quaker from Buffalo.

During a train ride that had paused on a high trestle spanning the gorge's upper end, Letchworth got out to stretch his legs. Walking along the canyon's rim, he came across an old house near a burned-out lumber mill. Letchworth fell in love with it, buying the house and the 100 clear-cut acres around it. Eventually he acquired several thousand surrounding acres, which he had replanted in native woods. He also refurbished and expanded the sprawling house, calling his summer retreat Glen Iris.

When Letchworth died in 1910, he deeded his entire estate to the people of New York. It has since grown into a 14,000-acre state park that bears his name and includes camping sites and dozens of cabins to rent. The Letchworth home is now the Glen Iris Inn. A popular venue for weddings, it has 15 guest rooms, with rates ranging from $75 to $150 a night, and a full-service restaurant.

Letchworth Park's more than 70 miles of trails offer superb hiking and biking. Other activities include hot air ballooning, whitewater rafting, kayaking, orienteering and, in winter, cross-country skiing.

But the main attractions are always the gorge and waterfall, which is really running heavy this time of year.

The cliff-edge trails around the inn offer a variety of excellent vantage points of the falls, as well as the twisting, precipitous gorge that unwinds downstream. There's another good overview from the Morris Dam at the canyon's northern end.

Equally impressive is the perspective from the railroad trestle that crosses the Genesee just upstream from the falls. This is the same approximate view that first caught Letchworth's eye. It's easy to see why he was so taken, especially when sun-spawned rainbows appear in the mist over the falls. Even though the trestle has a wide wooden walkway, strolling out to the middle for the best view requires a brave heart, especially when a freight train rumbles across the span.

For my money, however, the most impressive and placid perspective of the falls is from below. That requires a bit of root-grabbing, proceed-at-your-own risk scrambling down a steep gully trail that gets washed out every time it rains. Once at the bottom, you're on the gorge's broad flat stone sheet, where the Genesee's waters regroup in shallow pools.

When looking up at the towering walls the Genesee has carved over the last several million years, hawks circling on the updraft, it's easy to hear Mo-na-sha-sha whispering in the wind.

Letchworth Park is located near the town of Portageville on Route 19A, about 30 miles southwest of Rochester. For information, call 716-493-3600 or visit www.nysparks.state.ny.us.