{"id":379274,"date":"2025-11-14T22:03:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T22:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/379274\/"},"modified":"2025-11-14T22:03:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T22:03:14","slug":"these-5-new-york-state-parks-are-arguably-the-best-heres-why-you-should-visit-them-this-fall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/379274\/","title":{"rendered":"These 5 New York State Parks are arguably the best\u2014here\u2019s why you should visit them this fall"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our nation\u2019s parks\u2014whether formed on the state or national level\u2014are a source of joy, calm and connectedness to nature. While national parks<\/a>\u00a0tend to get all of the attention, state parks are absolutely worth a visit too. In New York, there are some gorgeous parks to choose from, especially now that fall foliage is\u00a0hitting its late stages and the air is crisping up. Here are our favorite five (out of 180) most underrated state parks!<\/p>\n

First is Niagara Falls State Park<\/a><\/strong>. Yes, it may be crowded, but it\u2019s an iconic American tradition to see the enormous\u00a0spray from this gorgeous set of waterfalls. Back in 2022, a 1905 tunnel<\/a> was reopened to let visitors experience the falls from a new, ground-level platform, giving more drama than seeing the falls from above. And now, a \u201cCrow\u2019s Nest<\/a>\u201d is underway, a set of stairs that let you walk halfway up the American side of the falls before returning back down into the gorge, relieving congestion and giving a new vantage point for visitors. It\u2019s scheduled to open in 2026.<\/p>\n

In second place is Whetstone Gulf State Park<\/a><\/strong> in Lowville, in the Thousand Islands region. It\u2019s built along a three-mile-long gorge and has impressive vistas, 56 beautifully wooded campsites, a swimming hole and, best of all, a hiking (and in winter, cross-country ski) trail that circles the gorge. A reservoir is stocked with fish for fishers, and non-fishers can canoe or kayak across it. According to Only in New York<\/a>, \u201cCamping here in the fall is a bit of a best-kept secret. The campground isn\u2019t big, and the tall hardwoods around the sites make it feel more secluded than the other crowded parks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sunken
\nPhotograph: Joe Trentacosti \/ Shutterstock.comSunken Meadow State Park <\/p>\n

Third place? That goes to Sunken Meadow State Park<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0on the North Shore of Long Island in Kings Park. Picnickers can enjoy a gorgeous view of the Long Island Sound with three bridges spanning the creek. On the grassy lawns, people play Frisbee and croquet, while swimming is safe in the protected waters of the Sound. If you\u2019re a hiker, this spot is the terminus of the Long Island Greenbelt Trail with 200 miles of paths. Finally, we love that there\u2019s a 27-hole golf course<\/a> here.<\/p>\n

In fourth place is Sojourner Truth State Park<\/a><\/strong> in Kingston in the Palisades region. Named for the Black abolitionist and suffragist Sojourner Truth (she also recruited soldiers for the Union Army in the Civil War), the park offers incredible views of the Hudson River. If you\u2019re interested in archaeology and history, you can poke around historic industrial ruins and what remains from the days of brick-making and quarrying stone. Finally, thick woods and steep cliffs make for a dramatic landscape. Walk or ride along the paved Hudson River Brickyard Trail, the Empire State Trail or a number of other trails.<\/p>\n

Our fifth place choice is Rock Island Lighthouse State Park<\/a><\/strong> in Fisher\u2019s Landing in the Thousand Islands. We adore a lighthouse<\/a>, and this is a very charming one: a white and black structure set on an island with a bright red lightkeeper\u2019s house and. It\u2019s only accessible only by water<\/a>, but to us, that just adds to the appeal! Jump into a kayak or ride with Clayton Island Boat Tours and head towards this lighthouse. You can climb the stairs to the top and look out over the St. Lawrence Seaway from the lantern room. There\u2019s also a small museum in the lightkeeper\u2019s cottage\u2014though just a heads up that the buildings are only open in the summer. For extra mileage on your vacation, join the 2025 Thousand Islands Region Geocache Challenge<\/a> with 45 hidden geocaches. If you find them all and stamp your passport at each one, you\u2019ll receive a limited edition collectible geocoin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Our nation\u2019s parks\u2014whether formed on the state or national level\u2014are a source of joy, calm and connectedness to…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":379275,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,11234,405,403,11235,5226,5225,5228,5227,1164,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-379274","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-categories-travel","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-city","12":"tag-news-transport-travel","13":"tag-newyork","14":"tag-newyorkcity","15":"tag-ny","16":"tag-nyc","17":"tag-travel","18":"tag-united-states","19":"tag-united-states-of-america","20":"tag-unitedstates","21":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","22":"tag-us","23":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115550317292187880","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379274\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/379275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}