Watkins Glen State Park is one of New York State’s top attractions and a flagship park featuring 19 waterfalls in less than 2 miles, with the Gorge Trail winding over and under waterfalls and through the cascading spray of caverns, open seasonally from mid-May through the end of October, and the Rim Trail overlooking the gorge and open year round, where dogs are allowed. The park also includes tent and RV camping, a playground, an Olympic-size swimming pool, and picnic facilities. More than any other park in the state, it has 19 waterfalls, all visible on the Gorge Trail, which has over 800 steps with places to stop and enjoy the views. Much of the park’s stonework was completed by the Civilian Conservation Corps, active there from 1935 to 1941, which built park buildings, trails, stonework, bridges, and many other projects. The Glen first opened to tourists on July 4, 1863, through local newspaper owner Morvalden Ells and landowner George Freer, and more than 10,000 tickets were sold in the first year. After changes in ownership, New York State purchased the property in 1906 and opened it to visitors free of charge, and in 1924 the first established New York State Parks Department in the Finger Lakes Region began managing the park and continues to do so today.