Devil's Hole State Park, Niagara Falls, NY

Visited August 5, 2021

Robert Moses Parkway, Niagara Falls, NY 14305 (Last exit before the crossing to Canada.  There was significant construction being done but at 10AM on a weekday morning, I did not experience any traffic waits.)

68-84 degrees Fahrenheit, sunny 10:00 AM - 11:41 AM (When I first returned to my car, the car thermometer read 104 degrees! It cooled off after a mile on the road.)

Bathroom building is surrounded in orange plastic fencing and there were many workers there.  There were porta-potties at the parking lot.  

Dogs on leash are welcome.  [From the website: "Pet Policy: A maximum of two pets are allowed in day use areas unless prohibited by sign or directive. Pets are to be supervised at all times and either be crated or on a leash not more than 6-feet in length. Proof of rabies inoculation shall be produced if requested by staff. Pets are not permitted in playgrounds, buildings, golf courses, boardwalks, pools and spray-grounds or guarded beaches (this does not apply to service animals)."] Wesley had an appointment at with his veterinarian today and he is such a lunatic when he sees water, especially water that is not allowed to play in, that this was a trail I chose to do without him.

I would allow 2 hours or more to fully enjoy the trail and allow water/hydration breaks.  I hiked a quick 3 miles to the Rock of Ages but would have been happy to explore further if I was not anxious to pick up Wesley. The approximately 400 stone steps down to the trail and the climb back up was challenging but the actual trail is easy to moderate in difficulty.  I purposely came on a day when no rain was expected and no rain had fallen in days because I imagine the trail would be quite treacherous when wet.  There were narrow sections of trail which edge right up to a dangerous drop into the river so passing others can be  tricky in those areas. Most of the trail was single file.  I saw approximately 20 people and 2 well-behaved dogs; much less than the amount of people I passed when I visited the other two neighboring state parks in April.  There are narrow sections of trail with steep drop offs which make passing tricky so I looked up occasionally to see who is coming and to seek wider passing areas.  I passed a lady who was running this trail!  Well, truly, she passed me. She and I passed once while I headed to the giant stone that looms over the trail (AKA Rock of Ages) and once again when I was returning to the stairs.

There was litter on this trail and quite a bit of broken glass...one more reason this was a good trail for Wesley to miss.

There is no foliage encroaching on the trail so I was able to break out the capris and hiking shoes.  I passed many people wearing shorts today.

Mosquitos were not a problem today.

No cost for parking.

Parking in a paved lot that will host 20+ cars.  The parking spots are fairly narrow. Parking is not allowed on the lawn.

The Niagara River was a gorgeous aquamarine.  It is amazing how different in color this same river is when viewed from the highway on the way there.  While in the park, I saw a small duck, a robin, a fearless chickadee, and a tiny mouse or mole that scurried across the trail so quickly I am not sure exactly what I saw.    I saw cherry, birch, staghorn sumac, maple, and willow trees.  I saw many wild flowers.  The Queen Anne's lace is really prevalent this time of year.  There was also the beginnings of goldenrod.

Whirlpool State Park is part of the WNY Summer Hiking Challenge.  https://outsidechronicles.com/challenge

For more information about the park and trails: https://parks.ny.gov/parks/42/

Nearby:

In Lewiston are a number of inviting eateries.  

When I visited in April 2021, I enjoyed the outdoor area at the Brickyard Pub and BBQ.  As a testament to their popularity, there was a twenty-minute wait for our table on a weekday around 3:00 PM!  Their Brickyard Brewing Company Lewiston Porter was fantastic, their Memphis Po' Boy (pulled pork topped with coleslaw on a baguette roll) was a delight, and their service was efficient and polite.  The fries on my friend's plate looked amazing.

https://www.brickyardpub.com/

Also nearby is Whirlpool State Park.  The trails do connect if there have not been recent landslides so if I could schedule a longer chunk of time for my visit, I could explore more of the trails along the river and only have to climb the approximately 400 steps once.  (As someone who has done both sets of steps, I prefer the Devil's Hole staircase because the steps had less rise per step and the staircase was a bit more wide so passing other visitors felt less dangerous.)