Letchworth State Park

[ElijahW]

NTS,

On my way home from Zoar Valley today, I spent an hour or so walking through the 1912-1914 plantations at Letchworth State Park. I was able to confirm heights on several trees I spotted earlier this year. The following trees are current NY height champions:

Honeylocust (thornless): 105.9' x 5'11"
Cucumber magnolia: 119.3' x 5'7"
Rocky Mountain Douglas fir: 123.7' x 5'7"

I also measured a Norway Spruce to 129'+ and a White Pine outside the plantation to 132'. Letchworth has a number of impressive plantation species, including Noble Fir, Ponderosa Pine, and White Spruce. The canyon view isn't bad, either.

Elijah

[sradivoy]

I was there briefly last year and was impressed with the place. I measured two roadside trees that caught my eye - a 130' white pine and a 137' white pine.

[ElijahW]

NTS,

I’ve returned to Letchworth a handful of times since my last post, including a trip yesterday with Tom Howard, and I thought an update to this thread was overdue. All trees measured are located in the southern, or Wyoming County, portion of the park.

*NY Maximum Height

Previously Measured Trees:

Cucumber Magnolia, Latest dimensions: 122.8’ x 5.69’

Honeylocust, Latest dimensions: 107.3’ x 6.13’*

New Trees:

Eastern White Pine

145.8’
138.0’
135.3’ x 7.2’

Tuliptree

140.5’ x 11.22’

Eastern Hemlock

134.3’ x 7.33’

Bitternut Hickory

127.7’

Norway Spruce

127.1’
127.5’

Black Cherry

117.5’

Noble Fir

116.7’*
111.6’ x 4.39’
107.4’ x 7.36’

Cucumber Magnolia

115.1’ x 9.44’

Arborvitae

85.3’

Ohio Buckeye

84.1’ x 7.05’*

Yellow Buckeye

80.8’ x 6.85’*

Although slightly taller (probably just over 130’) Norway Spruces can be found in the plantations near Inspiration Point, the two listed are more impressive to me because they’re open grown. Both are located near the Glen Iris Inn, along with the Ohio Buckeye, Arborvitae, a couple of nice Yellowwood trees, and a nearly 120’ Rocky Mountain Douglas-Fir.

The remainder of the measured native trees grow either along a hillside or within a ravine adjacent to the Council Grounds, an historical meeting place for the tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy. After leaf-off, I should be able to do better in this area, Height-wise.

Elijah

[dbhguru]

Elijah,

Good to see a post on Letchworth. I’ve driven by that scenic location a number of times, but for some reason, I didn’t think there was much there to measure. Obviously, I was wrong.

Bob

[ElijahW]

Bob,

Most of the park is not interesting at all. Your instincts are mostly correct. All of the trees I’ve measured are near the Portageville end of the park, in close proximity to the Council Grounds and Glen Iris Inn. Some larger trees may also be within the canyon, but access to that area is difficult. Some old growth is rumored to be down there.

Elijah

[Erik Danielsen]

134.3' hemlock! These are the kinds of numbers I feel like we ought to be seeing out of Letchworth... it's such a big place. I bet we can rustle up some good trees, there's just a bunch of unimpressive areas to check of the list to narrow it down to the good stuff. I've seen some photos from hikes led by the park naturalist, Doug Basset- some really good looking stuff.

[djluthringer]

Yes!

Hemlocks in the 130's here are a VERY good sign of what yet might be out there.

On my short trip there several years ago, I only had time to briefly explore in several places on top of the gorge and easy access/heavy public use trails to the bottom. I was itching to get off trail down in the bottom and into any of those flats along associated bends in the river. If the bottom hasn't been whacked in 100+ years, I would expect it to produce some tall hardwoods:

basswood 120's
red oak 120's
black cherry 120's
white ash 130's
tulip 140's

If you could find a place that goes back 150 years or more, there is potential to reach some record heights that approach Zoar Valley. This ofcourse is mostly conjecture since I haven't seen the bottom areas, but... this is the pattern I've been findings with my other explorations of similar but much shallower ravines (100-225ft depth) in many Lake Erie drainages in Erie County, PA.

It is a big area to start with, but if you have access to LIDAR, it should help you narrow things down a bit.

Dale

[Bart Bouricius]

I was there in June and measured a few big cucumber magnolias a couple of tulips and some large hemlocks said to be "old growth"?. I will have to dig up my notes and photos.

Bart

[Erik Danielsen]

Bart, it would be great to have your measurements! Letchworth is a big place, the more measurements the better.

[ElijahW]

NTS,

After another visit to Letchworth this afternoon, I’d like to share with you some additional tree measurements. First, a couple summary comments:

1. With the exception of the listed Sycamore and Tuliptree, no measurements have been made on any of the gorge-bottom terraces (these are all upland trees).

2. I haven’t measured any trees that I would consider old growth. Most productive areas seem to date from the mid- to late-19th century.

3. Letchworth now is second (still well behind Zoar Valley) in terms of Rucker Height indices for NY State. No 150’-class trees have been documented yet.

Trees Measured since last post:

*NY Maximum Known Height

Tuliptree

147.7’

Sycamore

142.6’ x 11.89’

White Pine

146.8’ x 7.83’

Pignut Hickory

137.7’ x 10.63’* (possible currently listed state champion)
134.8’ x 5.63’

Shagbark Hickory

131.1’ x 6.62’
130.8’ x 5.89’

Cucumber Magnolia

128.7’ x 7.28’*

Basswood

127.3’ x 7.87’
123.8’

Current Rucker 10: 136.1’

138’ Pignut (center background)

Big-bottomed unmeasured Cuke

128’ Cuke

Elijah