Rock City Park in Olean
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Olean, Cattaraugus County, New York, US
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Site: http://www.rockcitypark.com/
- Monday:9AM–5PM
- Tuesday:9AM–5PM
- Wednesday:9AM–5PM
- Thursday:9AM–5PM
- Friday:9AM–5PM
- Saturday:9AM–5PM
- Sunday:9AM–5PM
Rock City Park in other cities:
A must stop if youre in or passing through the area! The hike takes a little less than an hour depending on your pace and how much you explore off the main trail. A great mass of history and amazement as you walk down and literally through the rock formations. $5 get you time to explore the rocks as much as youd like, a walk thru the gift shop and a very informative gentleman with lots of knowledge and recommendations.
This is a beautiful place, with picnic spots, hiking, events, a gift shop and several notable sites. The roughly 1 mile long trail is dog friendly but you may need to carry them down the iron stairs or up the Indian stairs. Its an easy, fun hike with lots of images in the rocks. Great fun for kids, families or anyone who enjoys a little bit of whimsy, nature and a bit of geology. Dogs get in free! Beware of the sasquatch!
This place far exceeded our expectations. It rained the night before we got there in the morning and we were not sure if it was safe to walk around. The owner reassured us it was fine even with all the leaves on the ground. We spent an hour following the well marked trails and we were amused by all the giant boulders scattered over 20+ acres. We could have spent another hour there but we were getting cold in the late October cloudy day. The owners led us to their wood burning stove to warm up and gave us detail direction to a great restaurant near Olean for lunch. Its an experience you dont want to miss if you are in the area.
Great place overall. Worth exploring great views and trails great for photo opportunities. Overall great place to get away for part of the day to do some exploring and forget about the world. A very easy and not super strenuous hike which is great for families. I just wish there was more trail or more to do and see. Because I’m not a beginner hiker my girlfriend and I took our time through this beautiful park and it still it seemed to fly by in very little time.
Rock City Park was great . We took our grandson to get out of the house finally and he was so excited and he had the best time. We climbed huge rocks we crossed over boulders we even met bigfoot. I recommend all parents , grandparents,and any other family members take a trip out the Rock City Park for the day climb some rocks , meet bigfoot, tame a 🐻 bear,and have lunch at the camp grounds and the best thing is everyone is outside together on the mountain.
We drove over an hour to get away from news and politics only to be confronted with political signs as soon as we entered the door. We left and drove instead to the Little Rock City Loop Trail in nearby Rock City State Forest, which was just as nice, but absolutely free.
The definition of AWESOME! Truly amazing to see! Hold on to hands of little ones until you are at the base of the rocks, there are some deep crevices, but with proper safety measures this is a wonderful place to take your family. It also has a large area with picnic tables, so bring a picnic lunch!
Its a fun way to spend a few hours admiring nature. Compared to State run or National parks the history and science is a little sparse. I appreciated the video of the history running in the main cabin. The rock structures themselves are beautiful and the trail is mild. The labels for many of the features are super useful for navigating and should be very entertaining especially for kids. Some of the patrons can be rowdy and loud so be warned on busy weekends. As best I could tell there was no one actively patrolling the trail.
Fantastic day out for everyone. There are some stunning views and interesting history. Good prices on gifts as well. Bring some water and hiking boots. Toddlers will need to ride in a backpack carrier.The main trail is nice and there are shortcuts if you need to spend less time there. Excellent value for money.
Better than expected. Privately owned now. Seemed a tad out of maintenance outside in places but I enjoyed the rustic feel. Met the owners, fantastic pleasant people. The store has some really great items of you are into geology. Heard the video was a little bland but I probably would have enjoyed it. Just the right price for admission, I feel like I got a deal. Take the time and explore off the trails. There is one neat old oil well(?) down hill, about 3/4ths of the way through, that you can turn the gears on. Dont forget to check out the glowing rocks in the darkroom.
Great short hike but very interesting terrain. Not difficult to manage for most people, and plenty of areas to take decent pictures of very old rock formations. This area has lots of historical significance, and the owners freely share their knowledge as theyve been lifelong area residents. Gift shop has clothing, snacks and plenty of rocks, minerals, and gems for purchase. Oh, and restrooms are clean and picnic areas for families who may bring in their lunch. Did I mention it is dog friendly? You can bring the family pooch if theyre comfortable climbing on rocks and navigating narrow hiking paths.
A very unique place to visit. We enjoyed the coolness of the shaded trails built at the bottom of huge conglomerate boulders. It was a wonderland of green trees and plants with little secret alcoves around every curve of trail. It was like natures Disneyland. There was a nice gift shop and museum to browse and the souvenirs did not gouge your pockets. Admission was very reasonable. Very nice people.
We took our grandchildren to Rock City Park about one week ago. The park is easy to get to and it is marked well from the road that you wont miss it. The owners were very nice to us all and they have a wonderful gift shop there; much more than I expected. The trail was nicely marked and wasnt too long or too short. Restrooms were very clean and had hand sanitizers and soap available. We will go again next year as my grandchildren loved it! I would highly recommend a visit to this park.
Beautiful place to hike. Very peaceful and like being in an enchanted wonderland. Lots of crevices in the rocks to explore. Very similar to Panama rocks. Definitely not a place for children, could also be extremely dangerous for people that arent very agile. a lot of tree roots and rocks sticking up, in the fall many are covered with leaves, if you arent an experienced hiker you could easily trip. Theres steep drop offs and many areas you could slip and fall, even the surfaces of the rocks are covered in a slippery film so its best not to get close to the edge. Definitely have shoes with good traction....
This is a fantastic hiking area. I would not suggests kids under about 7 years old because of safety. There are lots of drop offs, steep climbs, and crevices. The trail is marked and you can choose the short version or long version. It was stunning in the fall. The area has lots of shade so I imagine it would be a great summer hike too. Inside there are rocks and crystals of various sizes for sale in the gift shop. The staff are very welcoming to visitors.
You will be amazed by this rock garden, towering rocks way above as the trail weaves through the huge cracks and overhangs, bridges, dont miss the Indian stair case. Meaning naturally there before settlers arrived. The trail is moderate, to easy, about 3/4 of a mile, but has some elevation losses and gains. Its worth the slight effort.
If you like being outdoors and seeing unique natural formations, this is for you. The rock formations here are not seen anywhere else. Both access to the trail and the gift shop are very affordable. Many of the gems sold in the gift shop would go for several times the price in other places.The walking tour itself begins in the gift shop where you will have to pay to enter the trail. The trail begins on top of large boulders. It then descends down between boulders where you have to squeeze through. You will walk to many formations that have been well marked. The tour ends back on top of the boulders.The nice gentleman said it would take about 45 minutes, but we had a blast and it took us over 2 hours because the place was so interesting.
Good narrow hiking trails going through HUGE boulders. Interesting because it kind of feels like youre traveling to the center of the Earth. Short hiking trails so its a good day out for a family or beginner hiking. The building center needs to be cleaned, organized, and have better maintenance.
Definitely gotta check this out, everything else in NY has been carved by glaciers but not this! This was an ancient seabed that basically compacted into sedimentary rock and got pushed up creating these huge columns of rock. I completely nerded out here! Lots of different kinds of fungi, incredible rock formations and and the owners have a store where you can purchase minerals and fossils. Definitely a must see!
This Rock City Park is very unique. The owner is so friendly and very informative. He answered all the questions I have on the park and its history. I stopped by the restroom before I headed out to begin my adventure with my 2 little pups. The restaurant is a mini-antique store. It is unisex and you can stop while you are in there. LOL The building also sells rocks, souvenir, drinks, etc... This park is very dogfriendly!The entrance fee was $5 per person; free for dogs. After paying, the entrance to the park is located in the back of the store. Once you exit the store and into the park, I was already standing on rocks - top of the rocks with the rock city park located below. There are large gaps between rocks, and there are little concrete bridge to help you cross from one rock to another. If you have small dogs or children with you, keep both eyes on them, because if they accidentally fall between the rocks, I am not sure if you can rescue them, at least not easily.I got a little lost and headed to my right until I was at the top of an almost vertical drop staircase, the Indian Stairs. Luckily for me, I came across a couple who climbed up the staircase, and the nice man helped me carry one of my dogs down. On my way back up after finished with exploring park, I found the metal staircase that I should have taken to go down into the park. The metal staircase was pretty steep, too, and it has spaces in the steps. My girls wouldnt have been able to go up or down on either stairs. If you are taking your dog or very young kids, be prepared to carry them up and down these stairs.I was going backwards on the trail since I took the Indian Stairs down, and because I was traveling backwards on the trail, I missed a lot of the rock formations. I ended up taking a shortcut in order to start close to the beginning as though I came down from the metal staircase. There are small trails that branch off the main trail. Stay on the main trail is a good idea. There is where you will see all the rock formation, and where you are likely to get lost. I used a GPS tracker to track my route so that I was able to find my way back and around.The rock formations are pretty neat. My favorite is the Balancing Rock, and big foot at the end. One of my dogs was growling at Big Foot. LOL For $5, this park is so worth going to and exploring. It is amazing how big the rocks are. I highly recommend stopping by this park if you are in the area. This park is not wheelchair accessible, and you will need to be in reasonably good health.
Holy cow just mind boggling so cool friendly people worth the admission me and girlfriend enjoyed it very much just bring water if is is hot weather I am going again to take my 6 an 4 years old kids good family time I also found this cool little black sack thing that was hidden to be found withe a letter supposed too heal and protect if u believe but very cool for me and new reastio ship during this quarantine I would bring a camera to next time
Total reviews rating 4.8
199 Reviews for Rock City Park 2023:
Review №1
2021-10-27A truly magical place. Wear good shoes because walking can get a bit tricky. A walking stick also a great addition. There are steep stairs to get down to the rocks, but the stairs are well made and there are railings.
Review №2
2021-09-14Rock City Park exceeded our expectations. We ended up visiting twice because we had some car troubles on our way there that left us stranded in the parking lot. The owners were very friendly and generous. Once we got a working car we came back and did the trail. It was so fun and absolutely beautiful. Its not just a walk through the woods with some interesting rocks. Despite the well marked trails and pathways we felt like we were hiking uncharted wilderness. It was a fun hike full of wonderful rock formations to explore.
Review №3
2022-06-10Such a beautiful place. You can explore all on your own. Gift shop is cute and affordable.
Review №4
2021-07-16Great fun and value. How could we not get the $12 season pass??!!! Super cool and relaxed atmosphere. Really a wonderland experience. Going back with kids now that we know how neat it is. Gift shop had super cool and well priced gems and minerals.
Review №5
2021-10-24The rock is estimated to be 320 million years old and the quartz a half a billion years old, quite a spectacular sight to behold, well worth the short ride and visit.
Review №6
2021-11-08Loved the experience it was beautiful here..its a lot of Walking but totally worth it to see and walk on and through all the rock formations
Review №7
2021-08-22Great medium sized hiking spot. $5 per adult, and lasted us a few hours. Trails are easily marked, and the hike was great. Not too difficult but some areas were a fun challenge. Parking was decent and the shop was cute. Will come back for sure!
Review №8
2021-09-13This is a wonderful, great place to be able to explore how the glacier deposits affect land. Only 5 per person and no severe limit of time to complete exploring.
Review №9
2021-08-19So awesome!!! The rocks are massive and really really cool to walk around and through them! Definitely a must see place, its a very easy trail to walk on.
Review №10
2021-10-21Great hike beautiful scenery. Lots of fun rocks to walk through.