I would describe Owens Falls Sanctuary as a great place to go on a first date. I say that because the trail was super easy and short enough that you probally won't break a sweat.
The parking lot can be found off Center road in East Aurora and marked with the sign shown in the adjacent photo. It's pretty small and fits about 5 cars so if you go with friends I would suggest car pooling. Right after you park the trail head is right there for you!
The adventure takes you into the woods and away from the busy street. There is only one trail to explore which is marked with little adventure dudes.** If you get lost I would be very impressed and would love to hear the story of how that happened!
I'm not sure how long the trail is so I'm going to guess that about .25 miles in you start to see benches pop up along the trail. That is a good indication you are getting close to the water and should soon find yourself coming across a breakout point in the path. Here you can take a closer look at the waterfall and even enjoy a rest on one of the many benches.
If you continue on the path after this stop you will soon be faced with crossing the creek. When I went it had just rained, so the water level was pretty high and not ideal to cross. Luckly someone had previously layed down a log and big stones in the water which created an easier section to take.
Hopefully when you visit the water level isn't to bad and you won't need to get your feet soaked, but if you do then maybe spend some extra time and have fun in the water.
Right after crossing there isn't much trail left to explore before hitting private property signs where you should turn around. When heading back it will be the same path you came so I highly recommend taking another peak at the waterfall or maybe observing more mossy trees before heading back to the parking lot.
If I lived closer I would definitely come here on my lunch breaks!
Be sure to check out more backstory on the area @ https://wnylc.org/conservation/highlighted-projects/owens-falls/
