Sunday, September 13, 2009

Waterfallin' in Upstate New York

I recently returned from a trip to the upstate New York area to meet and visit with my wife's family/relatives/friends. Of course, I can't travel anywhere nowadays without taking along the camera and I knew the upstate New York area was well known for the many beautiful waterfalls that grace its landscape. In particular, the Finger Lakes region has a high concentration of spectacular falls.


                                              Rainbow Falls - Watkins Glen State Park
 
So I plotted my strategy in accordance to the areas that my wife wanted to visit and came up with four locations for my "must see" list.

1. Watkins Glen State Park (Watkins Glen)
2. Buttermilk Falls State Park (Ithaca)
3. Cascadilla Gorge (Ithaca)
4. Chittenango State Park (near Syracuse)

There were many other places I would've liked to have visited as well, but I knew my time would be limited. As it turned out I was able to get to all four along with a fifth location (Havana Glen Park near Watkins Glen) so I was happy for that. If I had to pick a favorite amongst these locations, I'd probably give a slight nod to Watkins Glen State Park. Its trail leading through the gorge is a work of art in itself and so nicely compliments the fantastic scenery it leads you through. Walking on/over/through the stone trails, bridges and even tunnels with waterfalls crashing down all around reminded me of scenes from the movie Lord of the Rings.

The only downside I noticed during my explorations was that the water flow on all the creeks I visited was quite low, despite the supposedly rainy summer most locals were complaining about. It made me wonder just how spectacular these areas would be with normal to high flows. I guess it gives me a reason to return at a more optimal time of year...which I'm sure I will. I'll just have to tell my wife that I'm itchin' to visit the in-laws again!!

Chittenango Falls Near Syracuse

To see more images from my brief explorations of these areas, click on the link below...

Waterfalls of Upstate New York