Upstate New York
A short fall trip that turned into SO. MANY. WATERFALLS. — the Finger Lakes gorges, the Catskills, and Niagara to finish. In Laura’s words.
waterfalls and fall leaves
almost killed Karen Good Hamilton hiking…she deserves this
SO. MANY. WATERFALLS. I had NO idea upstate NY was SO beautiful. Rant: every place we have visited outside of Florida always has a children’s garden or community garden of some sort and they all recycle. It’s just a way of life. I NEVER see this in Florida. I REALLY want to do some sort of community garden in Indialantic. I have wanted to for a while, I just don’t know where to start. We stumbled across the most beautiful children’s garden today near Ithaca and it has really motivated me. Watch out Indialantic, I’m coming for ya!
It’s the end of our short little Fall trip. We saw so many vibrant colors and beautiful waterfalls. I don’t think I could convince my mom to do another hike right now even if there was a pot of gold at the end. Today we stopped to do a hike that wasn’t on our list and unfortunately it was closed for the season. Since having kids I am more of a rule follower. Karen Good Hamilton in her old age no longer adheres to all the rules so we went anyway and it was so worth it. It was magical. We also saw a waterfall that has a constant flame behind it. We saw two bald eagles, two hawks, an owl and ended our day with the mother of all falls, Niagara Falls which did not require a hike. And of course while we are in Buffalo we are ending the night with wings. Back to reality tomorrow. And for anyone concerned, our hotel is directly across the street from the airport so we should not miss our flight.
🌤️ Weather we had: Highs around 58°F, lows around 43°F, with 2 rainy days (0.9” total).
🏞️ National parks & monuments
NPS sites in and around this trip:
- Women’s Rights National Historical Park (Seneca Falls) — in the Finger Lakes.
- (Most of the gorges — Watkins Glen, Taughannock — are New York state parks, not NPS.)
🥾 Trails we hiked
- Watkins Glen Gorge (North Rim 2.5 mi, Glen Creek 2.3 mi, Finger Lakes Loop 4.4 mi) — the famous gorge of 19 waterfalls and stone staircases.
- Taughannock Falls (1.8 mi) — flat gorge walk to a 215-ft plunge, taller than Niagara.
- Buttermilk Falls (1.6 mi) & Lucifer Falls / Treman (1.1 mi) — classic Ithaca-area gorge hikes.
- Ithaca Falls (0.2 mi) — “there are steps but worth it for this short hike right in town. Such a cool experience.”
- Eagle Cliff Falls (Havana Glen) — “not on our list of stops… decided to check it out. Pure magic!”
- Eternal Flame Falls (Chestnut Ridge, 1.2 mi) — a natural gas flame flickering behind a waterfall.
- Overlook Mountain (Catskills, 4.7 mi) — climb to a fire tower and the ruins of an old mountain hotel.
🍽️ Eats & places
From our Google Maps “Falling in New York 2019” list — Finger Lakes to Buffalo.
- Anchor Bar (Buffalo) — the birthplace of the Buffalo wing; “while we are in Buffalo we are ending the night with wings.”
- Purity Ice Cream Co. (Ithaca) — the 1936 institution; a must after the gorge hikes.
- Middle Falls (Letchworth State Park) — the “Grand Canyon of the East,” one of the big three falls on the Genesee.
- Kaaterskill Falls (Catskills) — the two-tiered 260-ft falls that inspired the Hudson River School painters.
- Three Bear Inn — roadside lodging on the route between the Finger Lakes and the Catskills.
