Ithaca is “Gorges”

Fingers Lakes – Spruce Row Campground, Ithaca NY

With over 150 waterfalls, it’s easy to see why Ithaca is gorgeous…um I mean “gorges”!

Our original plan was to go to Syracuse from Bullfrog Lake Campground but after a conversation with a couple we met from NY, they convinced us to change course and we decided to head to Ithaca instead.

With not many campsite options at short notice, we eventually settle on Spruce Row Campground.  This was one of those campgrounds that gave us a nice dose of perspective and renewed appreciation for the simple things in life like shade, privacy, clean bathrooms, water pressure and properly working electrical posts. It certainly wasn’t one of our favorite places to stay, but we made the most of it by spending time on hikes and exploring around town. This campground is mostly full timers so the people passing through clearly get the less desirable sites, but I digress.

This will give you a good indication on how the rest of the camp is kept up…..(Hole 3 at the Spruce Row Campground mini golf course).

One common theme we keep experiencing on this journey is that California isn’t the only state that suffers from drought conditions.  We are finding that most of the northeast is experiencing drought this year too.  This was even more apparent when we visited a couple of waterfalls that were barely flowing. The other common theme is that algae blooms seem to be wreaking havoc on our freshwater systems across the country.  Unfortunately, Cayuga Lake was experiencing an algae bloom which nixed our plans to go kayaking and have some beach time at the lake.  But as the slogan says, “Ithaca is Gorges”, so there were plenty of hikes for us to visit and explore.

So much to explore in the short amount of time we were in the area but here are some of the highlights from our time in Ithaca:

• Robert H. Treman State Park (Upper and Lower)
  • Parking was $9 which gave us access to both lower and upper falls parking lots. As an added bonus we were able to use our parking receipt to access other state parks we visited that day.
  • We started at the lower portion of the trail where there is ample parking and a fun watering hole that is a popular destination for locals and tourists to cool off in a natural pool. It’s a beautiful scene with a waterfall flowing into the natural pool and there is even a diving board! Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed in the pool area, so we took a drive to the upper part of the park so we could enjoy a shorter hike to the upper falls.  This section of the trail is stunning and in some sections felt like we were on the set of Lord of the Rings!   It was absolutely incredible and it’s totally worth checking out if you are in the area.  Dogs are allowed on the trails so we were able to check out the sights with Sato in tow.

Waterfall at lower pool:

Photos from upper portion of trail:

• Buttermilk Falls State Park
  • Excellent hike that goes in loop from the parking lot. Go left and there isn’t much to see…. Go right and start at the swimming area with the big waterfall and you are in for a treat the entire way to the top. No real need to go the other direction as it’s not visually pleasing.  Simply take the trail to the right of the parking lot, and enjoy the tiered waterfall with several emerald pools along the way, you won’t be disappointed.

• Ithaca Falls
  • Still on the hunt for more waterfalls, we made our way to the waterfall with the easiest access. Ithaca Falls is smack dab in the middle of town and can even be seen from the road. We parked across the street and made the easy hike to see it up close and personal. The water was flowing pretty good and made for stunning long exposure photos.

• Taughannock Falls State Park
  • This is a beautiful waterfall when it is flowing. At least that is what I have seen in pictures. The drought sure took its toll as Taughannock Falls was down to a trickle and wasn’t very picturesque when we were there.  It’s definitely worth checking out if you are visiting this area in the winter or early spring, but not so much in the summer following drought conditions.

This is what it looks like when it is flowing:

• Cornell University
  • We took some time to explore the area around the Cornell University campus and it was apparent that the students have such a special place to focus on their studies. The surroundings are serene and lend themselves to an ideal place for a hike, run, leisurely walk, meditation or studying for a midterm exam. Not a bad place for a couple of tourists to chill or for students working on their undergrad or master’s degrees!

• Downtown
  • Like most college towns, the downtown area is lively and has it fair share of retail stores, street performers, restaurants, and local hangouts. It wasn’t one of our favorite downtown areas to visit but we did enjoy a delicious ice cream from Purity Ice Cream 🙂

My biggest takeaway from this visit is that we really needed a few more days to explore Ithaca and the fingers Lakes region.  Most of our stops are 4 to 5 days which has its pros and cons.  The pros are that we have shorter drives between each stop, and we are able to see more places.  The cons are that we don’t get a deep dive at each destination and we try to pack too much into each day leaving us very little downtime which can be exhausting.  We are happy and thankful for what we were able to experience and will check out more on our next visit!

Until next time Ithaca!

-Tiny Trailer Trips Crew