This Finger Lakes gorge fits 12 waterfalls, ancient cliffs, and a swim hole into one short hike

Where Enfield Creek carved a wild glen

Just south of Ithaca, in New York’s Finger Lakes region, Enfield Creek has spent thousands of years cutting a narrow gorge through solid rock.

The park around it covers more than 1,100 acres of forest and water in Tompkins County.

People come here for three things at once: a dozen waterfalls, two trails that follow the gorge, and a pool you can swim in below the falls. The creek shaped all of it.

And the cliffs hold something 380 million years old.

The rock dates back 380 million years

The walls here are shale and sandstone from the Devonian period, which makes them roughly 380 million years old.

These layers settled at the bottom of an ancient sea, and if you look closely at the right spots, you can sometimes find fossils pressed into the stone.

Glaciers and running water cut the gorge over thousands of years. What makes this place strange is that it holds two gorges in one.

Lucifer Falls marks the dividing line, wide below and narrow above.

Lucifer Falls drops 115 feet in tiers

The waterfall everyone comes to see is Lucifer Falls, which drops 115 feet down the rock face. It does not fall in one straight plunge.

Instead it spills in tiers, stepping down the cliff sitting about three-quarters of the way up the gorge. When the smaller falls run low in dry stretches, Lucifer keeps pushing water through.

Come in spring, after the snow melts and runoff fills the creek, and you can hear it roar long before you round the bend.

Walk the gorge floor past the cascades

The Gorge Trail follows the bottom of the canyon, right alongside the creek.

You walk past cascades and pools the whole way, with hand-built stone steps lining much of the route.

The lower stretch stays fairly flat and easy, so you can settle into the sound of the water before the canyon tightens up.

The dramatic part comes later, where stone stairways climb the rock and an arched bridge crosses the narrow upper gorge. Take your time on the steps.

Climb the rim for head-on falls views

The Rim Trail runs high above the gorge, out along the cliff tops.

From the overlooks up here, you get wide, head-on views of Lucifer Falls that you cannot see from below. A long, steep stone staircase connects the rim down to the gorge floor.

Most hikers link the two trails into one loop, climbing up one side and coming down the other. That way you see the falls from two different angles in a single walk.

It is the way to do it.

Stone steps carved into the cliffs in the 1930s

Much of the stonework you walk on came from the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.

Those workers carved hundreds of steps straight into the cliffs, and the trails seem to cling to the sheer rock walls as you climb. Stone bridges cross the creek at several points along the way.

The craftsmanship holds up almost a century later, and it is a big part of what sticks with you after the hike. You feel the work in every step you take.

Swim in the pool below Lower Falls

You can swim in a stream-fed pool at the base of Lower Falls, which also goes by the name Enfield Falls. It is the most visible waterfall in the park, and the pool sits in a natural bowl ringed by trees.

Lifeguards watch the swim area during the season, and you can only swim in the marked spot, not anywhere else in the creek. The water runs cool, so it catches your breath on a hot day.

That is the whole point.

Jump from the platform into the pool

A diving platform sits right in front of Lower Falls, and swimmers can jump from it into the pool below. The falls make the backdrop while you swim, water pounding the rocks just feet away.

Families pack this spot in summer, kids climbing up to leap off while parents watch from the bank. The natural bowl of trees around the pool keeps it tucked away from the rest of the park.

If you bring children, this is where they will want to spend the afternoon.

Step inside an 1839 gristmill

Near the upper entrance stands the Old Mill, a stone gristmill built in 1839. It once anchored a small community called Enfield Falls, and today it works as a museum.

Step inside and you can see how the mill machinery once ran, with interpretive signs and exhibits explaining the mill and the community that grew around it.

The building sits on the National Register of Historic Places. It gives you a glimpse of how people lived and worked in this gorge long before it became a park.

Catch the cascade behind the Old Mill

Right behind the Old Mill, a smaller cascade tumbles down Fish Kill Creek.

You can catch it on your way through the upper park without much effort, since it sits just steps off the path.

A picnic area spreads out next to the mill, so you can eat with history on one side and falling water on the other. This corner stays quieter than the rest of the park.

It pulls together the human story and the natural one in one easy stop.

Count a dozen waterfalls along the glen

Past Lucifer and Lower Falls, the gorge holds about a dozen waterfalls in all.

Smaller cascades spill over layers of gray shale as you follow the trail, and the creek keeps bending and dropping the whole length of the glen.

Rock walls rise steeply on both sides, closing you in with the sound of moving water. Every turn of the trail opens onto another view of it rushing past.

You stop counting after a while and just watch.

Each season changes the gorge

The Gorge Trail closes in winter, and other trails may shut down depending on seasonal conditions. You can still view Lower Falls year-round, though.

Spring brings the heaviest, most dramatic water flow, when all that melt pours through at once. Come in fall and the gorge wraps itself in color, with smaller crowds along the trails.

You can stay overnight in a tent or cabin if you want more than a day, or just spread out and picnic beside the cascades.

Visiting Robert H. Treman State Park in New York

You can find the park along State Route 327, a short drive south of Ithaca, New York. The Lower Park Entrance sits closer to town and leads to the swim area, so head there if swimming is your goal.

The Upper Park Entrance gives you a shorter walk to Lucifer Falls and the Old Mill. Swimming runs through summer, roughly late June through Labor Day, with lifeguards on duty.

Check the official website before you go, since trail and season conditions change.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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