New York State Parks

New York State has some of the best parks in the nation. There are 176 state parks in New York State. The parks offer camping, fishing, beaches, golf courses, thousands of trails and historic sites. You can find links to all of the state parks in NY by going to The New York State office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

One of my personal favorite parks is Buttermilk Falls in Ithaca New York. Only an hour or hour and a half away it is great for a day or weekend trip. It is small in comparison to other parks such as Letchworth State Park, but has plenty of area to explore and if you get bored you can always go to the Ithaca commons which has great places to eat and shop. It has some trails up the side of the falls that are a great hiking workout. There are camping and picnic area's and you can go fishing for dinner if you have a license. There is a designated swimming area at the bottom of the falls, but there are also many amazing pools that are along the trail, unfortunately these pools are technically off limits! Below is a breif description of the layout of the falls.

Buttermilk Creek flows down the east side of the Cayuga Valley, dropping more than 600 feet over 10 separate waterfalls and through two discrete glens. Most of this drop is over rocks of the Ithaca Formation. A particularly striking feature along Buttermilk Creek is Pinnacle Rock, a 40-foot pillar of shale left by erosion of the stream around it (probably through cracks that caused weakness on either side). Look for plunge pools and potholes.The grade in the upper part of the park is much gentler, as Buttermilk Creek winds from Lake Treman through the woods and by picnic areas accessible from West King Road. Owl Creek Gorge lies between the campground and Buttermilk Falls.

Source: Ithaca is Gorges by Warren Allmon and Robert Ross