Finger Lakes, New York Camping Trip - Day 2

 Sunday, June 25, 2023

If you couldn’t already tell from our last adventures in Worlds End State Park in Pennsylvania, our family likes waterfalls. We had dozens of waterfalls to choose from in the area, but we decided to keep traveling to a minimum our first day and head to Robert H. Treman State Park. 

Robert H. Treman State Park is best known for its rugged gorge called Enfield Glen. We parked at the northern entrance to the park and took the winding 1-1/2-mile-long gorge trail past 12 waterfalls, including the 115-foot-tall Lucifer Falls. We also saw two snakes on our way through the gorge - we hadn't seen a single one during our adventures in the wilderness of Pennsylvania the previous week, and here we saw two within a matter of minutes! The last large waterfall at the bottom (Enfield Falls) of the gorge includes a large swimming area at the base of the falls with a diving board right in front of the falls. We had been told the swimming area wouldn’t open until July 1 – the day we planned to leave to go home. But due to the heat they opened the swimming area early. So, two of us drove back to the campground to get swimming suits for those who were willing to brave the cold water by diving into the pool at the base of the falls. What an experience, and something they will remember for the rest of their lives!

NOTE: We recommend doing the gorge trail as early as possible in the morning before the crowds come. We did, and were able to take most of our photos without people getting in our way.

Our brave granddaughter jumping in

After enjoying the pool area and eating our lunch, we decided to head to the nearby Buttermilk Falls State Park, just a very short drive away. Most, if not all, New York State Parks charge a daily entrance fee. You can pay that fee at one park, and then visit multiple parks on that day for that one fee. So, we kept the receipt from our visit to Robert H. Treman State Park to show to the gate attendant when we went to Buttermilk Falls.

Buttermilk Falls, the main attraction in the park, can be easily seen from the parking lot in the lower area of the park. There are about 9 other falls which can be seen from the gorge trail, which we hiked. The main falls were a little sparse during our visit, and the swimming area at the base was closed due to low water levels, but we enjoyed the hike around the gorge.

The main waterfall was a little sparse when we visited

Afterward, we returned to the campground so the girls and men could go fishing in the pond. We could see some big fish swimming around, but we didn’t have any bait. The girls love to fish, so buying bait was put at the top of the priority list for the next day. We finished off the night with a campfire, smores, and discussing plans for the next day's adventures.

* All Photos and videos are the property of the authors except where otherwise noted. *