Finger Lakes Region

The gorge near the upper entrance of Treman State Park

The Gorge trail in Watkins Glen State Park looks so amazing, but it is closed between Nov to May. So we made the best out of the 3-day trip without it.

Where to stay: We stayed at Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel, clean and spacious. The staffs were very friendly and helpful. They provided coffee and tea every morning, and freshly baked cookies in the afternoon.

Day 1. Corning Glass Museum

Unique museum with live demonstrations. Its history includes discoveries of ceramic glass and glass fibers for communication by its scientists.

Day 2. Treman State Park

It had been raining for the three days, but we had our rain coats on wondering through the gorges. We took the gorge trail and the rim trail loop, which is about 4 to 5 miles, a perfect work out for the family.

Lucifer Falls is a 115-foot cascade.

Just be careful of the slippery ice on the stone bridges in winter.

Day 3. Buttermilk Fall state park & Ithaca

We took the gorge trail to the rim trail loop again, plus the bear trail (a very quiet trail compared to the roaring water trails). The trip was totaled up to 3 miles. The park is near Ithaca, so we had lunch there and visited Cornell University.

Glad to find out that the state parks have cabins and camping grounds, and even with swimming pools under waterfalls in season!