Hiking Buttermilk Falls State Park, New York: Short and Steep

Don’t fall for the short distance, this hike is a doozy! But the waterfalls and natural pools make this State Park a MUST-VISIT!

I have a passion for hiking and I’ve hiked in many states. So trust me when I say that hiking in Buttermilk Falls State Park isn’t a cake walk.

While camping in the Finger Lakes region of New York, my husband, myself and our friend decided to pay a visit to Buttermilk Falls State Park. After all, the park is only a 25 minute drive away from where we were camping.

Want to know where else we hiked and camped? Check out my previous post on Taughannock Falls State Park and their campground!

We got there and after a quick look at the map decided to go for the hike that loops us back to the parking lot where we started. It shouldn’t take long, it was less than 2 miles total distance.

So we went for it!

Don’t let the distance fool you though, we were pretty tired after this short little hike.

But I’m getting ahead of myself! Let’s start with the basics.

Park Details

Where is Buttermilk Falls State Park?

Buttermilk Falls State Park is in the Finger Lakes region of New York and just south of Cayuga Lake and the town of Ithaca.

This region offers so much in the ways of state parks, cideries, wineries, and breweries all while being so close to the beautiful Cayuga Lake.

Ok, so you’re in New York state and approaching Buttermilk Falls – now what?

Parking

The 3 of us got a late start when heading to this state park. Late start means limited parking remaining. So we were sent to an “overflow parking area” near the ball fields and the trailhead for the Larch Meadow Trail. We had to cross the street to get to the Lower Park Entrance where we started our hike.

There are a total of 4 parking lots in Buttermilk Falls State Park and 2 different entrances.

We started at the Lower Park Entrance and picked up the trail we wanted to hike from there. This area has 2 parking lots. One is located as soon as you enter the park and the other is across the street.

The other entrance is the Upper Park Entrance and this has a parking lot upon entering. The final parking lot is through the Upper Park Entrance and is back Park Road about a mile.

Camping

Buttermilk Falls State Park also offers a campground!

We did not personally stay here (we were camping at Taughannock Falls State Park), but this campground is close to the Lower Park Entrance of Buttermilk Falls.

They offer cabins and tent sites with and without electric. From what I have found online, there is RV camping, but the RV must be less than 20 feet long. I would call if you need more information about your RV/Camper/Fifth Wheel.

The campground map can be found here and reservations can be made here!

Trails

Buttermilk Falls has 7 different hiking trails. All of the trails are less than 1.5 miles long but again, I warn about the steepness.

The Trails:

• Gorge Trail (.75 miles)
• Rim Trail (.75 miles)
• Bear Trail (.75 miles)
• Larch Meadow Trail (1 mile)
• Lake Treman Trail (1.5 miles)
• Owl Creek Trail (.75 miles)
• Finger Lakes Trail Spur (1.15 miles)

We only visited for about 2 hours and hiked the Rim Trail and looped back to the parking lot via the Gorge Trail.

It would have been easy to spend more time and hike for longer at this park, but we had other plans for the rest of the day.

I have provided 2 maps here, just for you! The first one is the Topo Map (shows steepness) and the other is a more basic Park Map. You can see the trails, the parking lots and other details there.

Swimming

Buttermilk Falls State Park is also a great place to cool off on a hot summer day. The day we went was a scorcher in July, but we didn’t know about the swimming.

So learn from us and pack a swim suit/old clothes and a towel for this hike!

There is a swimming pool (not your average YMCA’s pool as you can see) at the base of the falls. The day we went, the waterfall was nearly dried up because of lack of rain. And the pool was closed because of COVID. But look how deep and refreshing this natural pool is!?

However, while no one was swimming in the pool at the base of the waterfall, there were many people swimming in the natural pools along the Gorge Trail! People were cliff jumping into the deeper pools and swimming in all different sections of the creek.

Now that you know a little bit about the park and where it’s located, read below for more on our hike.

Our Hike

My husband, our friend and I started at the South Entrance of Buttermilk Falls State Park. After we grabbed a map and got our bearings, we decided to start on the Rim Trail.

The trailhead of the Rim Trail can be found just behind the Camping Office and the bathrooms.

The Rim Trail

So up we hiked. You start out on the trail and it runs parallel to the Maintenance Access Road while it grows steadily steeper and steeper.

Up and up you hike as you continue on the trail. Several people ahead of us turned back and were walking down past us as we were hiking up. This hike is not particularly stroller friendly.

The trail winds and curves into wide switchbacks and as it straightens out, it becomes even steeper yet. I will say we stopped a few times on this trail to rest but it was mostly because my husband had cut his foot the day before when we were down at the lake near our campsite.

Maybe don’t do this hike when you cut your foot on a large piece of glass the day before.

Anyway, the trail finally seems to level out and you realize just how high you are when you look down in the gorge and see the creek. The creek is far below you now and beautiful with it’s natural pools of water.

At this point, the trail splits. You can continue on the Rim Trail, which stays above the gorge, or you can do what we did and head down into the gorge. Once the trail splits, it becomes the Gorge Trail

After the split – The Gorge Trail

After we stayed to the right and followed the Gorge Trail down towards the creek, we came to a cute little bridge to get to the rest of the Gorge Trail.

Again, you can see all of these details in this map that I provided earlier in the article.

The Gorge Trail runs along and just above the creek but there are several access points along this trail that lead to the deep pools of the creek. You can see people swimming just below me in this picture here.

As you continue just above the creek, you begin to descend back to the parking lot. Remember how steep it was to get up to this point? Well now you’re heading back down.

I was hiking with Luna (our 5 month old yellow lab at the time) and she was practically running me down the steep trail. The stairs down are made of carved stone and can get puddley – so watch your step! You can see me in the picture above, WAYYY ahead of my husband as I descended the many stairs.

As you continue, there are many beautiful waterfalls and places to dip your feet in. Like I said, make sure you pack some old clothes or a swimsuit so you can enjoy the natural pools!

The Final Descent

I continued on ahead of my husband, thanks to our high-energy pup, and kept hiking down the steep set of stairs. There were a few waterfalls I wanted to see with him so I made sure to wait until he hobbled down to me. (He still had that cut on his foot, remember?)

As we continued down. the stairs grew less steep and became more even as we finished our hike easily.

I highly recommend doing the hike up the Rim Trail and down the Gorge Trail. This way the hardest part is at the beginning. Then you can relax and enjoy the Gorge Trail and maybe even swim or cliff-jump into those pools of crystal clear water.

It isn’t long after this that you are nearly at the parking lot again. Like I said, its a short hike, albeit very steep. Below is your final view before the last stretch of stairs and then a gradual stone walkway.

You finish at the base of Buttermilk Falls, where you started.

It was hot that day and Luna was just about ready to jump into that pool of water at the bottom. Thank God for that leash!

Final Hiking Notes

There are other trails in Buttermilk Falls State Park, but we only had time for this short loop. If you only have a few hours to kill, I would highly recommend this hike to any able bodied person.

Again, I would go up the Rim Trail from the base of Buttermilk Falls and then across the creek and back down via the Gorge Trail. This order creates a front-heavy hike that is enjoyable on the back end.

The three of us had a great time on this hike (besides my husband who had a throbbing foot by the end of it. I will say that I offered to turn around with him at the steep part but he insisted that we press on.)

The hike is well-shaded, beautiful and offers spectacular views of waterfalls, natural creek pools and stunning rock formations.

Near the town of Ithaca NY? I highly recommend this hike!

What Else is there to do in the area?

This area of New York is beautiful and offers several close state parks if you want more hiking. I would highly recommend Watkins Glen State Park and Taughannock Falls State Park.

There is also a wonderful cidery in the area who specializes in sparkling cider. Check out Finger Lakes Cider House at their website. You have to try the Honeoye (trust me)!

My husband and our beer-drinking friends also enjoyed the Ithaca Beer Company. We sat outside and the rolling green hills created a beautiful view for me while my husband drank a few beers of various flavors. (I’m not much of a beer drinker, but he liked all of the beers he tried).

Cayuga Lake is also RIGHT there. If you finish your hike and have some time, I highly suggest relaxing by the lake. We brought tubes to float in and a few adult beverages and had a relaxing afternoon one day we were there. Luna enjoyed swimming in the lake and we were able to kick back and relax!

The Finger Lakes Region is a beautiful place and I can’t wait to return!

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