161 Things Every Cornellian Should Do, #92

#92 – Hike in one of Ithaca’s beautiful parks

Now that it’s April, that means that spring has arrived, and brought with it sunshine, and warm temperatures, and rainbows and butterflies, right? Wrong. It snowed twice in three days at the beginning of April, so I thought I would remind myself what things look like when it’s warm.

The summer before my senior year of high school, my family and I took a road trip through New York and Canada to visit colleges and see the sights. Along the way, we visited RPI, Cornell, and RIT, and got the chance to camp and hike in some of the state parks around Ithaca.

We hiked through Buttermilk Falls, Watkins Glen, and Letchworth (closer to Rochester), and even though I wouldn't have called Buttermilk a waterfall (by the middle of summer, you could get more water from your shower), they were still some nice hikes. Buttermilk Falls in particular is really near to Cornell (and the only park that fulfills #92 on the list of 161 Things since the other two aren't actually in Ithaca).

Since I don’t have a good picture of the waterfall (i.e., one with water), this is what the gorge at Buttermilk looks like further up:

If you've ever heard that New York is gorges, this is what it means. The Finger Lakes region of New York is full of gorges like this. 

Watkins Glen is another state park that features trails right along the gorge. Also a nice hike, and the trail passes over and under various waterfalls. Lastly, further north, Letchworth is known as the Grand Canyon of the East (apparently?) and features three waterfalls. Although the middle falls had the most water and visitors when we were there, this picture of the lower falls is still one of my favorites from the trip (most of the rest of my pictures were of lampposts . . . don’t ask).

O spring, where art thou?

(Update: After snowing twice in the first three days of April, the last two days here have been absolutely fantastic shorts weather . . . as in, over forty degrees.)