Robert H Treman State Park

Robert H Treman State Park has been on my radar for a long time. I haven’t been camping much lately but back when I was — spending weekends at North Lake or Little Pond in the Catskills — one of my customers, Chuck, suggested Robert H Treman.

Chuck loved the Ithaca area generally and Robert H Treman State Park in particular. He repeatedly described how beautiful the gorge was and swimming under the waterfalls. He painted an idyllic picture, really went for the hard sell. I put it on my list fifteen years ago but somehow never got there. Beach vacations, road trips and local staycations always won out.

What finally got me to Robert H Treman State Park was my son, known to NYSB readers as Dangerboy. He wanted to visit a college nearby and my wife wanted me to drive him there. I got him up much earlier than he’s accustomed to; he showered and went right back to sleep in the passenger seat of the minivan. We got on the road just after 6 AM. After I got him where he needed to be and confirmed he was set for the day, I headed out for my own little exploration.

I drove through the gate of the park late morning. There is an entrance/parking fee but they accept the Empire Pass so no additional cost for me. Robert H Treman has entrances, facilities and parking at both the bottom and top of the long gorge it is built around. I chose the lower lot where there is also a campground and swimming area.

After a quick look around to get my bearings, check out the lower falls — where the swimming hole is located — I stuck some snacks in my hydration pack and headed up the Gorge Trail. I determined from my research that there weren’t going to be any navigational challenges here so my only map was the paper they hand out at the gate.

My research consisted of looking at the NY State website and Wikipedia. I learned that it’s one of those upstate places where people have been recreating for so long and in such great numbers that the trails are all heavily engineered and safety proofed. I saw a reference to trails that were built in the area in the 1890s and were in disrepair by 1914 when Robert H Treman decided to buy the land and rehabilitate the infrastructure there.

I learned that Treman was one of those local benefactors you find behind a lot of America’s preserved natural spaces- sort of a mini Averil Harriman for Central New York. He attended nearby Cornell University, made his fortune in banking and went on to be the first state parks commissioner for the Finger Lakes region.

He gifted the land to the state in 1920- it was called Enfield Falls Reservation until Treman died in 1937. He also bought and eventually donated the land which would become Buttermilk Falls and Taugannock Falls State Parks nearby.

So it’s not a map and compass, “look out for the herd path” kind of trip. There are gates at the tops and bottoms of the designated trails, lots of steps and stonework to prevent erosion, chain link fences to keep people from falling off cliff edges and tons of signage to let people know what hazards to look out for, how far they have to go to each trailhead and things like that.

It is not an easy walk either. There are lots of steep ups and downs. Somebody who was out of shape could get themselves into trouble here. The work is rewarded by views of Enfield Creek cascading over rocks down below. Here and there the trail is low enough and close to the stream that lots of people ignore the rule against swimming outside of the designated area at the lower falls. It is an idyllic scene for sure.

The big payoff at Robert H Treman is Lucifer Falls, a 115-foot cascading waterfall that is about 3/4 of the way up the gorge. It’s a spectacular sight. The section of trail above Lucifer Falls is pretty easy compared to what is below. There are more small falls and running water to look at as you continue up to the park’s other parking and picnic area. I found a good crowd of people here, just milling around. They seemed to be from organized groups.

I ducked into a building and found the remains of an old gristmill and some informative signage explaining how the machinery worked. Good stuff.

I found the entrance to the Rim Trail for my return trip and started back. After a short uphill, the Rim Trail is mostly downhill going in this direction. There are some long stone stairways built into cliffs along the upper section, providing some spectacular views, both of the forest below and of Lucifer Falls on the other side of the gorge.

The Rim Trail tracks a little further away from Enfield Creek than the Gorge Trail did. It’s got a little bit more of a typical walk in the woods vibe but still really nice. At the bottom, the Rim Trail deposits you in the middle of a campground. I picked my way though the RVs and rental cabins to find the road and bridge back to the parking lot where I ditched my sweaty shirt, grabbed a towel and headed for the swimming hole for a dip. It was a hot day and the cool water felt nice.

The place had filled up considerably. Both the swimming area and the parking lot were packed full. My round trip should have been about 4.5 miles or so but Strava said it was 6 miles with 866 feet of elevation gain. There were bits or walking around at the beginning and end of my walk which weren’t part of either designated trail but it didn’t feel like an extra mile and a half to me. I do wonder if the mis-measurement was with Strava or the State Parks department.

It was still just early afternoon by the time I was done with Robert H Treman State Park so I headed into Ithaca to look for a place to launch the kayak which had been patiently awaiting my attention atop my minivan all morning. I hadn’t really planned out this portion of the trip.  Searching “boat launch Cayuga Lake” and “boat launch Ithaca, NY” was surprisingly unhelpful so I opened up a map on my phone and started just scrolling around the southern shoreline of Cayuga Lake. Before long I spotted Allan H Treman State Marine Park located on a little inlet along it’s southwest shore. Kismet. I would later figure out that Allan was one of Robert’s sons. I guess the Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. I pulled up driving directions and headed that way.

My Empire Pass worked at Allan H just as it did at Robert H so it didn’t even cost me any additional money to get access to the park’s giant eight lane concrete boat ramp. Getting my kayak down and my gear situated took no time at all and I was on my way. I paddled to the left past a marina that was part of the park and exited the inlet onto Cayuga Lake proper. The water stretched away to the horizon to the north with houses visible along the shore to the west. I could see a marsh and Ithaca itself to the east along Cayuga’s southern edge so I headed that way to explore.

It was typical upstate lakefront. There were birds hanging out in the marshy areas, a waterside park and a few businesses in Ithaca itself. On the far side I turned north and headed up the eastern shore which was populated by lakeside houses and cottages. I came across a marina and yacht club, a little beach area. There were kids swimming and hanging out on paddle boards, a few little sailboats further out. The water and winds were exceptionally calm, which would normally be great but it was hot and a little wind would have been welcome. As I paddled the heat became more bothersome so I steered out into the middle of the lake looking for the breeze that was filling the sails of the two little boats I could see jibbing back and forth out there.

I did eventually find a little bit of wind out there. I sat for a while to drink some water and wet my hat in the lake. The wet hat trick always works. When it was time to head back I continued to paddle out in the middle to stay in the path of the wind but it was so light that my southward process cancelled it out entirely. I stopped a few more times to wet my hat.

I think I did about four miles on Cayuga Lake. It was a good upper body workout to go with the morning’s leg exercise. It was a quick trip, nothing huge, but I’m glad I finally got to Central New York during the summer. Ithaca and the Finger Lakes are pretty cool.