We enjoyed our two previous trips to the Finger Lakes so much (Western NY Waterfall Weekend 2014, Ithaca 2015), we returned for a third visit Memorial Day weekend 2016. This time we camped at Watkins Glen State Park and used this as a base for exploring the many waterfalls in the area. We arrived Friday night (Yiasou Cafe in Liberty has become a must stop for dinner on our drive out there) and were up early Saturday morning to walk the Gorge Trail in Watkins Glen; a 1.5 mile trail through a beautiful gorge with nineteen waterfalls, numerous cascades and interesting rock features. The Gorge Trail is a lot of bang for your buck and gorgeous, but also one of the most visited areas so plan accordingly (if you visit on a weekend, go early or late in the day to avoid the crowds).

We spent the morning in Watkins Glen and afterwards visited some other waterfalls in the area: Excelsior Glen, Eagle Creek Falls at Havana Glen (good for swimming), and Hector Falls, as well as spending some time at Seneca Lake in the evening. Sunday we drove to the Naples area to see the falls at Grimes Glen and Tannery Creek. In the evening we returned to Havana Glen to get some pictures and visit nearby Deckertown Falls. A lot of waterfalls! All beautiful.

Before we returned home on Monday, Steve went for a run at Robert Treman State Park while Norah and I went to the terrific Museum of Earth in Ithaca. We thought the exhibits were great and especially enjoyed seeing the Hyde Park Mastodon (found close to where we used to live) and digging through the rock bins to find our own fossils to take home. We finished up our trip with a swim at Robert Treman where they have a great swimming area roped off by the waterfalls (the 64 degree water temperature did not deter Norah - brrr!).

Resources:
NY Falls is an excellent website for information on waterfalls in NY and was indispensable during our trip.