Chittenango Falls
Here it is, Fall in Central NY. The trees are decked out for their fancy dress show, the harvest is coming in and we begin to think about winter. Much like spring, it’s the time for rain and wind (on sometimes on Halloween, snow). On Friday and Saturday, we got some of our Fall wind and rain. Enough to pull leaves from trees, but, not enough to strip them bare. We received over an inch of rain Saturday. That much rain means energetic creeks, rivers, rain gutters, storm drains and water falls.
Seeing Sunday lived up to its name, a photo trip was necessary! Tossing my camera bag over my shoulder and putting on some boots, I headed for the nearest gutters and storm drains! After taking a dozen or so pictures of styrofoam lids and gum wrappers careening along the gutters and down to their ultimate demise in the drains and listening for the whispers of “It”, it occurred to me that these weren’t really interesting shots and really not a place most people would go to to get out of the house.
A moment or two of contemplation later I decided on going to Chittenango Falls. The trip is about 25 minuets, half of it Highway and urban four lane roads. The other half simply beautiful especially in the fall with the vibrant yellows oranges and occasional deep reds surrounding the roads. On the Way, I stopped in Chittenango to grab a friend and fellow geek, Dave, to find he and his family had gone off adventuring on their own 
Located off of Route 13, Chittenango State park has a decent sized parking area, several picnic areas and two trails leading to the base of the falls. At the top of the falls there are two great viewing areas giving fantastic views of Chittenango Creek running down the 167′ drop to the bed below, and its meandering path along route 13 in the distance.
From the top of the falls to the creek bed below
As I mentioned before, there are two trails to the base of the falls and the bridge that spans the creek. The first passes several picnic areas and has a landing that gives an amazing view of the falls
Chittenango Falls 2008
But the path to get there looks like this
Steps of Dooooom
Thank goodness they reopened the Gorge Trail which is better suited for people who have worked in office chairs for the last 15 years and are climbing around with 20 or so pounds of photography equipment on their backs. The last time I traversed the Stairs of Doom it took me a few days not to weep in horror at the sight of any kind of steps.
The Gorge Trail is mostly sloping pathways and fewer stairs that are more evenly placed. However the path loops away from the falls then doubles back, so you get nice views of the woods and what seems to be a bed for overflow from the creek, but miss the great view of the falls you get from the other side.
Looking back along the Gorge Trail
To see more pictures from this Backyard Adventure, hop over to my Flickr photostream.
If you live in the area or are visiting and have never come here, it’s a must do. Bring a lunch and some friends. Parking will cost you $4 during the summer season. For more details visit their site
I’d like to thank my 7th Grade Science teacher Robert Bliss, for keeping my interest in science, nature and people burning during my middle school years. He’s one of the few who let us know it was ok to think and be creative in all aspects of our lives.
As always get up, get out and explore. There are a lot of places in your backyard where you can go to escape if, you can’t afford that trip to Bermuda 
