Learn more about several waterfalls within an easy drive of Syracuse.
by James P. Hughes
Waterfalls have a means to captivate. Viewing water as it plunges or smoothly flows over a bed of rock is all at once mesmerizing, exciting and relaxing. One anonymous lover of waterfalls described them as “Often therapeutic … an endless dance of sound, grace and power.”
Visitors are absorbed by the beauty and abundance of waterfalls spread across the New York State landscape. Nowhere are those stunning cascades more striking and plentiful than throughout our Finger Lakes Region.
Taughannock Falls, at a height of 215 feet, is said to be the highest single drop waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains. Montour Falls village is often showered with the mists of nearby Shequaga Falls, roaring just steps away from the town’s center. Among the abundant waterfalls in and around Ithaca, several plunge through the gorges of the Cornell University campus. High Falls, a cataract at the center of the City of Rochester, drops 96 feet in its unique urban surroundings.
Well, you get the idea. Distinctive waterfalls are everywhere. Countless state, city and village parks have been created around them, and that is just the beginning. Any regional drive will pass by gullies and ravines carved into the endless hillsides, most with an emerging brook or creek that inevitably leads to one or more waterfalls. Many local residents enjoy access to a waterfall, visible or tucked away, on their private property.
While impossible to count, knowledgeable folks have estimated that regional waterfalls, from modest to spectacular, number in the thousands.
A local adventure
Nonetheless, often it seems that “perimeter” Finger Lakes counties tend to be a bit overlooked when it comes to recognition of area waterfalls by name in travel books and other publications. While we may have no Taughannock Falls at 215 feet, there are ample scenic gems which proudly enhance the Finger Lakes reputation for outstanding and plentiful cascades.
With that in mind, my wife and I decided to take a series of drives to wind about local backroads and scour our neighboring hills. Using Syracuse as “ground zero,” and a reasonable radius around the city as our area to explore, we discovered and photographed a series of scenic waterfalls our neighboring countryside had to offer.
These ventures produced relaxation, an appreciation for our local surroundings, some pleasant surprises and the accompanying waterfall images. It was a simple and enjoyable pursuit – one available to enjoy by anyone at any time in any portion of the Finger Lakes Region.
