Sara Hikes... But Not Enough : Chittenango Falls

Frankie's classroom has a nature backpack, which is sent home with each child one weekend per year. The backpack contains binoculars, a bug magnifier, some simple field guides, and a list of local parks; parents are encouraged to take the kids out to explore. This was our weekend, and since we already had an indoor commitment yesterday, today would be our only chance to get out with the nature backpack. Rain was predicted, but no matter - we couldn't let this opportunity pass by.

I decided we would go to Chittenango Falls State Park. Erwin brought Frankie here over the summer when I was working, but they just went down to the Falls, played in the creek downstream from the bridge, and went back up. I haven't been in years, largely because the trail network is so limited. Fair or not, my perception had always been that the dramatic waterfalls are the main attraction and there isn't much else. However, with the rain forecast, we didn't need a super long hike today. The idea of visiting was planted in my head when an acquaintance recently showed me a picture of how high the water is with all the rain we've had lately. [I love that I somehow manage to talk hiking even with folks I barely know - thanks for the tip, Derek!] I looked at the trail map, and decided we would string together a modest loop by combining all of the short trails west of the falls, then end our visit with a trip down the stairs to see the waterfalls, returning via the trail up the far side.

It wasn't raining when we arrived. We parked and headed down the first set of stairs, but when we reached the picnic area, instead of turning right to go down to the falls, we turned left. The yellow Chips Trail splits off to the right from the paved sidewalk just past the low shrubby spot in the photo below.

It enters the woods, and quickly comes to a ford. The main part of the trail crosses to the right of this picture, upstream, but this metal railing was here so we had to investigate. Frankie loved it!

The trail continued through some rock outcrops reminiscent of Clark Reservation. It isn't the best time if year to practice with the field guides. We did find one flower blooming, but the wildflower book wasn't very good... it didn't even have herb robert, which is very common. Frankie took some notes, recording his observations, then we moseyed along.

herb robert (Geranium robertanium)

We turned right at the first intersection to head further out along the yellow trail, then crossed a power line. We passed a junction with the green trail, which we would later return on, then crossed a bridge over a brook.

Immediately after a second smaller bridge, the yellow trail forked, and we turned right again, to take the longer branch. This trail crossed back under the power line and followed a contour above the stream, eventually turning north. Chittenango Creek and Route 13 were visible below.

The trail then turned west and ascended a bit, with a few wooden stair built into the hillside. Very nice mixed hardwoods and hemlocks in this section. We turned right again at the next intersection onto the green Meadow Trail for a brief stint before turning right again on the orange Meadow Extension Trail. Turning right was a repeating theme on this hike, in order to make the longest possible perimeter loop.

scrambling over a washed out bridge

kicking leaves off the bridge into the water

After crossing this bridge, the trail makes a short steep climb into a grassy meadow. Frankie is still enamored with the new rain boots, but they don't have the best traction. He wiped out a few times scaling the hill and got himself covered with mud. His clever plan to wipe the mud off his face into the grass wasn't very effective, but he enjoyed it.

Eventually we came to another intersection, and again bore right, back on the green trail again. The trail descended along side a stream, and brought us back to the yellow trail near the power line crossing.

It had been sprinkling on and off for a while, but somewhere in this section it started raining harder, and I finally convinced Frankie to put on his rain jacket. From here we retraced our steps back along the yellow trail to the picnic area, utilizing the fun railing stream crossing once more.

From the picnic area, we took the main trail down the stairs to the falls. We hadn't seen a single other party on the Chips, Meadow, or Meadow Extension Trails, but of course the Gorge Trail was a different story. Even in the rain, the humans love their waterfalls.

at the first viewpoint - it was crowded here so we didn't linger

this smaller falls is visible from a short spur near the bottom - it's almost always dry in summer

By the time we got to the bottom, it was pouring in earnest. I didn't even attempt to get out my real camera. Even snapping the few photos below on my phone was pushing my luck. But it was worth it... the water was definitely high!

We waited out the few other parties to enjoy a few soggy moments to ourselves, then moved on when the next group showed up to allow them the same pleasure. We climbed the stone stairs on the far side of the bridge, ascending up, up, up to all the way to Route 13.

I was surprised near the top to pass through this open gate and see the closed sign. Oops. It certainly wasn't closed along the main trail we entered on. I suspect these signs get posted well in advance of the actual closure. The temperatures were in the 50s today, so there was no danger of icy conditions.