A Road Trip Story - Part 1. Finger Lakes Waterfalls

How a short trip in upstate New York ended up in a life reflecting road trip in the scenic byway from the western part of New York to Niagara Falls all the way to 1000 Islands following the shoreline of Lake Ontario.

An accidental road trip - Great Lakes Seaway Trail

It started with a simple plan to visit - camp and hike - some of the parks in the Finger Lakes region for just a few days, with Niagara Falls as an added bonus destination, and then simply take the highways back home to New Jersey. 

Some friends in an Outback set for a road trip.

Without set itineraries nor accommodations, except for the one night camping reservation in Taughannock Falls State Park, I headed for Ithaca. 

Tip.  When doing a road trip, always download your route map and nearby areas for offline accessibility.

This road trip is full of serendipities and little gems on the road that would make me smile, laugh, and wonder.  Little gems oftentimes ignored.

On the way to Ithaca, I had a detour because of traffic, and ended up in a nice little park - Scott Park - in Easton, PA, with a statue of a famous boxer in the '70s, Larry Holmes.  The park also has a nice view where the Lehigh River meets the Delaware River.  A serendipity.

Scott Park

Larry Holmes

Lehigh/Delaware

True?/False?

From here on, I decided to make stops at every interesting marks I see on the road or from Google maps navigation.  I stopped at a gas station, bought a subway for food on the go, and got me a tiny new sticker added to my collection.

Open Road - Open Mind

I stopped at the Southern Tier New York Welcome Center and checked out the place.  This is a very beautiful welcome center, with lots of information on what and where to explore in New York.  Can we have this kind of welcome centers and rest areas everywhere?

Southern Tier New York Welcome Center

Really? A Welcome Center?

When I reached Ithaca, I checked out the area for free, safe, and legal places to stay in case I need to stay for more than one night, as suggested by my overlander app.  Yes, there is an app for that!

Something to think about

The first real destination in Ithaca - Buttermilk Falls State Park.  This and Robert H. Treman State Park are just 2 of the popular parks in Ithaca, with beautiful waterfalls, swim areas, hiking trails, and camping options.  I had lunch at Buttermilk Falls State Park and planned to do day hikes in both parks. 

Lunch @ Buttermilk Falls State Park
looking at an empty pool area

It was late when I finished the hike at Buttermilk Falls, so I decided to skip Robert Treman Park and headed to Taughannock Falls for tonight's camp.

Buttermilk Falls

I arrived late at the camp, still with enough time to set camp, and enjoyed a nice dinner and beer with camp fire.  I broke camp early the next day, and completed the 3 hiking trails exploring the full Taughannock Falls.  

Taughannock Falls State Park - Camping and Hiking

Taughannock Falls

After Taughannock Falls was Watkins Glen State Park, for another night of camping and hiking.  I was able to snag a same-day one night camping reservation at Watkins Glen State Park.  It poured hard on my way to Watkins Glen, that I was forced to stop the drive and wait for the rain to subside.  It was too late to hike when I reached the campground, so I followed the same plan I did at Taughannock Falls - camp first, then break camp early and hike the next day.

Watkins Glen State Park - Camping and Hiking

Rainbow Bridge and Falls @ Watkins Glen

After Watkins Glen State Park was Letchworth State Park.  Again, I was able to get a same-day one night camping reservation at Letchworth Park.

Forecast was heavy rain for the next 2 days.  Right after the hike at Watkins Glen, I quickly headed towards Letchworth Park, with just quick bites on the go.   Serendipity - my GPS guided me to the Portageville Entrance of Letchworth Park.  The campground is still 12 miles away from this point!  However, the Upper Falls is in this section of the park.  Letchworth has 3 major falls, Upper Falls, Middle Falls, and Lower Falls, starting from the Portageville Entrance to the Visitor Center area.  My drive from the Portageville Entrance led me to short hikes and see the three falls before getting to my camp. 

When I reached the camp site,  I opted to sleep in the car rather than pitch my tent because of the rain forecast.  The sky was already showing signs that the rain would eventually come tonight.  It rained, indeed, and I woke up with the sound of the rain the next day.

Letchworth State Park - Camping and Hiking

Letchworth Park

After Letchworth Park, no more parks and camps to go to.  Time to go to Niagara Falls!  But where would I stay the night?  

Following the trend of books and movies nowadays, where the story never ends in one shot, the next part of the story is covered in the next post.

A Road Trip Story - Part 2. Niagara Falls

Epilogue.

This road trip ends in the Adirondacks,  where I would spend another night in a free camping spot in Little Green Ponds before heading to Lake Placid and the High Peaks Region, a place so special to me.  Some ADK hikes before finding the road back to New Jersey.

Addendum.

Finger Lakes National Forest and NYS DEC Camps.

Whenever I go on a trip, I always check for free (or cheap), safe, and legal camping spots or places where I could stay the night.  I have done this many times - and I'm still here in one piece.  And yes, there is an app for that.   For this road trip, my app guided me to some spots in the Finger Lakes National Forest and NYC DEC lands - detours I had to go to see these places.  Perhaps next trip?

Finger Lakes National Forest
(Me - giggling to see this kind of sign)

Blueberry Patch Campground

Backbone Horse Camp

Sugar Hill Recreation Area