Dog walks or “Gorge” of New York

Several times in its history, all of New York has been completely covered by mile-thick glaciers. These ice caps didn’t melt smoothly like cubes in your summer lemonade. Instead, the glaciers died an angry death, clawing, scraping and gouging the earth as they retreated. His work can be seen in the Finger Lakes, 11 elongated parallel lakes in the center of the state.

Surrounding the lakes are hundreds of ravines and gorges, seven of which have been developed as New York State Parks. Much of the trail and overlook construction work in these parks was done during the Great Depression of the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps, the “army of trees” put to work by President Franklin Roosevelt.

Most of these gorge trails are closed in the winter, and often the ice remains in the cool shadows of the gorge walls well into May, so this is a good time to consider visiting with your dog. Gorges can be dangerous places to hike (the Ithaca Fire Department has plenty of sad stories to tell about a gorge rescue), but stay on marked trails and don’t cross barriers where trails are closed and you’ll be fine. Here is a survey of the seven Finger Lakes Gorge Parks:

WATKINS GLEN STATE PARK (Franklin Street/Route 14 in the town of Watkins Glen on the south shore of Seneca Lake)

Let’s start with the most famous and least attractive to your dog: Watkins Glen. Watkins Glen is the only gorge your dog can’t walk through. Dogs are allowed on the South Rim Trail and above the Indian Trail, but views are few and far between. Watkins Glen was the first gorge to open when journalist Morvalden Ells was given permission to charge admission to the series of wooden walkways and bridges built for workers to access a mill in the valley. The grand opening was on July 4, 1863. History buffs may recognize that date as one of the most important in America. On that day, Lee’s invasion of the North was halted at Gettysburg, ensuring that the South would never win the Civil War, and at the same time, the critical river town of Vicksburg, Mississippi, surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant, winning the west to the Union. The opening of a private concession in a New York gorge most likely did not make headlines.

LETCHWORTH STATE PARK (Exit 7, Mount Morris) off I-390)

The largest and most popular of the parks is just west of Conesus Lake, the westernmost of the Finger Lakes. The Genesee River draws many spectators to gawk at its “Grand Canyon of the East” hydro-spectaculars, so come early with your dog to hike the Gorge Trail if you can. You can certainly escape the crowds on the park’s more than 70 miles of trails behind the museum on Mary Jemison Trail, where you’ll learn about the woman kidnapped by marauding Seneca Indians as a child who lived for more than 70 years among the iroquois In the northern reaches of the park, around the map terrain, there are several secluded trails that lead to views of the gorge.

BUTTERMILK FALLS STATE PARK (Route 13 south of Ithaca)

Buttermilk is the shortest, narrowest and most intimate of the gorges. You will feel the water squeeze your throat as you lead your dog into this abyss. There is only one rim trail, on the north side and it climbs steeply to complete its loop. The Buttermilk Falls Plunge Basin is a good place to swim with dogs if the pool isn’t open.

ROBERT H. TREMAN STATE PARK (Route 327 off Route 13, west of Ithaca)

This is the largest canine hike through the gorge with the Gorge Trail and both trail edges clock in at about two miles. The park is named after New York banker Robert H. Treman and Buttermilk Falls in the 1920s. This spot in Enfield Glen was Treman’s favorite. He served as the first commissioner of the Finger Lakes State Park in 1924 and helped shape these public treasures. At Treman he will probably enter Upper Park and I suggest taking the Rim Trail through Enfield Glen, rather than diving straight into the gorge. Delaying your pleasure does two things: one, you’ll walk through the upriver gorge that offers longer views of falls like the 120-foot Lucifer Falls, and two, your dog will walk down the incredible Cliff Staircase instead of up it. Dogs aren’t allowed in the Enfield Creek swimming area, but she can sneak in to cool off from either side of the Gorge Trail and Rim Trail, giving you a taste of the ups and downs that await you at the rim.

FILLMORE GLEN STATE PARK (Route 38, South Moravia)

The park is named after the 13th President of the United States, Millard Fillmore, who was born in a log cabin about five miles from here. Fillmore was the first unelected president, taking office when Zachary Taylore died midterm. Filmore then served without a vice president of his own, the only CEO to do so. After taking the Gorge Trail through this beautiful glen, the preferred return route is the North Rim Trail through lush fir forest. The South Rim Trail connects mainly picnic areas.

TAUGHANNOCK FALLS STATE PARK (Route 89, north of Ithaca)

This park is the opposite of its Gorge Park siblings: the Gorge Trail here is a gentle, benign hike. So easy, in fact, that it stays open year-round. Just 3/4 of a mile through a wide, flat opening between 400-foot walls, your destination is 215-foot-tall Taughannock Falls, America’s second-tallest single-drop waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains and three stories higher than Niagara Falls. The two rim trails can be combined for a sporty dog ​​walk of about an hour.

STONY BROOK STATE PARK (I-390 Exit 4 South at Route 38)

Stony Brook glen developed as a resort in the late 19th century. The massive concrete supports in the gorge can still be seen from a high rail bridge that once carried tourists to a train station where the camp is today. His dog will go about a mile into the gorge, passing three major waterfalls along the way.