Hiking Chittenango Falls State Park Gorge Trail

Chittenango Falls State Park is a place most people have yet to hear of, but they should.  The park is located about 20 minutes east of Syracuse, New York, and is absolutely stunning. The star attraction is the 167-foot Chittenango Falls. 

We visited on an overcast early fall morning.  We arrived about an hour after sunrise and were the only car in the parking lot. It was a cool morning and very humid outside.  From briefly researching the park, we knew we wanted to hike the half-mile Gorge Trail loop. 

Hiking Chittenango Falls State Park

After a quick drink of water and a small snack, we headed down the trail. The first part of the trail is straight down.  It was a bit slick in places because of recent rainfall, but overall, it was in good condition.  You get a few decent views of the falls on your way down. After descending about 175 feet, we arrived at Chittenango Creek and were immediately greeted with an incredible view of the falls. There is a large wooden bridge that crosses the creek.  As you can see from the pictures, the views of the falls from the bridge are nothing short of spectacular. 

We hung out on the bridge for 20 minutes or so, taking in the scenery.  When another group of people arrived, we decided to head to the other side of the bridge and hike out of the gorge, which was steep.  Once we got to the top, there was a nice view of the top of the falls.

This was a relatively quick stop for us—we were in the park for an hour. But I assure you, if you take the time to visit Chittenango Falls State Park, you will not regret it. This is a beautiful place and worth your time.