Finger Lakes Vacation: Day 2
On Thursday (May 26) we visited Fillmore Glen State Park and saw sights, as suggested by an Uncovering New York post. Fillmore Glen State Park is located below the southern end of Owasco Lake, near Moravia NY. Our Empire Pass would have provided free admittance in the state park. However, there was no one at the gate so admittance was free for all.
We parked in the large parking area near the swimming area. It was a short walk, past the natural swimming pool to the bridge that crossed Dry Creek.
Work was being done on the natural swimming area,
preparing it for the summer season.
From the bridge it was an easy walk for a short distance to a viewing area near the base of Cow Sheds Waterfall.
There is a large rock overhang adjacent to the waterfall. It is said that cows would shelter here during storms, which is why this is known as Cow Sheds Waterfall.
From Cow Sheds Waterfall we backtracked to the start of the Gorge Trail. The Gorge Trail starts with a steep climb up a flight of old stone stairs climbing 150 feet or so fairly quickly.
The next two photographs show those stone stairs, where I needed to stop for a break and sit for a short time.
This was how far we had climbed,
when I needed to rest.
We still had a lot of steps to climb!
As you can see the trail leveled out at the top of the hill. I am standing partway up a grassy knoll, returning from a restroom. The top of the stone stairs is located to the right of the pavilion, with the Gorge Trail continuing to the right alongside the hillside. To the left is a gravel road that leads to Park Road. I will say more about the gravel road a little bit later.
From the pavilion it was an easy hike on the Gorge Trail. Some of the photographs that we took along the trail are displayed below.
while on the Gorge Trail.
The next two photographs were taken from the bridge displayed above.
The Gorge Trail is a 2.5 mile out-and-back trail. Not counting the stone stairs climb, I think we walked about 1/2 mile of the 2.5 mile out-and-back trail. I called it quits, when the trail looked like it started to gain elevation.
We turned around and walked back to the pavilion. I definitely did not want to hike back down the stone stairs. Remember the gravel road to the left of the pavilion? Looking on a map it looked like the gravel road led to Park Road. The distance from the pavilion to the parking lot didn’t look like a long walk. That is what we did. We walked down the gravel road, rather than climb down the stone stairs.
I wish we had known about this parking lot. We *might* have made it to the end of the Gorge Trail and back, if we had not climbed those stone stairs!
Walking back to our car, we came across the Millard Fillmore cabin.
We returned to our car and, as suggested by Uncovering New York, we drove up Park Road. After 1.5 miles, the road ends at a parking area next to a trailhead. The trailhead is where the North Rim and South Rim Trail meet. We followed the North Rim Trail downhill. Soon, we arrived at a shelter.
We continued our hike down to the lake.
Do you see the stone dam at the far left side of the lake?
There is a waterfall on the other side of the dam.
on the North Rim Trail.
The trail was quite muddy,
once you crossed over the bridge.
NOTE to SELF: Purchase mosquito netting to go over a hat and my face to use next time we go hiking. My scalp got bitten badly, while we were hiking. My scalp still itches to this day!
Leaving Fillmore Glen State Park, we drove alongside the eastern side of Owasco Lake to Auburn.
(near Niles, NY)
We ate lunch at Seb’s Green Shutters in Auburn. Bob ordered a Seb’s double cheeseburger, onion rings and water. I ordered a Seb’s cheeseburger, French fries and Diet Pepsi. We shared the French fries and onion rings.
From Seb’s we returned to our Airbnb “Casa Esperanza on Wyckoff Road”. We purchased a couple bundles of firewood along the way.
There is a path through the woods at our Airbnb.
We walked the path in the afternoon. The path leads from one corner to the other corner along the back part of the property. It was a nice stroll.
In the evening we roasted weiners over a hot fire, using one of the wood bundles. In addition to the weiners we enjoyed baked beans and leftover macaroni & cheese for dinner. For dessert we, once again, had Klondike bars.
The Beauty Around Us 
3 Responses to “Finger Lakes Vacation: Day 2”
Looks like a very pretty park. The waterfalls are beautiful. It all sounded so good until I read about the mosquito bites. I get eaten alive unless I am doused in deet. Bob and you look very happy in the picture.
It was mostly gnats that bit me.
What beautiful places for a hike.