Robert H. Treman State Park
Lucifer Falls drops 115 feet into the Enfield Creek Gorge
Robert H. Treman State Park is located in New York
Robert H. Treman State Park
Location of Robert H. Treman State Park within New York State
TypeState park
Location105 Enfield Falls Road
Ithaca, New York[1]
Nearest cityIthaca, New York
Coordinates42°24′00″N 76°34′26″W / 42.40°N 76.574°W / 42.40; -76.574
Area1,110 acres (4.5 km2)[2]
Created1920 (1920)
Operated byNew York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Visitors210,543 (in 2014)[3]
OpenAll year
Camp sites72[4]
WebsiteRobert H. Treman State Park

Robert H. Treman State Park is a 1,110-acre (4.5 km2) state park located in Tompkins County,[2] in the Finger Lakes region of New York in the United States. The park is situated in the towns of Ithaca, Enfield and Newfield.

History

Robert H. Treman first purchased land surrounding Enfield Falls in 1915, and worked to improve the property by planting over 1,000 trees. He and his wife, Laura Treman (Hosie), donated the land to New York State in 1920 for the establishment of Enfield Glen State Park.[5][6] The park was renamed in Robert H. Treman's honor following his death in 1937.[5]

The Enfield Falls Mill and Miller's House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.[7]

Geology

The rock formations within the park are primarily made of Devonian shale and sandstone.[8] These rocks formed in horizontal layers, creating flat slabs and angular edges as they erode and fracture.

The valley and waterfalls formed since the last ice age — within the last twenty or thirty thousands years — roughly in-line with previous streambeds. However, around Lucifer Falls, the current streambed completely deviates from its now drift-filled interglacial streambed (where the creek flowed in-between periods of glaciation).[8] This path of new erosion is distinguished by its steep cliffs and narrow gorge.

Additional rock formations near Lucifer Falls include current ripple marks,[8] indicating the direction the creek used to flow.

Park description

Robert H. Treman State Park is located along State Route 327, just west of state routes 13, 34, and 96. The park offers an outdoor swimming area at the base of a waterfall, picnic tables, playing fields, hiking and camping.

The park has numerous waterfalls along a 4.5-mile (7.2 km) round-trip hike. The hiking trails follow Enfield Creek, giving many views of the rock formations in the deep, narrow gorge known as Enfield Glen. A natural swimming pool is located at the easternmost waterfall, known as Lower Falls. Lucifer Falls, a 115-foot-tall (35 m), multi-tiered cascading waterfall, is a short hike from the western portion of the park. Views of Lucifer Falls can be found along the gorge trail, in addition to overlooks along the rim trail. The Finger Lakes Trail skirts the southern edge of the park.

Because of dangerous conditions created by snow and ice, most of the park's trails are inaccessible in the winter. Visitors can view Lower Falls year-round.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Robert H. Treman State Park". NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Section O: Environmental Conservation and Recreation, Table O-9". 2014 New York State Statistical Yearbook (PDF). The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government. 2014. p. 673. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 16, 2015. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  3. ↑ "State Park Annual Attendance Figures by Facility: Beginning 2003". Data.ny.gov. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  4. ↑ Dyson, Katharine Delavan (2011). Explorer's Guide Finger Lakes: A Great Destination (4th ed.). The Countryman Press. p. 96. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  5. 1 2 Natural Heritage Trust; New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; New York State Council of Parks & Recreation (1975). Fifty Years: New York State Parks, 1924-1974. Natural Heritage Trust. p. 10.
  6. ↑ Thompson, Susan (2004). "Town of Enfield". In Kammen, Carol (ed.). Place Names of Tompkins County (PDF). Ithaca, New York: Office of the Tompkins County Historian. p. 49. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  7. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  8. 1 2 3 Department of Geology, Cornell University (May 1959). Geology of the Cayuga Lake Basin (PDF). 31st Annual Field Meeting of the New York State Geological Association (2 ed.). Ithaca, NY. pp. 1–6. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
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