Exploring Robert H. Treman State Park

The Enfield Glen experience via an interactive map

Anthony Ingraham

Welcome to Robert H. Treman State Park!

You can pinch in or out with two fingers to zoom in or out to Robert H. Treman State Park in Ithaca, NY.

We, the  Friends of Robert H. Treman State Park , are developing the interactive “Storymap” below to help you find out more about this first state park in the Ithaca, NY area, in New York’s Finger Lakes region.

Using the Map

Explore the park on your own virtually on the map below by clicking or touching the points. Or you can scroll through the thumbnail list of points to the left of the map. Touch or click the points or the thumbnails and you’ll open up descriptions for each location, including up to five photographs (each expandable to near full screen), and links to relevant websites or videos.

You can zoom in or out on the map. To return to the original positioning of each point, touch or click the little house symbol on the lower right of the map. To return to the overall view of the map and the site thumbnail listing, touch or click the +symbol in the circle on the lower left.

This map is a project in progress.  We  will be adding more information as time goes on. Check back from time to time to see what’s new. And have fun exploring  Robert H. Treman State Park !

Robert H. Treman State Park

Robert H. Treman State Park lies 2 1/2 miles south of the City of Ithaca on the west flank of the Cayuga Inlet Valley. The park encompasses one of Ithaca's famous gorges, Enfield Glen, a both rugged and wooded canyon created by Enfield Creek before and after the most recent episode of the Ice Age. Lucifer Falls in the Upper Gorge has enchanted visitors since before the Civil War. What began with a tourist hotel in the 1800s was transformed into the state park by Robert H. Treman, beginning in 1920.

Robert H. Treman, the man

Robert H. Treman was an Ithaca businessman who loved our landscape treasures and he worked hard to preserve them and to make them accessible to all of us. He created this park in 1920, and went on to lead the creation and development of many other parks and preserves near Ithaca and in the Finger Lakes region. Find out more about Robert H. Treman.

The Treman Show

Check out our series of short videos about the park, “The Treman Show.”

Robert H. Treman State Park (Lower Entrance)

You can enter the park down in the valley from NYS Route 327, just a short distance off NYS Route 13/96, about two miles south of the City of Ithaca and Buttermilk Falls State Park. A short distance along the entrance road, you will encounter the "contact station" where you pay your park entrance fee. The Lower Park features two playgrounds (one for campers), two picnic pavilions, the campground, the cabin area, access to trails, the park office, and the idyllic swimming area at the base of Lower Falls.

”I Love My Park Day”

On the first Saturday every May, NY State Parks and Parks & Trails NY feature volunteer work sessions in parks all across NY State. Thousands of park-loving volunteers in hundreds of parks help park staff with the enormous jobs to get parks open and ready for the coming millions. Robert H. Treman State Park has participated for many years. Watch a five minute video showing the 2023 I Love My Park Day.

Robert H. Treman State Park (Upper Entrance)

Three miles up the hill from the lower entrance on NYS Route 327 (labeled “Enfield Falls Road” on this map) is the upper entrance. The Upper Park is the core of the park's history, including "The Old Mill," and the park's rugged scenery in the Upper Gorge with 115-feet-high Lucifer Falls. (See the additional pictures.)

The Old Mill

“The Old Mill,” built by Robert H. Treman’s ancestor Jared Treman in 1839, ground grains for local farmers until 1916, when Robert and Laura Treman bought the property and created the state park in 1920. The mill is an outstanding relic of the age of water power in the Finger Lakes. It is now a museum and it and the surrounding former site of the hamlet of Enfield Falls are on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The Friends of Robert H. Treman State Park have installed a number of historical exhibits in the mill, and obtained grant funds for repainting the mill and replacing its roof (from Parks & Trails NY).

Mill Falls

The “Old Mill” harnessed the power of this little waterfall in a tiny section of gorge. Until the great flood of 1935, there was a dam in place just up from the falls that had used the constricted passage to impound the mill pond. Water was channeled from the pond through a trough and a square wooden pipe of sorts, called a penstock, which turned a turbine below the mill. Gears and belts then transferred the water power to the entire mill. The mill ceased operating in 1916.

Archeology Walking Tour

This tour has been developed to lead you through sites of buildings in the 19th century hamlet of Enfield Falls, which occupied the area of the upper park. The hamlet was mostly razed after the creation of the state park in the early 1920s. Only two buildings remain, "The Ole Mill" and the miller's house nearby.

The Enfield Falls Hotel

For over 50 years, this small tourist hotel in the Upper Park opened up the Upper Gorge and Lucifer Falls to tourists, and was eventually the inspiration for the Tremans to create this park. The hotel was started by the Wickham family in the 1850s, and burned down sometime after 1906. Learn about the hotel in our 9-1/2 minute episode of the Treman Show, "Henrietta Wickham-Pioneer in Finger Lakes Tourism."

The snack bar was no picnic!

Well, at least not on July 7 and 8, 1935. You may know this building in the upper park as the pavilion at the end of the parking lot. It can be rented for group use, and there are picnic tables under the roof over its patio. But 90 years ago, it was a snack bar.

Gorge Trail, upper entrance

You are in for a surprise when you begin your walk on the Gorge Trail. After you’ve crossed the little footbridge over Fishkill Creek, you keep left, walking just above the stream. You enter the woods, bend around to the left toward the creek (now Enfield Creek), and “OH MY!” Enfield Creek cuts between straight rock walls. This is one of Ithaca’s iconic views, into the “slot gorge” and the Enfield Glen experience!

Lucifer Falls

This 115-feet high waterfall is one of the tallest and most iconic of Ithaca area’s publicly accessible waterfalls. It is the reason this park exists, drawing sight-seers and tourists since the 1850s.

Cliff Staircase

One of the most memorable and scenic portions of the Rim Trail is the scores of stone steps of the Cliff Staircase. Essentially you are climbing up or down the junction between the rugged, “postglacial,” Upper Gorge and the wider, wooded “interglacial gorge.” For an explanation of this geology, see the short video referenced on this tour at “Detour Through Stone.”

”The Bunny Plaque” on the Cliff Staircase

One spot you’ll remember most if you walk the Rim Trail is the steep Cliff Staircase. But you may not notice the short little dead-end side path mid-cliff to a small alcove containing this plaque erected in the late 1920s. It honors the Tremans for their generosity and leadership in the creation of this park.

Detour Through Stone

This 7 1/2 minute episode of The Treman Show will reveal the geologic mystery of the rugged canyon that is near the Upper Park; which is the reason the park was created!

Lower Falls and the Swimming Area

The swimming area at Lower Falls may be the most beautiful in all of New York State Parks. Park workers dammed the creek downstream from the falls to create the swimming pool (see 3rd photo) and later installed a diving platform near the falls themselves, in the 1920s and 1930s (4th photo). Some people call Lower Falls, “Enfield Falls.” But Enfield Falls was the previous name of Lucifer Falls in the Upper Gorge. It was also the name of the hamlet in what became the upper park and where the Old Mill is. The park was called Enfield Falls State Park at one point, until it was renamed for Robert Treman following his death in 1937. (See a listing of the Ithaca area’s publicly accessible waterfalls.) During the Great Depression of the 1930s, young men in Civilian Conservation Corps Camp 1265 in the Upper Park helped build many of the structures that you see in the park today. You can see exhibits about this camp in the museum inside the Old Mill in the Upper Park. (The CCC museum room will re-open spring 2024, upon completion of repairs to its roof.)

Robert H. Treman State Park

 Robert H. Treman State Park  lies 2 1/2 miles south of the City of Ithaca on the west flank of the Cayuga Inlet Valley. The park encompasses one of Ithaca's famous gorges, Enfield Glen, a both rugged and wooded canyon created by Enfield Creek before and after the most recent episode of the Ice Age. Lucifer Falls in the Upper Gorge has enchanted visitors since before the Civil War. What began with a tourist hotel in the 1800s was transformed into the state park by Robert H. Treman, beginning in 1920.

The park was previously known as Enfield Glen State Reservation, Enfield Glen State Park, and Enfield Falls State Park, before it was renamed for its benefactor following Treman’s death in 1937.

Find out more details at the  park’s web page .

Robert H. Treman, the man

 Robert H. Treman  was an Ithaca businessman who loved our landscape treasures and he worked hard to preserve them and to make them accessible to all of us. He created this park in 1920, and went on to lead the creation and development of many other parks and preserves near Ithaca and in the Finger Lakes region. Find out more about  Robert H. Treman .

The Treman Show

Check out our series of short videos about the park, “ The Treman Show .”

Robert H. Treman State Park (Lower Entrance)

You can enter the park down in the valley from NYS Route 327, just a short distance off NYS Route 13/96, about two miles south of the City of Ithaca and Buttermilk Falls State Park. A short distance along the entrance road, you will encounter the "contact station" where you pay your park entrance fee. The Lower Park features two playgrounds (one for campers), two picnic pavilions, the campground, the cabin area, access to trails, the park office, and the idyllic swimming area at the base of Lower Falls.

”I Love My Park Day”

On the first Saturday every May, NY State Parks and  Parks & Trails NY  feature volunteer work sessions in parks all across NY State. Thousands of park-loving volunteers in hundreds of parks help park staff with the enormous jobs to get parks open and ready for the coming millions. Robert H. Treman State Park has participated for many years. Watch a  five minute video  showing the 2023 I Love My Park Day.

Robert H. Treman State Park (Upper Entrance)

Three miles up the hill from the lower entrance on NYS Route 327 (labeled “Enfield Falls Road” on this map) is the upper entrance. The Upper Park is the core of the park's history, including "The Old Mill," and the park's rugged scenery in the Upper Gorge with 115-feet-high Lucifer Falls. (See the additional pictures.)

The Old Mill

“The Old Mill,” built by Robert H. Treman’s ancestor Jared Treman in 1839, ground grains for local farmers until 1916, when Robert and Laura Treman bought the property and created the state park in 1920. The mill is an outstanding relic of the age of water power in the Finger Lakes. It is now a museum and it and the surrounding former site of the hamlet of Enfield Falls are on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The  Friends of Robert H. Treman State Park  have installed a number of historical exhibits in the mill, and obtained grant funds for repainting the mill and replacing its roof (from  Parks & Trails NY ).

The Mill Museum is closed in winter, but you can see some exhibits under the porch about how water power was transferred to mechanical power. Watch this  short episode  (about two minutes) of our video series,  The Treman Show , explaining this.

Mill Falls

The “Old Mill” harnessed the power of this little waterfall in a tiny section of gorge. Until the great flood of 1935, there was a dam in place just up from the falls that had used the constricted passage to impound the mill pond. Water was channeled from the pond through a trough and a square wooden pipe of sorts, called a penstock, which turned a turbine below the mill. Gears and belts then transferred the water power to the entire mill. The mill ceased operating in 1916.

Archeology Walking Tour

This tour has been developed to lead you through sites of buildings in the 19th century hamlet of Enfield Falls, which occupied the area of the upper park. The hamlet was mostly razed after the creation of the state park in the early 1920s. Only two buildings remain, "The Ole Mill" and the miller's house nearby.

Since 1998, Cornell archeologist Sherene Baugher and her students have excavated most the foundations of houses and other buildings that made up this vibrant hamlet, including the site of the Enfield Falls Hotel, which inspired the creation the park. The Friends of Robert H. Treman State Park have produced an archeology walking tour brochure that can guide you through the sites and the history of the Hamlet of Enfield Falls. You can  download the brochure  from our website, or pick up a printed copy in the Old Mill museum or at the park office in the lower park.

The Enfield Falls Hotel

For over 50 years, this small tourist hotel in the Upper Park opened up the Upper Gorge and Lucifer Falls to tourists, and was eventually the inspiration for the Tremans to create this park. The hotel was started by the Wickham family in the 1850s, and burned down sometime after 1906. Learn about the hotel in our 9-1/2 minute episode of the Treman Show,  "Henrietta Wickham-Pioneer in Finger Lakes Tourism." 

The hotel site is on our  Archeology Walking Tour Brochure .

The snack bar was no picnic!

Well, at least not on July 7 and 8, 1935. You may know this building in the upper park as the pavilion at the end of the parking lot. It can be rented for group use, and there are picnic tables under the roof over its patio. But 90 years ago, it was a snack bar.

[See the short video dramatizing this story, “ Bad Day for a Picnic .”]

Snacks were severely interrupted that July by the worst flood in memory, which did extensive damage to this park, Taughannock Falls State Park, Watkins Glen State Park, and to many communities all the way to Binghamton, NY.

Many other flash floods have torn through Enfield Glen here, and through other gorges in the region over the years. With climate change, heavy rainfall events have increased significantly, resulting in destructive floods happening more often. When will the next torrent tear through this park, ripping out footbridges, stone walls, and damaging park buildings?

Gorge Trail, upper entrance

You are in for a surprise when you begin your walk on the Gorge Trail. After you’ve crossed the little footbridge over Fishkill Creek, you keep left, walking just above the stream. You enter the woods, bend around to the left toward the creek (now Enfield Creek), and “OH MY!” Enfield Creek cuts between straight rock walls. This is one of Ithaca’s iconic views, into the “slot gorge” and the Enfield Glen experience!

Lucifer Falls

This 115-feet high waterfall is one of the tallest and most iconic of Ithaca area’s  publicly accessible waterfall s. It is the reason this park exists, drawing sight-seers and tourists since the 1850s.

You can reach the falls by taking the Gorge Trail from the end of the parking lot. It’s about a fifteen minute walk to the falls. But we suggest you take your time enjoying the spectacular Upper Gorge along the way. As there are a number of stone staircases, the Gorge Trail is not wheelchair accessible.

Lucifer Falls had its beginnings thousands of years ago at the junction of the rugged Upper Gorge and the deep, wide, forested remainder of Enfield Glen following the Ice Age.

Lucifer Falls was originally called Enfield Falls until it was renamed sometime in the late 1800s, probably to make it sound more dramatic to tourists.

Cliff Staircase

One of the most memorable and scenic portions of the Rim Trail is the scores of stone steps of the Cliff Staircase. Essentially you are climbing up or down the junction between the rugged, “postglacial,” Upper Gorge and the wider, wooded “interglacial gorge.” For an explanation of this geology, see the short video referenced on this tour at “Detour Through Stone.”

”The Bunny Plaque” on the Cliff Staircase

One spot you’ll remember most if you walk the Rim Trail is the steep Cliff Staircase. But you may not notice the short little dead-end side path mid-cliff to a small alcove containing this plaque erected in the late 1920s. It honors the Tremans for their generosity and leadership in the creation of this park.

Detour Through Stone

This 7 1/2 minute  episode of The Treman Show  will reveal the geologic mystery of the rugged canyon that is near the Upper Park; which is the reason the park was created!

Lower Falls and the Swimming Area

The swimming area at Lower Falls may be the most beautiful in all of New York State Parks. Park workers dammed the creek downstream from the falls to create the swimming pool (see 3rd photo) and later installed a diving platform near the falls themselves, in the 1920s and 1930s (4th photo). Some people call Lower Falls, “Enfield Falls.” But Enfield Falls was the previous name of Lucifer Falls in the Upper Gorge. It was also the name of the hamlet in what became the upper park and where the Old Mill is. The park was called Enfield Falls State Park at one point, until it was renamed for Robert Treman following his death in 1937. (See a listing of the Ithaca area’s  publicly accessible waterfalls .) During the Great Depression of the 1930s, young men in Civilian Conservation Corps Camp 1265 in the Upper Park helped build many of the structures that you see in the park today. You can see exhibits about this camp in the museum inside the Old Mill in the Upper Park. (The CCC museum room will re-open spring 2024, upon completion of repairs to its roof.)