Buttermilk Falls State Park sits two miles south of downtown Ithaca with a natural swimming pool at the base of the main falls: cold, clear, the kind of swim people remember for years. The gorge trail runs through a sequence of cascades before the main drop. CCC-built stone bridges and steps from the 1930s are part of the experience. Best combined with Robert H. Treman State Park on the same afternoon for a half-day gorge loop from Ithaca. Staffed swimming area in summer.















