Taughannock Falls State Park

[Falzguy]

Nice job on the Taughannock Falls page. This is what is needed for all the parks that have waterfalls.

State park rules and regulations are meant to make the park safe for all visitors. Section 375.1 (i) of the park rules and regulations which relates to prohibited activities states in part: “Use of Established Ways. No person shall use other than trails, overlooks, roads and other ways established and provided for the public use by the office.”

Or to put it another way, you not allowed to walk in the stream bed. A friend of mine was walking the stream bed and was arrested for trespassing. His english is not that good and I think he misunderstood the officer when asked to return to the trail. Like the park brochure mentions "Please stay on designated trails."

I know the 20 foot high falls, located on the tributary between the Upper Falls and Falls Road bridge, as Cold Spring Branch Falls.

[cbobcat49]

Matt.... wow! yeah, as Scott said, amazing job on the Taughannock page!

I was curious. Where do you get all the links for the B&B's you put on each falls page? I was curious if there was a public online direcory or something. Just looking for a place to go for our 2 year anniversary coming up.

Chris

[Matt]

Thanks!
I'm working on additional photos (of the upper portion of park) right now.
For the B&Bs, It just takes a lot of time and web searching.
Usually a good place to look is the chamber of commerce web site of the county/local goverment.

I don't usually walk the creekbeds of most parks. (Stonybrook being a big exception).

It's amazing what some people will do. When I was taking these shots from the lookout, a German couple and their 2 kids came by and they put them up on top of the barrier and then over and let their kids explore the area on the cliffs beyond the lookout. It was overgrown and I couldn't tell where the drop began. That was the worse case of all the people I see putting their kids on or over the protective railings, which happens all the time.

[Falzguy]

I mentioned the State Park rule as the Office of State Parks asked me to include it in my Letchworth book. I was told it applies to all parks. Just thought it might save you some trouble if they become concerned about your creek walking remark. I know a lot of people walk the creek.

[Matt]

I'm planning a disclaimer page... I think it may go on there. Or maybe a section of "Cautions" for each profile. But then I'd hate to list some rules and not others. I'll have to decide on this later.

[Falzguy]

For another view of this falls check out my monthly photo page at http://geocities.com/falzguy.geo/monthly-photo-ver.html

[Matt]

For another view of this falls check out my monthly photo page at http://geocities.com/falzguy.geo/monthly-photo-ver.html

Very nice shot! What type of camera do you use?
It's a tough falls to get a good full view of. I tried to get a slow shutter shot of it, but my tripod just wasn't cooperating. That and I was a little fearful of dropping it over the edge.

[Falzguy]

Yes, it is a very tough shot to get. Lighting and the fence makes things quite difficult.

I believe the camera I used that day was my Olympus C-5060. It has a wide angle lens.

[Matt]

ahh yes. Olympus is great with the side angle zooms.
I'm on my second Oly. I went from a C-4040 to a C-8080.

I use a canon pocket camera for video and handheld shots.

[Matt]

From: Here

Stranded waders rescued at Taughannock Falls
By LAUREN LONG
Finger Lakes Times

ULYSSES — Two Seneca County residents were among three who found themselves stranded Thursday afternoon after venturing across the rushing creek at Taughannock Falls State Park.

State Park Police said Hannah Amberge, 20, of Newfield; Allison Crouch, 17, of Lodi; and Nicholas Weidman, 22, of Ovid; had been wading in the water around 3:30 p.m. when one of them slipped. After helping her up, they decided to go to the other side since the current was so strong.

A hiker spotted them an hour or so later and notified park personnel.

All three waited patiently on the north side of the gorge while rescue teams from the Trumansburg and Ithaca Fire Departments arrived and set up a plan to bring them back across.

About 200 feet upstream from where the three were waiting, Michael O’Halloran of the Ithaca Fire Department’s rope rescue team used a paddle to steady himself through the rough water and secure a rope to a tree on the other side.

Around 5:30 p.m., walkers were asked to leave the gorge trail as rescuers attempted to navigate a small life boat sideways across the creek, using the rope as a guide. Downstream, another group stood ready on the bank in case anything went wrong.

Worried the boat would tip, team member Chris Kourkoutis opted to take the boat back to shore and make his way across on foot, carrying with him extra life jackets. Each stranded park visitor was led safely back to the other side, one at a time, facing upstream as they held onto the rope with both hands.

All three were medically evaluated and given thermal blankets to keep warm.

The combination of slippery rocks and rushing water, especially after the heavy rain Wednesday, makes it very difficult to walk across the creek, said Gerald Lewis with the New York State Park Police.

“If they don’t obey the signs, we have people get killed here,” said Lewis.

At the start of the trail — which leads to the 215-foot waterfall — is a sign that warns visitors to proceed with caution, stay on the main trail, and keep away from the edge of the cliffs. The sign also warns of falling rock and states that no swimming is permitted in the gorge. Similar signs are posted along the 3/4-mile-long trail.

Last fall, a New Jersey woman was killed in a rock slide near the falls. She and her husband had ventured off the trail with their two children in an area that had not been freed of loose rock — a standard procedure each year along the marked trails.

Park police said most rescues are needed because people attempt to climb the walls on either side of the gorge that are filled with loose shale or attempt to cross or swim in the creek.

[Matt]

Discuss Taughannock Falls and the surrounding area here.

[Brenda]

I took a quick drive down to the park this morning to get some photos of people/dogs participating in a hike that was part of the Grapehound event. Greyhound owners from all over gathered this weekend for a Cayuga Wine Trail event to benefit Greyhound adoption organizations. After I took some photos of the folks gathering for the hike (quite a sight!), I drove up to the overlook. It was a bit foggy this morning but I took a couple of shots of the falls just to kill time until the hikers made it to the "base" of the falls. The small white dot to the right of the base of the falls is people! They are almost directly beneath where the car sized piece fell a couple of summers ago and killed a woman. I know that we've talked about people's stupidity on here a number of times, but people never cease to amaze me. Do they think that the signs are posted to ruin their good time? Perhaps graphic photos of mangled bodies would be more effective? A few weeks ago, a couple of my guests told me about a man who was throwing sticks for his dog at the base of the falls and the roar of the falls was too loud for the dog to hear his owner calling him so the dog just kept swimming farther out. I guess that it went on long enough that onlookers were afraid that the dog would drown. Nice memory from my guests' first trip to the falls.

[Matt]

I'm guilty of getting very close (in the pool) years ago, but not anymore.
I've seen worse. Little kids climbing around ont he other side of the barrier from where you took that.

[Brenda]

I too was guilty of wading in the pool (and sitting at the very top of the falls) when I was a teenager. It was actually my first time to walk down the steps to the overlook in several years. I lost a friend there awhile back and I just couldn't bring myself to stand where she stood. It was still a little weird.

[Brenda]

Very sad.

Man dies after fall at Taughannock
By Raymond Drumsta
Journal Staff

ULYSSES — New York State Parks Police are investigating the death of an unidentified man Sunday at Taughannock Falls State Park.

State Parks police, New York State Police and Trumansburg firefighters responded to the call about a distraught person at the brink of Taughannock Falls about 3:30 p.m., said Eileen Larrabe, spokeswoman for New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Witnesses reported the man acted agitated, she added.

They were told to stand by at the overlook near the falls, Trumansburg fire officials said, and on arrival, firefighters noticed a man walking back and forth at the brink of the falls.

Soon after, the man stepped off the brink, fire officials said.
Emergency personnel went to the pool just beneath the falls, where they found the man had been pulled to the shore by four individuals, the officials said. Firefighters checked for signs of life but found none.

The investigation was turned over to State Parks police, fire officials said.

The man has not been identified, and his body was removed for autopsy, Larrabe said.

Tompkins County Sheriff's deputies and Bangs Ambulance assisted at the scene.

http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071106/NEWS01/711060332/1002

[Matt]

hmm... I would have waited for warmer weather .... and better water flow.
I wonder how we got there. I don't know of any access to that section of the gorge... unless he first jumped down the upper falls.

[Brenda]

When I was in high school we used to hike down through the woods from Gorge Road to get there (and sit on that outcrop to the left of the falls), but that was many years ago and I'm sure that they must have found a way to stop people from doing that (for the most part).

[champy1013]

hop the fence on any of the rim trails to get down there

[Matt]

Isn't it like a huge gorge going straight down? I couldn't find any way into the stream until I got above the upper falls.

[hoohaa]

What are these falls like at this time of the year? A friend and I actually might finally head up to Ithaca to shoot some falls and being I'm on vacation this week and he's free, we were thinking Thursday.

So I'm trying to plot which places would be best to check out at this point of the year, both by way of which are flowing well and not covered by ice and which are safest to get to at this point in the year. Any help about any of the falls in Ithaca for this point would be appreciated.