Top 10 Hikes in 2023

High Trail, Ansel Adams Wilderness, Inyo National Forest, August 2023 This year, Live and Let Hike celebrated its 10-year anniversary of bringing you thorough trail descriptions and extensive photo collections of day hikes and backpacking routes across the United States and beyond. The web design may not be world class—and no one would mistake my …

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North Rim – South Rim Trail Loop (Taughannock Falls State Park, NY)

Taughannock Falls Overlook, North Rim Trail, Taughannock Falls State Park, June 2023 At 215 feet tall, Taughannock Falls in central New York is the tallest single-drop waterfall in the northeast United States, boasting a height that exceeds even the nearby—but much more-famous—Niagara Falls. Taughannock Falls is the centerpiece of a state park bearing its name …

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Gorge – Rim Trail Loop (Buttermilk Falls State Park, NY)

Gorge Trail, Buttermilk Falls State Park, June 2023 A quick glance at this and my previous blog from Ithaca’s Robert H. Treman State Park suggests this post may be merely a duplicate. But a closer look reveals that there is indeed also a Gorge Trail and Rim Trail combination in nearby Buttermilk Falls State Park, …

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Gorge – Rim Trail Loop (Robert H. Treman State Park, NY)

Lucifer Falls, Rim Trail, Robert H. Treman State Park, June 2023 Uplift, receding glaciers, and subsequent erosion have blessed central New York with terrific stone gorges, many containing rushing waters and dramatic waterfalls that drain into the 11 Finger Lakes. Enfield Glen, one such canyon, is the centerpiece of Ithaca’s Robert H. Treman State Park—an …

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Ithaca Falls Trail (Ithaca Falls Natural Area, NY)

Ithaca Falls, Ithaca Falls Natural Area, June 2023 If it were merely a single strand of the massive, 150-foot-tall falls that was flowing, this would still be an impressive sight. And yet we get much more with Ithaca Falls, easily the tallest, widest, and arguably most stunning of the many waterfalls inside the city of …

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Emilie Jonas Falls (Emilie Jonas Falls Nature Preserve, NY)

Emilie Jonas Falls, Emilie Jonas Falls Nature Preserve, June 2023 Waterfalls abound in the narrow gorges in and around Ithaca, New York, with some drawing regular crowds while others attracting only hearty falls-seeking sleuths keen on novelty and solitude. Emilie Jonas Falls is a gem for the latter group: it is not the tallest, widest, …

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Ludlowville Falls (Ludlowville Park, NY)

Ludlowville Falls, Ludlowville Park, June 2023 Ludlowville Falls (a.k.a. Salmon Creek Falls) is less impressive for its height (35-40 feet) than its width, falling in multiple chutes (or one mega-drop after snowmelt or heavy rains). The waterfall—less than a 20-minute drive from Ithaca, New York—is also notable for its residential setting: it must be a …

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Carpenter Falls Trail (Carpenter Falls Unique Area, NY)

Carpenter Falls, Carpenter Falls Unique Area, June 2023 Situated in a gorge just west of Skaneateles Lake, Carpenter Falls tumbles 90 feet in one drop, making this one of the more impressive waterfalls within an hour’s drive from both Syracuse and Ithaca, New York. A wooden boardwalk, which is wheelchair accessible, extends for 1/10 mile …

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Gorge Trail Loop (Chittenango Falls State Park, NY)

Gorge Trail, Chittenango Falls State Park, June 2023 Chittenango Falls—situated roughly 20 miles southeast of Syracuse, New York—tumbles an impressive 167 feet into a limestone gorge and is easily viewed on a short, ½-mile loop hike. The best views are from a pedestrian bridge below the waterfall along the Gorge Trail, the premier walk in …

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Minisink Battleground Loop (Minisink Battleground Park, NY)

- Revolutionary War Series - In July 1799, the Revolutionary War came to the Upper Delaware River Valley as a British-aligned militia led by famous Mohawk chief Joseph Brant raided the area to strike a blow at the morale of the revolutionaries. Incensed by the raid, a rapidly-formed counterforce under the command of Colonel John …

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