New York has many waterfalls, and many of the waterfalls seem to cluster together. A few of them, including Chittenango Falls, are slightly more isolated. (One of you might say, “There’s this other waterfall nearby”, but you might have to drive just a little further to find it compared to some locations where you can see 3, 4, 5, 6+ falls at a time!) I believe the other waterfall that we visited in the area nearby was Pratt’s Falls.
Chittenango Falls is located southeast of Syracuse, and it’s just an hour or so drive from Syracuse. If you’re looking for larger and impressive waterfalls, this is probably the waterfall for you! It’s 167′ tall (according to NY State Parks), and it’s rather wide too. It’s also very easy to get too, being almost directly off of NY-13. If I remember correctly, NY-13 passes over the river, and the falls are very close to that bridge.
Walking to the falls does require some stairs, but it’s a relatively short distance. I do remember there being a number of signs asking visitors to not disturb blocked-off areas. Please follow any signs to ensure that endangered plants can grown in peace.
Directions:
- There are number of possible paths to arrive at the falls. You’re hoping to end up on NY-13 in between the towns of Chittenango and Cazenovia. If in Chittenango, head south. If in Cazenovia, head north.
- The falls are found directly off of NY-13. Depending on the time of year, there may be a fee to enter the park. (When we visited many of the New York parks in early May, those taking care of the parks didn’t seem to want to deal with taking care of fees, oddly enough.)
Accessibility: 9/10 (easy)
Height: 167′
Length of Hike: 0.15 miles round-trip
Chittenango Falls in May 2009
Where in the World is Chittenango Falls?
The Waterfall Record 