Just a few miles southwest of downtown Ithaca, NY, Buttermilk Falls State Park is 811 acres of shady woods, wetland meadows, and no less than 10 waterfalls cascading down a narrow gorge toward Cayuga Lake. It also makes a great place for camping near New York. The park was designated in 1924, yet its namesake cascade, Buttermilk Falls, was named as early as 1866, as it was likened to “a mass of thick, frothy foam” as it tumbles down a 165-foot slab of layered stone. This makes Buttermilk Falls the park’s main attraction, and the wide pool beneath the falls is a popular swimming hole for cooling off in the summer months. The park’s many other falls, ranging in height from 5 to 35 feet, are viewable from some of the 5.5 miles of hiking trails along the Buttermilk Creek gorge. The park offers free guided gorge tours and interpretive programs. 

 The campground at Buttermilk Falls is small, offering only 25 tent and RV sites and 18 rental cabins. Campsites are mostly back-in, and can accommodate vehicles/trailers only to a maximum of 20 feet. Sites are equipped with picnic tables and fire pits; hookups are not available. Of the cabins available, visitors can choose from historic cabins with electricity and modern cabins sans electricity. There is one ADA accessible campsite and cabin available. Campground amenities include a bathhouse with showers, a picnic shelter, and a trash/recycling station. A trailhead in the campground provides walking access to the park’s trail network, viewpoints, playground and ball fields. Dogs are permitted, but must remain leashed, and only in pet-friendly areas. Campsite rates are $15–$24/night; cabins are $52–$60/night with two-night minimum. The park also charges an entry fee.

Buttermilk Falls State Park Campground

This campground is really nice, with lots of outdoor activities to do. I really enjoyed hiking, swimming and seeing all the beautiful waterfalls. They do have a "upper" and "lower" park. The lower park is where you will find the campground, swimming areas, and a big open field. My family and I enjoyed throwing our Frisbee around in this field, and also saw people playing flag football. The upper park has a lot of really cool hiking trails, a lake, another big field and an area that has picnic tables. My family and I spent half our time in the lower park, and the other half in the upper park. We mostly went to the upper park for the hiking. We went mid-July, and we did see that they offer some park tours if you are interested in that. I believe they take you on a tour through the Buttermilk gorge, and along some of the hiking trails. We opted out of the tours, and just went by ourselves. The swimming area/falls area was pretty packed, and the parking in that area was pretty jammed packed. The campground itself was OK. Nothing too special about it, and not much privacy between each site. We reserved our area online a few weeks before we went, and opted for an area that seemed out of the way and private- however, it wasn't. Luckily, we were hardly at our campsite so we didn't mind that much. There are bathrooms on site that also have showers, which is nice. They do have some stores close by, but nothing within the park. We stopped by a store called Wegmans before we came into the campground, and got all out food supplies there. I would maybe call in advanced if you want to see the falls, just to make sure there is water...apparently people were saying there isn't always water in the swimming hole, and waterfalls year round. 

Awesome hikes, and great scenery! 

Buttermilk Falls State Park is a great state park in central New York.  The scenery is what makes this park stand out.  Unlike neighboring Taughannock Falls State Park, there isn't a large waterfall at the end of any trail.  However, it is the mix of constant small waterfalls that really show in this park.  There are plenty of overlooks, you can go in the streams, and the camp sites are great.  They are spacious and inviting, and the neighbors are close, but not TOO close.  Excellent for a weekend getaway or longer because there is so much to see.

Nice State Park

Tenting, trailer or cabin this is a beautiful relaxing area.  The upper park has a small lake that runs along side many trails and flows into Cayuga Lake  one of the Finger Lakes which is beautiful itself.  There are guided tours, hiking, biking, swimming, and fishing available in this tranquil campground.  The swimming area is safely guarded and staff with certified guards for your protection.  The waterfalls are gorgeous and they flow through a luscious gorge emptying into a marshland full of activity.  Bird watching along with other wild life is there .  To get away from the hussle of big city  come relax here.

Beautiful and scenic

One of the more relaxing campgrounds in the gorge-ous area.  Doesn't have as many amenities as some of the other area (no showers) but still nice spacious sites with restroom, tables and fire rings.
Simple nice park which is much less crowded than some of the other State parks in the area.
Nice trails and more awesome falls.

Very calm, relaxing and quaint

The Finger lakes region is so beautiful . Be sure to time your visit with the fall foilage change, or grab your snow shoes for a winter adventure. Great cabins for rent here!

falls

We have stayed here on two seperate occasions. It is close to so many waterfalls and gorges and some of my favorite hiking trails. The lack of amenities drives a lot of people away- we have never felt crowded while here.  

Love love love 

This is an excellent campground because it has plenty to do for everyone. There are a lot of amenities on the actual campgrounds such as fields for playing games or taking a stroll but there are also gorges and waterfalls you can hike to! 

Lots to do!

Great camping if you love hiking, trail running or waterfalls.

One of the great places to camp in Ithaca, NY. 

My husband and I ended up spending a couple nights here (in 2017) upon a recommendation from a friend- boy did the park and campground live up to expectations. We were told it was a small campground, pretty quiet, and better than most state park campgrounds due to it's size- that was absolutely correct. It was SO nice to have a small campground to stay in!  This park isn't terribly busy, but busy enough that it was necessary to 'escape' at night and relax :)

We were happy with the sites- nothing too special.  The real highlight is the park itself!  The hiking trails are nice!  Not too challenging, but very scenic. Walking along the water from the upper and lower entrances is great!  If you walk Gorge trail and Rim trail you connect to make a nice loop and see just about everything the park has to offer. The waterfalls are wonderful- pretty busy so I would recommend going early or later near dusk if you want a more solitary experience.  It is very cool to listen to the water at night as well :)