Where do I live? Somewhere: Between Heaven & Hell …
Chittenango Falls is a 167-foot tiered waterfall located in Chittenango Falls State Park, near the village of Cazenovia in Madison County, New York. The falls cascade over 400-million-year-old Onondaga Limestone bedrock, formed by glacial sculpting, and are fed by Chittenango Creek, which drains from Cazenovia and Tuscarora Lakes.
Key details for visitors include:
Location: The park is situated approximately 35 minutes east of Syracuse and is easily accessible from US Highway 20 via Route 13.
Access: Visitors can view the falls from a platform near the parking lot (accessible) or hike the Gorge Trail, a steep, less-than-half-mile loop with hundreds of steps leading to a footbridge at the base.
Unique Wildlife: The park is the only place on Earth where the endangered Chittenango ovate amber snail lives; visitors must stay on trails to protect this species.
Activities: The park offers fishing (brown trout), picnicking, and hiking, but swimming and camping are prohibited (the campground closed in the mid-2000s).
Hours & Fees: The park is open year-round from dawn to dusk, with a $5 vehicle entry fee on weekends/holidays and $5 on weekdays (as per recent visitor guides, though NYS Parks lists variable fees).
The falls are particularly notable for their consistent flow due to their large drainage basin and their historical significance as a site for mills in the 19th century before being preserved by the Chittenango Falls Park Association and later the state.
Onondaga Lake, a designated federal Superfund site, suffers from extensive contamination due to over a century of industrial dumping and municipal sewage. The primary pollutants include mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), heavy metals, and chlorinated benzenes, largely discharged by companies such as Allied Chemical (now Honeywell) and the Solvay Process Company.
Key aspects of the contamination and remediation include:
Mercury Pollution: Approximately 165,000 pounds of elemental mercury were discharged into the lake between 1946 and 1970. While major dredging and capping of the lake bottom was completed in 2016, surprising high levels of mercury were recently detected in the Onondaga Lake Park Marina sediments, raising concerns about broader, previously untested contamination.
Sewage and Nutrients: Historical dumping of untreated municipal sewage led to high levels of ammonia and phosphates, causing severe algal blooms and oxygen depletion that choked out aquatic life. Upgrades to wastewater treatment facilities have significantly improved water quality and reduced bacterial contamination.
Current Status: The lake is now considered safe for swimming and has seen a recovery in fish populations. However, critics argue that leaving 90% of the toxic sediments in place via capping creates a long-term environmental risk, with ongoing legal and advocacy efforts by the Onondaga Nation demanding more thorough remediation.
