Lucifer Falls

From Ithaca, drive south on Route 13 / 34/ 96 and then bear right (west) onto Route 327 (Enfield Falls Road) shortly before the junction where Routes 13 and 96 split. Continue for 2.9 miles and then make a hard left onto Upper Park Road at the upper entrance to Robert H. Treman State Park, and then follow Upper Park Road to its end at the parking area next to the Old Mill. From the parking area, follow the Gorge Trail downstream through the impressive box canyon at the upper end of Enfield Glen. The trail descends a set of stairs passing Devil’s Kitchen Falls and then quickly comes to the top of Lucifer Falls where stone-fenced cliff top viewpoints provide a side-on vista of the falls, about one-third of a mile from the parking lot. The trail continues to a bridge below the falls, and then climbs up the opposite side to an airy gorge-rim vista looking down on the falls from the opposite side of the gorge, then loops back to the parking area. Trails continue downstream on both sides of the creek to the Lower Falls parking area as well, passing several more smaller waterfalls.Lucifer Falls is the tallest and most substantial waterfall within Enfield Glen, as well as one of the more prominent waterfalls in the greater Finger Lakes region. The falls spill 122 feet in a stair-stepping cascade type fall into a deep recess in the glen, below which the stream makes a hard 90-degree change in direction, which results in making the falls difficult to view from below. Trails on either side of the glen provide different perspectives of the falls. A tastefully constructed stone staircase descends next to the falls on its right, allowing for up close views from the side of the upper half of the falls. On the opposite side of the stream, the trail runs along the cliff top high above the falls and affords an airy view looking down on the entire fall. The trails intersect at a footbridge below the falls, from which point those who don’t mind getting wet can rock hop and wade upstream to the base of the falls (only attempt this when the stream flow is low). The cliff which the falls tumble down is surprisingly broad, but on average the falls only stretch about 35-40 feet in breadth due to how the stream is more or less channeled down in a straight path. During periods of flood level flow however, the creek will overwhelm the whole cliff and veil out across the whole cliff face, reaching a width of over 130 feet across at its base. Enfield Creek drains from a basin covering approximately 27 square miles, and by all accounts seems to retain at least a modest flow of water during all but the most extreme periods of drought. At flood stage – especially when the remnants of Tropical Depressions pass through - the volume of the creek can swell to truly impressive levels.