New York’s newest state park is officially on the map. Three Falls State Park in Trumansburg now protects a 90-acre stretch of Cayuga Lake, complete with waterfalls, wooded trails and direct waterfront access on land long known as Camp Barton. For now, visitors are limited to low-key, passive recreation while state and local partners work through safety upgrades and a long-term buildout plan.
Park basics and the falls
According to New York State Parks, the property covers about 90 acres and includes roughly a half mile of Cayuga Lake shoreline. The centerpiece is the 128-foot Frontenac Falls, one of three cascades on or next to the site that give the park its name. The state purchased the land from the Baden-Powell Council of the Boy Scouts of America and has opened it initially for hiking and nature observation while a more complete park buildout moves ahead.
How the park came together
Day-to-day oversight of the transition from Camp Barton to state park status will fall to the Three Falls Local Development Corporation, a partnership of the Village of Trumansburg and the towns of Ulysses and Covert that has signed an operating agreement with the state. The group says it will handle programming and basic maintenance and will actively seek public feedback as upgrades roll out in stages, per Three Falls LDC.
Planned improvements
Concept plans shared by state and local officials call for a mix of restoration and new construction. Former camp cabins would be refurbished, trails expanded, and specific overlooks created for safer waterfall viewing. The vision also includes new docks and kayak launches, a nature center and rentable event spaces, with each piece tackled in phases as money becomes available. The state has already awarded a $100,000 planning grant to the local corporation and completed some initial safety work while a full capital needs assessment is underway, according to New York State Parks.
Conservation and access rules
Conservation is built into the blueprint. Officials plan to reroute certain trails, remove invasive species and intentionally leave parts of the gorge and upper woodlands untouched to protect nesting peregrine falcons and other sensitive habitat. For now, managers say the park is open only for passive uses such as walking and observing nature. Trails down to the falls, as well as buildings and bathrooms, remain closed until repairs are made, and swimming, camping and any kind of watercraft use are off-limits, according to Time Out.
When to go and what to expect
Sitting just north of Taughannock Falls State Park, Three Falls will be managed by the local development corporation under a long-term concept plan that unfolds over several years. Local coverage notes that the layout calls for a permanent parking lot with more than 100 spaces to handle visitors and that the Three Falls name was unveiled earlier in March, per FingerLakes1.
Local reaction and next steps
“It's a tremendous benefit to the community to have additional space available in the heart of the Finger Lakes,” Trumansburg Mayor Rordan Hart told Tompkins Weekly. Residents who want to track what happens next can follow meeting notes and planning documents posted by the local development corporation as it works through repairs, programming and long-term improvements, per Three Falls LDC.
