Buttermilk Falls Waterfall Ithaca Finger Lakes New York

Buttermilk Falls State Park is a 811-acre state park located southwest of Ithaca, New York, United States. Like Robert H. Treman State Park, a portion of the land that was to become the state park came from Robert and Laura Treman in 1924.

Buttermilk Falls was named for the frothy appearance of its churning waters. The naming of the cascade was described in 1866: Here cleft by a mountain torrent, that comes pouring over the sharp rocks of its bed in a mass of thick, frothy foam, that evidently suggested to the unaesthetic and domestic countryman the name of Buttermilk Falls. The original 164 acres of the park were presented as a gift to New York State by Robert and Laura Treman in 1924. It grew to its current 811 acre size through various state acquisitions in the years that followed.

 evolutionary War era soldier Joseph Plumb Martin mentioned a Buttermilk Falls in his diary; however, this refers to present day Highland Falls in the Hudson Valley and not in Ithaca, NY.