Combating the heat that has swept through Ithaca this summer has been a challenge. One method I’ve found to be somewhat effective is sitting directly in front of a fan, eating an entire box of popsicles by myself. However, a healthier, less anti-social option is swimming in the natural pool at Robert H. Treman State Park.
A group of Cornell students and I drove to the park—about twenty minutes from campus—on a particularly hot day in early July. The park has two entrances; the pool is located at the lower one, a fact we discovered by driving to the upper one and finding no pool. When we finally arrived, we grabbed our towels and headed through a gorgeous wooded area to the swimming site.
Water cascades into the pool from a small waterfall at one end. Buoy ropes enclose the swimming area, and a lifeguard is on duty. The braver members of our group were excited about the diving board at the deep end and jumped into the water right away, while those of us who were less inclined to jump (okay, just me) climbed in via a ladder. There’s also a shaded, grassy area next to the pool where you can lie on towels and picnic. In addition to the natural pool, the park has nine miles of hiking trails, twelve waterfalls (including the famous Lucifer Falls), plenty of grills for barbecues (my favorite park activity), and campgrounds; there are tent and RV sites as well as cabins.
Swimming at the park was a fun way to keep cool this summer. It’s also a much safer, legal alternative to swimming in the unsupervised gorges. Two Cornellians drowned in the gorges earlier this summer, so it’s important for people know about safe swimming alternatives like this one. And despite my initial reservations about the diving board, I eventually mustered up the courage to jump into the water, and it was worth it.
— Maya Rajamani ’12