6 Mile Area Trail Map posted at City entrance
An excellant demonstration of the Olympus DL 600 (95KBytes)
-including-
Mullholland Wildflower Preserve
Van Etta Dam
60 Foot Dam
South Hill sub-trails
City of Ithaca Water Shed
City of Ithaca
Town of Ithaca
6 Mile Area Trail Map posted at City entrance
An excellant demonstration of the Olympus DL 600 (95KBytes)
 |
|
Water Department Use Policy |
 |
|
Bend below 2nd Dam, flat spot and falls |
 |
|
Wier below 2nd dam (60' Dam) |
 |
| second resevoir from 60' Dam Access Road |
 |
| Potter's Falls between 2nd (60 Foot) and 3rd Dams |
 |
| gorge below 3rd Dam |
 |
| 3rd Dam |
 |
| tight gorge above Potter's Falls |
 |
| entrance to access road in Commonlands |
 |
|
New (1998) Historic Marker on Burns Road north-end of South Hill Trail |
Parking on Giles Street is at Mullholland Wildflower Preserve, with trails between Giles Street and Commonlands (second resevoir). Giles Street crosses the first dam, going up the gorge from the City of Ithaca. The Perserve extends to near to bottom of the second dam and is an easy, well-maintained trail. The gorge topography creates a spectacle density of wildflowers, paticularily for spring wildflowers. Spring wildflower hunting is not complete without a trip(s) to Mullholland Perserve.
The remaining sections of the gorge is largely owned/maintained by the City Water department and there are numerous foot-paths. Trails lead past the second and third dam with various foot paths to the "Commonlands" housing development. "Potter's Falls" (a.k.a. "Green Tree Falls") is mid-way between the second and third dam (with decades of sun-bathing tradition). Above Potter's, the gorge transistions from the broadish lower gorge to a section of narrow, inaccessable, gorge twists below the third dam.
The south-west side of the gorge is rimmed by the South Hill Trail with various paths leading into the gorge. Many of the trails along the lower rail-switchback were orignal built by the WPA.
A a city full of gorges, 6-Mile is the longest and most wild, with trails that go on 2+ miles south-east along 6-Mile Creek (from Brooktondale).
| Wildflowers | Birds | Mammals |
|---|---|---|
|
Asters Baneberry BellWort Blackberry Bloodroot False Solomon's Seal Fringed Polygala Ginger, Wild Hepatica May Apple Meadow-Rue, Early Meadow-Rue, Tall Solomon's Seal Sweet Cicely Trillium, Red Trillium, White Violets Wild Columnbine Wild Lilly-of-the-Valley Wood Geranium Waterleaf, Virgina Waterleaf, Broad-leaved |
Catbird Canadian Geese Chickadee Junco Nuthatch, White Breasted Ovenbird Redstart Robin Wood Thrush Yellow Warbler Yellow-Rumped Warbler Yellowthroat |
Chipmonk Deer Squirrel |