The Hills - East, South, West

The city of Ithaca sits in the ancient lake bed of a once enormous Cayuga Lake, with Cornell University on the hill to the East, and Ithaca College on the hill to the South. Waterfalls and gorges climb the hills that surround city center, leading to great adventure and some of our most favorite places to explore.

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Taughannock State Park

Address
1740 Taughannock Boulevard
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Taughannock Falls (Ta-gan-neck for you out-of-towners) is the most striking and accessible of all of the tremendous waterfalls littering the landscape around here. Part of the NY State Park system, it offers a challenging rim trail that takes you around the top of the gorge and along the creekbed before the waters plunge uninterrupted 215 feet into the gorge carved out over thousands of years. The more popular trail option is the flat wide 3/4 mile gorge trail that meanders alongside the creek to the base of the waterfall - this walk is especially pleasant on a hot summer day as it is mostly shaded and allows access to wading in the shallow creek waters. The park acreage sits on a delta that extends out into the lake and offers huge lawns for kite flying and pick up games, as well as a designated swim area and boat launch. Take a picnic in the summer - there are Saturday concerts and open air movies for families. Great to visit year round.

Taughannock State Park
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Taughannock State Park
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Taughannock State Park
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Taughannock State Park
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Taughannock State Park
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Taughannock State Park
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Cayuga Nature Center

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