Taughannock Falls State Park

In one of my latest summer adventures in Ithaca, a friend and I drove to Taughannock Falls State Park to do some hiking. Being summer, it was more crowded than the last time I went to Taughannock, and there were whole bunches of people on the Gorge Trail. The Gorge Trail is pretty short and flat in the extreme. Back on campus, it takes me more time to get to the Dairy Bar and I get more elevation gain walking to chemistry lectures from my dorm.

Still, the Gorge Trail is a nice walk (even with the crowds) and it ends near the base of the falls itself. It was marginally drier than in the fall, but still not as bad as that time I went to Buttermilk Falls with my family and I could have produced a more convincing waterfall with a decent hose. If you haven’t seen a picture, here’s what the main waterfall looks like:

We walked back to the trailhead and decided that since we were there and we’d covered the Gorge Trail in a little over half an hour, we might as well hike the rim trail too. Rim trails in upstate New York state parks tend to be pretty wooded, and this was no exception. It was a lot quieter and after some initial steps, it was mostly a pleasant walk in the woods. We got the occasional glimpse of the gorge below on the South Rim Trail, then we hit the point where we crossed over the gorge right by the upper falls. Instead of being at the bottom of the falls, this time we we looking down at the falls, which was pretty cool. We returned to the parking lot by the North Rim Trail, which followed the road more closely.

Upper Falls

On the way back, we got to an overlook where we got another view of the falls. Somewhere along the way we also got to look down the whole gorge to Cayuga Lake.

All told, we walked/hiked for a little over two hours and depending on which map you believe, we either covered 4.125 or 4.94 miles. The 4.94 miles comes from what appears to be a newer map, and based on my typical walking speed (fast, according to multiple of my friends) and general lack of elevation gain or loss, I’d believe it without too much problem.

It was nice to get off campus, do some hiking, and spend time with a friend. I had a great time. Now to find a ride for my next hiking adventure.