About Taughannock Falls
Taughannock Falls (rhymes with “mechanic”) is one of the signature attractions of the Finger Lakes area.
Indeed, it was certainly one of those waterfalls where it seemed like we saw it many times before actually coming here in person!
We managed to experience this waterfall in a couple of ways.
Taughannock Falls via the Gorge Trail
The first way was via the Gorge Trail, which started from a car park right near the western banks of Cayuga Lake.
The trail was 3/4-mile in length (1.5 miles return) and was mostly shaded and flat, which was welcome considering the heat and humidity of our early Summer visit.
We even saw some people decide to walk inside Taughannock Creek itself instead of the trail to beat the heat.
We also noticed some interpretive signs discussing the ecology and geology of the gorge, which seemed to have glacial origins.
In addition, we passed by an attractive smaller cascade near the beginning of the trail at the car park, which conspired to keep us on the trail a bit longer.
The trail ended right at the falls where fences and railings were put in to discourage people from getting closer to the falls (probably due to the fragile nature of the cliffs surrounding the amphitheater which were prone to rock falls).
Given the harsh lighting of the day, we actually did this trail twice on the same day.
In the morning, the sun cast some pretty harsh shadows and bright zones wreaking havoc on our photos.
So we came back in the late afternoon to redo this trail under better lighting conditions.
It was under that second visit that there was a whole bunch of chairs all lined up as if the falls was the center of attention to a captive audience (though the show or seminar was well over when we showed up).
Taughannock Falls Overlook
The other way we experienced this waterfall was from the rim of the amphitheater overlooking Taughannock Falls itself.
From this vantage point, we appreciated better the spot where the gorge came to its dramatic and abrupt end.
This was a drive-to viewpoint so it got to be pretty busy here, but it was still definitely worth checking out.
As a matter of fact, the cover of our coffee table book about Waterfalls and Gorges of the Finger Lakes
Authorities
Taughannock Falls resides in Taughannock Falls State Park near Ithaca in Tompkins County, New York. It is administered by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.
We got to the car park for the Gorge Trail by taking route 89 north of Ithaca for about 8 miles as it follows alongside the western bank of Cayuga Lake. The parking area (fee required) is on the left.
For the upper lookout of the falls, you can leave from the car park mentioned above, then go across the bridge heading north a short distance before turning left onto Falls Rd (my map says it’s Taughannock Park Rd). Then follow this road a little under a mile to another car park area where a short walk down some steps leads to a nice overlook of the falls and gorge amphitheater.
For geographical context, Ithaca was about 156 miles (under 3 hours drive) east of Buffalo, 167 miles (3 hours drive) west of Albany, or 233 miles (4.5 hours drive) northwest of New York City.
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Direct view of the falls from its base
Focused on a cascade near the start of the trail
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Taughannock Falls June 16, 2010 4:50 pm - Taughannock Falls is my number one, located near Ithica NY. It is the highest falls in the Eastern U.S. I spent 3 years at Seneca Army Depot in the Fingerlakes region of Ny. That is where God put the best falls in the world. Watkins Glen Gorge is another must see. ...Read MoreVisitor Reviews of this Waterfall:
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