Ithaca is a gem located in Upstate New York. It is one of the most beautiful spots on the planet. It used to be the home of Holleywood.

I had the fortune to live there for 1.5 years when I first moved to the US as a teenager. We enjoyed swimming, diving, and hiking in these natural wonders.

Please see the text following the pictures.
 

Ithaca Falls (these falls were right behind our highschool).

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Taughannock Falls

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Taughannock Falls in winter

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Lucifer falls

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Lower Treman

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Fall Creek Gorge

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Cascadilla Glen Trai

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Buttermilk Falls

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Bebbe Lake Falls

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Bebbe Lake

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Cornell University

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College Town

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Natural Features of Ithaca and Tompkins County

A BRIEF TOUR...

"Ithaca is Gorges" may be a corny pun for a bumper sticker, but it does describe New York State's Ithaca
and Tompkins County - numerous streams have cut deep ravines, glens, and gorges through our hills on
their way to our lakes, and we have more waterfalls here than we can name or even count...

Stretching about 40 miles northward from Ithaca and splitting the upper half of Tompkins County in two,
Cayuga Lake is the longest of the Finger Lakes, and one of the deepest in the eastern US at 435 feet. The
great mass of water keeps us cooler in summer and warmer in winter than we would be without it - and
Cayuga Lake rarely freezes over. Boating and fishing are popular on Cayuga Lake during the spring,
summer, and fall.

Within a short distance of Ithaca are several major waterfalls. The highest, Taughannock, is higher than
Niagara - and it is the highest free-falling waterfalls in the eastern US. This falls is in Taughannock Falls
State Park, seven miles north of Ithaca on Route 89, near Trumansburg. There are facilities here for
camping, hiking, picnicking, and Cayuga Lake swimming and boat-launching.

As you leave Ithaca on your way to Taughannock on the west side of Cayuga Lake, you pass by Cass
Park, the Hangar Theater, and one of the largest inland marinas in the eastern US, the Allan H. Treman
State Marine Park. This is a great place to have a picnic, walk around the boats, or walk out to an isolated
stretch of lake shore. You will see few people here - we have so many natural areas that most remain
uncrowded even on the busiest holiday weekends.

At the south edge of Ithaca on Route 13 is another large park, Buttermilk Falls State Park. Here also are
facilities for camping, hiking, picnicking, and swimming (at the base of the main falls) - and wonderful trails
that lead you through woods, along a stream, by several unique falls, and by a large natural stone pillar.
Near the far end of this park (reached by finding its upper part, off Route 96B on King Road) is Treman
Lake, with a pleasant trail through a beautiful forest. Not far from Upper Buttermilk is another scenic area
and trail at Lick Brook. A few miles beyond Upper Buttermilk (again off Route 96B), is another part of
Buttermilk Park, Jennings Pond (in Danby), with swimming, picnicking, hiking, and fishing.

Going a little further south of Ithaca past Lower Buttermilk on Route 13, you reach Route 327 and the
entrances to the two ends of Robert Treman State Park (separated by a few miles of hilly road, with nice
views), with camping, swimming (again, by a waterfalls - one you can climb into...), and picnicking - and
with extensive trails joining the two ends of the park (be sure not to miss the upper end, with its old mill and
the surprising trail leading downstream, through the hillside, and to the head of the 160' high Lucifer Falls).
The whole trail is about four miles round-trip to the bottom and back up to the top through some nice
wooded areas, but you see little of the stream and falls except from the short loop trail near the top (some
prefer going down by the side of the stream, and up through the woods, though that last stairway to the
Lucifer Falls overlook seems to go on up forever...!).

Returning to the City of Ithaca, you can visit an amazing waterfalls within the city limits (near the intersection
of Falls and Lake Streets), Ithaca Falls, in Fall Creek Gorge. This falls is nearly as high as Niagara, but its
appearance varies greatly with the seasons - in spring it can be a raging torrent, in summer a glistening shawl
of many folds, in fall a thin web of rivulets, and in winter a wall of white, blue, and green ice. Standing on a
rock only a few feet from this large falls is a memorable experience!

The upper areas of Fall Creek Gorge are on the Cornell University campus, with many trails leading to
several waterfalls and around Beebe Lake. The views from the several bridges that cross Fall Creek Gorge
are spectacular - and most have good views of various waterfalls, some of which are in steep, deep, and
narrow parts of the gorge that are otherwise inaccessible.

Many falls can be seen during a short walk between downtown Ithaca and Collegetown, following the trail
in Cascadilla Glen (start at the curve of Court St. as it meets Linn St. and University Avenue). At the top
end of the trail is Cornell's Center for the Performing Arts. A trail leads from there upstream through a
pleasant woods and it returns behind Cornell's super-computer and nuclear-reactor facilities.

The Cornell campus is one of the most beautiful and spectacular in the country, with many natural areas of
its own. The campus itself encompasses Fall Creek Gorge, Cascadilla Glen, the Beebe Lake area, several
formal flower gardens (including Miss Minn's on Tower Road, and the A. D. White garden behind the red
stone Victorian house of the same name), the Mundy Herb Garden, and extensive Cornell Plantations areas
with both wild and cultivated sections. There are many trails in the Plantations leading through woods, along
streams, and through large specimen-plant collections. Don't miss the wildflower areas, or the peony and
rhododendron collections in the spring!

Wonderful views of Ithaca, its valley, Cayuga Lake, and Cornell can be had from the upper floors of the
Johnson Art Museum at Cornell, from the edge of Libe Slope, or, for those without vertigo, from the top of
Cornell's McGraw Tower (open while the bells are ringing, a treat in itself...).

Moving up the hill past Cornell University and across Fall Creek Gorge, you enter Cayuga Heights, where
you can find Sunset Park, a great place to watch the sun set over Cayuga Lake. From here you can see the
many boats often on the lake in the evening and a grand view of much of the Ithaca area, including the entire
city in its valley, Ithaca College and South Hill, the southern part of Cayuga Lake, and West Hill, dotted
with farms. Driving around Cayuga Heights with its winding tree-lined streets can be fun - and you may be
able to spot mansions built here by movie stars during Ithaca's years as a movie capital during the early part
of the century...

Beyond Cayuga Heights is the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, world famous for its library of recorded
bird and animal sounds. Here are extensive woods and wetland areas, with many trails and boardwalks for
hikers and birdwatchers. There is a visitor's center at the lab's main building on Sapsucker Woods Road,
next to a large pond.

The City of Ithaca itself maintains an amazingly large number of parks and wild areas. The most popular
park, though, is Stewart Park, just off Route 13, on the south shore of Cayuga Lake. Here are great views
of Cayuga Lake and the Inlet, and it it is a grand place to spend an afternoon or evening having a picnic by
the lake, followed by sitting in a swing by the shore, or walking along the beach, around the children's play
area (with an old-fashioned carousel - heck, take a ride, be a kid again!), along the streams, or through the
nearby Fuertes Bird Sanctuary. Some of the buildings in Stewart Park date back to when Ithaca was a
movie capital - several silent films and serials were made here by Wharton Studios.

The city of Ithaca also maintains the very extensive Six Mile Creek natural area, including the Mulholland
Wildflower Preserve, two lakes, several waterfalls, three dams, and outstandingly beautiful forest areas. Six
Mile Creek itself flows through Ithaca by the new library, and its surrounding natural area extends miles
upstream. A good place to start exploring is the parking area off Giles Street at the far end of the bridge
crossing the creek.

Surrounding Ithaca are beautiful gently rolling hills covered with woods and farm land, with many remote
little roads and villages to explore. One of these, Ludlowville (go north of Ithaca on Route 34, turn left onto
Route 34B at the historic Rogues Harbor Inn, then turn off on the right either before or after the schools),
also has a good-sized falls and a couple of state-maintained parking areas for fishing in Salmon Creek. And
then there are the many remote land preserves, like Connecticut Hill State Wildlife Management Area,
Shindagin Hollow, and the several Finger Lakes Land Trust preserves; and also the less-visited small glens,
like Coy Glen and Twin Glens, and the many one sees when driving along the hillsides by the lake, often
with gushing waterfalls visible from the road in the spring. There is much to see here...

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This should get you started if you are into seeing beautiful landscapes, which many of us here consider
nothing short of national park quality (there is more information on our natural areas in the "Outdoor
Adventure" section of the "What to See and Do" link on the blue bar on the left, especially under the
"Hiking" link). But, if your preferences lie elsewhere than in the experience of world-class scenic beauty,
there is still very much to do in Ithaca and Tompkins County - and we only touch the surface here. For a
small city set in a rural environment, Ithaca offers a remarkable range of rich cultural, shopping,
overnight-accommodation, sports, gastronomic, entertainment, educational, and business opportunities. For
more detail, check out the "What to See and Do" and other category links on the blue bar on your left, and
see "More About Ithaca and Tompkins County". To contact us for more information, to get a copy of the
Travel Guide magazine, or to e-mail us, the Convention & Visitor’s Bureau can be reached by:

- Voice: 800/28-ITHACA (800/284-8422) or 607/272-1313
- FAX: 607/272-7617
- E-mail: info@visitithaca.com

Or visit us at our Visitor's Center location in Ithaca (near Stewart Park) at:

- 904 East Shore Drive, Ithaca, New York 14850

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The Tompkins County Travel Guide, copyright 2000.

Much of the uncredited text, and all photographs by David Ruether (www.ferrario.com/ruether) except for Winter Ithaca Falls photograph by Robert Neuman.