From Rochester, NY, where I’m currently living, it only takes about an hour and 45 minutes to get to Ithaca, NY. And in Ithaca there are over 150 waterfalls in less than a 10 mile span! It’s a beautiful amazing place, and I had been wanting to visit for awhile. The town of Ithaca has plenty of food options and things to do. And it is also home to Ithaca Brewery (definitely on the itinerary for the next trip).

So my best friend Sarah has been to Ithaca many times, and I asked her if she would take me on a little day trip to check out all the waterfalls and do some hiking. I did a bit of research on www.visitithaca.com and picked out which waterfalls and hikes I was interested, and we did what we could in our day trip!

We went on a weekday because it worked best for our schedules, and it was awesome because the trails weren’t that busy at all! Highly suggest avoiding a weekend day trip because even on a Tuesday there were a decent amount of people out and about. We didn’t have any trouble parking, but the lots were pretty full.

Make sure you account for how far away each waterfall is from the next! It can take 20 minutes or so to get from one to the other. I suggest making a plan of what waterfalls to hit in what order on the drive there.

Taughannock Falls

I think most people know Ithaca for Taughannock falls. It’s a 215 foot waterfall, the tallest in Ithaca, and you can see it from both an overlook and by hiking to the plunge pool.

The hike is short and easy to the base of the fall, only a 1.9 mile loop and takes maybe an hour round trip if you’re strolling and stop to take pictures like we did.

The parking lot was free to park on weekdays, but does have a fee of $7 on the weekends. The overlook parking lot is free to park in.

The leaves were just changing colors and it was so beautiful! It was perfect weather that day about 65 degrees and partially cloudy. Made for an awesome hike!

Lucifer Falls

If you’re afraid of heights, don’t look down! Lucifer falls is 115 feet and is a steep drop to the bottom. It is an amazing waterfall to look at, the mossy rocks are so beautiful, and with the leaves changing it was awesome to take in.

The “hike” to Lucifer falls is more of a pathway, and from the parking lot and back is only about a mile round trip. It took us maybe a half an hour to hike in and out with a quick stop here and there for some photos. There are more stairs, so it can be a bit more of a workout rather than Taughannock falls flat trail.

We were some of the only people on the trail, and it was such a peaceful hike! Make sure to bring some trail snacks and water, at this point I was starting to get pretty hungry!

Ithaca Falls

When we put into the GPS how to get to Ithaca Falls, it did not know where to take us. Make sure you type in Ithaca Falls Trail or Ithaca Falls Natural Area, it is right off of Lake Street by Cornell’s campus in downtown Ithaca, but we had to drive along the gorge to find it ourselves. There’s a small parking lot, and a very short walk to the base of the waterfall. You can see the waterfall from the road, and the walk is through the trees to the base.

It’s a beautiful waterfall, and we caught it right as the leaves were starting to change. We hung out, took some pictures, and left within maybe 20 minutes.

Ithaca Bakery

After checking out the waterfalls, we headed into town to get some much needed food. Ithaca Bakery is right in the heart of Ithaca. It has everything from baked goods, subs, paninis, coffee, soups, beer, and more! A great place to rest with a coffee or beer. And reasonably priced!

We both ordered paninis, I got the Italian panini, and I also ordered a hot coffee, a Raspberry Truffle latte, which were both delicious!