Taughannock Falls State Park

Absolutely beautiful and clean state park. This was my first time in a park near Ithaca and I am just stunned. We hiked the trail to Lucifer Falls and the entire way was jaw — dropping. Highly recommended you take family and friends out of town to here.

Taughannock has a bit of something for everyone.
The Gorge Trail is level and accessible to just about anyone and is only ¾ of a mile one way. There are informational signs along the way about the geology and ecology of the gorge, culminating with a great view of the falls at the end. For those who want more of a hike the Gorge Trails serves as a nice warm up before hitting the Rim Trails.
The North Rim Trail starts abruptly with stairs that go nearly straight up, though thankfully they have a handrail and the stretch is fairly short. There are great views of Cayuga Lake and the falls on this side, as well as a visitor. The South Rim is a longer, slower climb to begin with and fairly shady with some good views closer to the end. Both North and South run close to service roads.
There are plenty of recreational areas: big open lawns for picnics or tossing a ball, playgrounds for kids, swimming in Cayuga Lake when it’s warm, docks, canoe rentals, pavilions, and camping. This park has a lot to offer.

SO much fun. My husband and I walked the trail straight back to the waterfall. It is an easy walk, less than a mile and flat land. The waterfall is gorgeous! Definitely worth the trip. We read that the waterfall is even taller than Niagara! Fantastic photo opportunities.
On the walk back to the parking lot, we noticed people walking through the creek, in the water and off the trail. We weren’t sure if this was allowed, but we followed their lead and I’m so glad we did! We had so much fun cooling off by walking in the shallow water. The rocks were slippery so we had to take it slow. We took some great photos along the way.
The park ranger at the entrance gate was very friendly and refunded our parking fee once we mentioned that we had just come from Watkins Glen. Apparently, you only have to pay a parking fee ONCE and it is good for all state parks! So don’t throw your receipt away if you plan to visit multiple parks in one day.

This park is breathtaking and if you’re in the area, I recommend you don’t miss out and hike to the waterfalls! It’s only a .75mile hike and the waterfalls are the tallest east of the Mississippi.
I was here with my grandma, sister and wife this past Saturday and had a fantastic time hiking, frolicking in water and being surrounded by incredible nature. As you to the Falls, you’ll see many kids and families playing in the water and the little mini-​falls leading up to the large ones. You may be tempted to dip your feet in as well, like we were (and did). It’s fun, but just be careful… the rocks are super slippery and it’s easy to fall! Not a big deal if you do, you won’t fall over a cliff, but you may get a few bruises.
Once you reach the waterfalls and see all the canyons, it’s mesmerizing. You feel like you’re back in the prehistoric era and that pterodactyls should be flying above you at any moment. It’s beautiful, natural and seemingly untouched by humans. I can’t write enough great things about this park.

I love this place. So the trail is like a dirt road next to the gorge. Either you can hike up the gorge or on the trail. The trail is very flat and is friendly to strollers if its not muddy. Also If you aren’t in the best of shape you’ll be fine. The only thing I was disappointed about was that you cant go underneath or near the falls. When I was little that’s all what we did for hours there. Also I strongly suggest water shoes or at least sandals. Walking barefoot in the gorge is pretty dangerous and you’ll most likely fall.

Taugannock falls is one word… amazing! The pure spectacular depths of the gorges as you take the ¾ of a mile hike are a thing of beauty and a reminder of how beautiful nature and the finer things found in NYS truly are!
As you approach the falls you become star struck and you feel the mist touching your skin as you watch this 215 ft. Beauty at its finest!!! Photo ops and selfies delight for sure!
Who couldn’t be blown away by this?! If you truly love nature, and everything it has to offer, this is a must visit if your in the area!
Next time I go back, I’d love to visit in the winter!

Well worth the 5 hour drive for a day trip/​adventure.
One thing to note is this whole area is supposed to have Waterfalls and locations to visit which I found out after. I found this gem in the book «Off the Beaten Path»
Good conversation helped my uncle and I to finally arrive at the destination in anticipation for amazement. We started at the top where you have a gleaming high view the waterfall.
You have to drive down to the main part of the road and walk on a mile path to get to the bottom view of the falls. The walk is beautiful as you see mini falls, great terrain and wonderful outdoor sites. At the waterfall is reminded me of the Chocolate River in Charlie and the Chocolate factory.
This is majestic and more beautiful then Niagara Falls which has been turned into a tourist trap. Take the jaunt to this area and enjoy the peace, quiet, and tranquil setting of a true gem!

Came here for the Falls. You can park about 10 steps from the Falls and have a gorgeous view. Most people will park here, step down the ledge, take a few pictures and move on. That doesn’t mean you can’t take a hike to get closer to the Falls, but it’s really up to you. This area of NY really doesn’t run out of amazing views and scenery.

Taughannock Falls is a beautiful park. We came on a rainy (slightly snowy) November morning and first stopped at the lookout. If you have some time, it’s definitely worth a stop since it gives you a view from the top of the gorge. We were determined to hike the Gorge Trail so we drove down to the parking lot and headed off. The trail is paved and very well maintained (clean, signs regularly posted reminding visitors to stay on the trail). We were unsurprisingly the only ones on the trail, although we saw one other person on our way out. As another reviewer noted, the trail becomes more and more serene and peaceful the farther you go. In summary, it’s a very easy but enjoyable walk to the other end of the gauge near the base of the falls. It took us about an hour to walk there and back, including stopping quite a bit for photos!

Beautiful park and the falls are wonderful. We didn’t have time to do the hike to the bottom of the falls, but it was great getting a birds eye view not too far from the parking area. Easy to walk and drive around and lots of picturesque areas. A must visit for a weekend in Ithaca since it’s not too far away.

Robert H. Treman State Park is an area of wild beauty, with the rugged gorge called Enfield Glen as its scenic highlight that captured my heart. One of the main waterfall is the 115-​foot Lucifer Falls, witch my son and husband couldn’t afford to keep on hiking, walk up the 250 last steps was the big issue: (. They made me turn around, and with disappoint and sadness, I walked silently back. That hr and a half that we walked through the beautiful and peaceful forest, was lovely and fun! We complained (mosquitoes, humidity, a stinky smell at some point from the water), laughed, got scared, took plenty of pictures and felt the love of nature. I’m making them come back and do it all over, those waterfalls are worth it! Make sure you come comfortable and plenty of water.
Enjoy nine miles of hiking trails, or swim in a stream-​fed pool beneath a waterfall. The outdoor recreation here is spectacular.
Robert H. Treman State Park is located in Tompkins County, along State Route 327.
The park has a beach, cabins, campsites, dumping stations, picnic tables and pavilions, scenic views, and restrooms with showers. Looking forward to come back again!

Favorite camping spot in one of my favorite parts of NY. Highly recommend it. One of the coolest kids playgrounds around as well as great place to bring your dog to swim!

Beautiful! It’s been a while since I’ve hiked the trails but they’re truly a sight to see because of the beautiful waterfalls. I recently attended a wedding here and it was the perfect setting for a dusk celebration — right on the lake. Also, the pavilion is perfect for dancing! There is a parking fee, but ours was waived for the wedding. Otherwise I think it is $ 7?

Taughannock is a nice way to spend an hour or two in nature without tiring yourself out like at other falls.
It’ll cost you $ 7 to park here, but at least it’s valid for the rest of the day at any other state park, if you’re ambitious enough to go to another one in the same day. The trail itself is very easy, and almost completely flat the entire way to the falls. The trail mostly goes through the trees which provide plenty of shade for a cool walk, even on a hot day. At various points you can walk into the water, but be careful not to slip.
At the end of the walk is the waterfall. The signs tell you to stay on the trail because the rest of the area is falling rock zone, so be careful if you choose to ignore the signs like many kids do. The fall itself won’t blow you away if you’ve seen other waterfalls in the area, but it is the tallest (even more so than Niagara), which is its main selling point.
There’s a free observation area further up the hill that you can drive to, and you can see the entire fall from there, but you won’t be very close to it. There’s a little staircase that leads closer to the falls by like 30 feet but your view won’t really improve. That staircase is also closed off in the winter because they don’t maintain it, but the parking area will be fine. Personally I think the falls look better with snow around it but I don’t know about the trail conditions leading to it in the winter, but at least you can get a glimpse of it from the observation area.

While Taughannock is the tallest single-​drop waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains, it doesn’t offer the uniqueness of many of the other water falls in the surrounding area. Ithaca falls has the stunning beauty of geometrical patterns formed by all those mini-​drops and Lucifer Falls in Treman Park has a magical atmosphere, with gorgeously carved paths that look like they came out of a fairytale.
This fall is what it is, an enormous free drop waterfall. It’s beautiful, don’t get me wrong, and in any other town it would be the star attraction, but if you are in Ithaca for the weekend, there are several other falls I would recommend over this one. I’d say drive by the «viewing area,» where most of those pretty photos are taken and save your legs for the upper gorge trail at Robert H. Treman Park, where you get to see the hidden, majestic parts of Lucifer Falls that you can’t view without walking the trail. The trails here, at Taughannock, don’t offer much additional beauty compared to what you can see from stepping out of your car at the overlook.
Price: $ 7 to park. It’s the same price as all the other state parks. The distant viewing area overlooking the falls has free parking though.
accessibility: You have to drive, and its way up hill from the center of Ithaca, so a casual bike ride to this location is not really possible (especially if you have to hike the trail afterwards).
Summary: If you are in town for an extended period of time, its definitely worth the trip, but your time is better spent elsewhere if you are just visiting for the weekend.

Comparing the experience here and at Buttermilk Falls, I can safely say that Taughannock was a much easier, less tiring trail. As a usual sedentary person, this definitely fit the bill over my exhausting hour and a half hike up and down the steep steps to view the gorges at Buttermilk. The views at Buttermilk were quite breathtaking as well.
Yes, we did skip the South Rim Trail in entirety and just drove on Gorge Road, stopping at the Falls Overlook.
But eventually (after much reluctance on my part), my *more athletic* siblings and I began our journey on Gorge Trail. A look at their carved map got our blood racing for the hike!

Huh, as we were walking on the muddy trail with sky-​high trees surrounding us on our sides, we noticed that the stream to our right looked quite desolate and dried-​up! Then, we realized that it was half-​dry and half-​wet! A large amount of limestone flooring was visible but a small stream of water was still flowing. Info from this ground post helped a lot–
Have a look!
Instead of getting their sneakers caked with mud and avoiding the small frogs hopping everywhere, several other hikers opted to literally walk on the stream floor.
Some took a rest and dipped their toes whereas others cleaned up the flecks of mud that landed on their calves.
I hopped off the trail to inspect the area, bumping into a long, arid log.
After a decent walk, we finally came across the wooden bridge that led to the main attraction.
That yellow blob there was my younger brother. I told him to back away so he wouldn’t ruin my shot. :P There was a crowd of people milling about, snapping pictures of the gorge and falls. My sister managed to navigate her way with the puppy as I read the final post.
Yay! I did it! :D
Ah, finally a close shot of the majestic cascade cutting through the limestone-​shale gorge. Echos of water sluicing down the rock reverberated in a wondrous melody and bird cries just added a perfect natural feel to the experience.
It was quite a site to behold after a tiring journey but it was well worth it. :)
FYI: Parking was $ 7. After paying, you could drive to the neighboring parking lot at the Falls Overlook and begin your own journey. :D

This is definitely a must see super great State Park. The views of waterfalls from any angle are majestic and inspiring. Though much smaller than Niagara (which has about 2/​3rds of its water diverted) this waterfall is in its natural state as well as much of the surrounding areas.
The facilities and trails are also top notch.
A tour of the Finger Lakes area wouldn’t be complete without a stop here.

It’s as stunning as everyone says. The crown jewel of this park is the Taughannock Falls — a 215-​foot waterfall whose cascade is dramatically framed in an amphitheater of shale and limestone dating back to the Devonian period. It’s a great nature spot, an awesome photo opportunity and it inspires one to contemplate how old the earth really is, and how lucky we are to appreciate sites such as these during our short time on this rock.
But enough waxing philosophical. In terms of trails, The South Rim Trail is pretty grueling. The park is basically a gorge with a stream cutting through the southern and northern rims, essentially carving cliffs as high as 400 feet. The South Rim Trail is a steep rise and about a mile or so long. It’s walkable, but you’ll get a workout. Better to just drive up along Gorge Road and follow the signs for the Falls Overlook. Once there, you are treated to a breathtaking panoramic, almost aerial view of the gorge with the falls as the main center of attraction. It’s truly gorgeous.
If you forgo the South Rim trail, you can walk along the flatter and easier Gorge Trail and from there, you’ll come upon the waterfall at eye level to the base. You’ll be much closer, but it’s no less stunning to behold. Be forewarned, this is not a thunderous volume of water crashing down, but nature doesn’t need a lot to make such a stunning scene.
Along with nature trails and the falls, the park also offers camping and picnicking. You can swim at other parts of park, particularly at Cayuga Lake, but not directly at or around the falls. The falling water erodes the layer of shale on a constant basis, so it’s a bit of a falling rock zone.
If you’ve never been, take the road trip and enjoy; you won’t regret it.

This is my favorite nature spot I have ever been to. You can view the falls from above or walk the trail to the base of the falls. If you are sensitive to the energy of an area, this is even a more recommended trip.
At the base of the falls, I told my (bf at the time) that I felt like there was a door to another dimension/​world, behind the falls. He looked with his binoculars and reported that he didn’t see anything. (I used to adore this type of imagination). I’m not normally that type, but the feeling was undeniable.
I did some research when i got home and found out the Native American legend WAS that there was such a door (but near the top to the right of the falls).
This is pretty powerful place. I always recommend the finger lake trips to friends including this falls, Buttermilk, and Watkins Glen which are all in close proximity.

Amazing!
I had high expectations for Taughannock Falls State Park, and, even so, the beauty of the falls really blew me away. My boyfriend and I stopped by the overlook last Monday on our way to Ithaca.
Despite the nearly 80°F day massive chunks of ice and snow had still been clinging to the steep rocky cliffs surrounding the falls. At one point we heard an unmistakable rumbling sound – the sound you hear while watching an avalanche on the Discovery Channel – and looked across the way to see huge amounts of snow and ice come tumbling down the cliffs… and settling dangerously near a small group of people on the trail below. The mini avalanche was quite an experience for them, no doubt!
The Taughannock Falls drop over 200 feet, and I imagine the scene is even more beautiful in the summertime when the backdrop is greener. I’ve been on a hiking kick and would really love to return to Taughannock Falls State Park at some point to hike the short trails surrounding the falls.
I’ll make this review a rare short one and let the photos speak for themselves.