While attending a relative’s wedding last fall in Trumansburg, New York, I had the opportunity to spend a long weekend in the nearby lakeside town of Ithaca. We flew in and out of Rochester and drove our rental car southeast through the rural countryside, with farms dotting the shores of the aptly named Finger Lakes, a cluster of narrow lakes that run in a north-south direction in upstate New York.
We navigated the 96 south between Seneca and Cayuga Lakes until we reached our vacation rental in the Fall Creek neighborhood of Ithaca, at the southern end of Cayuga Lake. To our delight, we found our rental home nestled into a charming, tree-lined hamlet within walking distance of the Ithaca Bakery and a variety of interesting restaurants offering a range of culinary delights, including fresh seafood, Thai, Vietnamese, and more. While the wedding events kept us busy, we looked forward to exploring Ithaca in our free time.
The wedding, held in the family’s mini-farm, was picture-perfect and featured a historic, weathered barn as the backdrop, with rolling hillsides featuring the varied hues of the leaves in vibrant autumn color framing the view. With each day of our stay, the warm daytime temperature and cool nights coaxed the leaves into dazzling us with the brilliance of an East Coast deciduous forest in autumn.
Ithaca is perfect for a getaway, albeit ours was too short to scratch the surface of the region’s offerings. With stunning gorges, waterfalls, wineries and cideries, Cornell University’s campus, a bustling Farmers Market, an eclectic downtown, a thriving art scene, and locally sourced food, it was tricky to winnow the attractions down to a realistic short-list that we could manage with our otherwise busy itinerary.
Our first stop, after caffeinating at Gimme! Coffee was to walk from our rental to Ithaca Falls. The first of the many waterfalls we chased, Ithaca Falls has an impressive 150-foot drop and is easily accessible. How nice to have such a beautiful waterfall right in town! We continued along Fall Creek before ascending the hill to Cornell University’s perch. Founded in 1865, the Ivy League school’s hilltop location offers impressive views of Cayuga Lake and the city of Ithaca. From the top of the Libe Slope, or Library Slope, we visited the Olin Library book stacks, where we found an outstanding view of the lake and city from the 7th floor. Across the promenade, we entered the noteworthy Uris Library. Attached to the library, but unfortunately temporarily closed for repairs, is the McGraw Tower, Cornell’s iconic bell tower. Once in the Uris Library, we entered the A.D. White Reading Room, “the library within a library.” A cherished study space for generations of students and booklover’s dream, this cozy space is embellished with scrolled metal balconies and catwalks, spiral staircases, ruby red carpet, and focused light pouring in from the arched windows. The Uris Library was a memorable stop on our holiday! We meandered through the campus, enjoying the mix of old and new architecture, and ended with a stroll through Cornell’s Botanical Gardens.
Between wedding events in nearby Trumansburg, we visited the bustling Ithaca Farmers Market. Fortunately, it was possible to walk to the market from our rental because finding a parking space was a competitive sport at this all-weather market, which boasted more than 85 vendors, whose wares were strictly produced within a 30-mile radius. With the incredible array of artisan goods, we couldn’t help but make some Christmas gift purchases to take home! That evening, while walking home from grabbing Thai takeaway, we were dazzled by a Northern Lights display, which was a special treat!
The wedding celebration and events came to a close on Monday morning, and I bid the family goodbye. My daughter and I stayed one extra day to have a playday in Ithaca chasing waterfalls. After several days of sun, the leaves seemed more brilliant with each day of our trip. Alas, rain came on our day of waterfall chasing, but that didn’t stop us!
While Bend, Ore., has an Ale Trail microbrewery challenge, the Ithaca, New York, Visitor Center offers a Waterfall Challenge and app to navigate the many local waterfalls and gorges. We laid out a practical itinerary and couldn’t wait to hit the road. The coffee hour lingered as we waited for the rain to subside. Instead, the steady rain turned into a deluge, so we headed out despite the rain, conscious of the fact this was our last day in town and only mom and daughter day.
First on our hand-scribbled itinerary was a stop at Ithaca’s Cascadilla Gorge, an urban trail along Cascadilla Creek with wooden bridges and a small waterfall. Thanks to our raincoats, we managed to stay dry as we hiked the gorge, chatting and laughing, happy that the day was all ours.
The rain subsided as we drove north along the west shore of Cayuga Lake to the Cayuga Nature Reserve. We had the reserve all to ourselves on this drizzling afternoon as we explored the wooded paths that led to Dennison Falls. At the Falls, we came across a six-story treehouse, the result of a successful local high school project that no self-respecting young-at-heart person could resist climbing!
The next destination, and just a few miles to the north, was Taughannock Falls State Park to see Taughannock Falls, which, at 215 feet, is the tallest single-drop waterfall east of the Rockies! From the overlook, we had to exercise patience and strategically maneuver around a large wedding party to capture a few photos of our own of this outstanding masterpiece, flanked by the colors of autumn. We hiked the gorge trail and, running out of daylight, raced to our next destination.
We aimed the rental car south in the direction of Ithaca to visit Robert H. Treman State Park. Here, we hiked through a narrow box canyon at the end of Enfield Glen, past Devil’s Kitchen Falls, to the top of Lucifer Falls. We enjoyed the walk through this interesting and rugged gorge, with stone bridges and rock slabs, the crescendo being Lucifer Falls cascading down a relaxed slope before taking a 90-degree turn sharply downward for a total fall of 115 feet. A stone staircase was built discreetly into the rock alongside the top half of the falls that we were able to use to see the falls from an up-close vantage point. The entire trail through Enfield Glen was a leaf-peeper’s paradise on this early October afternoon; we deemed this our favorite destination of the day. Before leaving Robert H. Treman State Park, we drove past Enfield Falls swimming park, complete with a lifeguard station and diving board, where locals swim in a spring-fed, natural pool under the 70-foot waterfall.
We set out to chase one last waterfall for the day, Buttermilk Falls, which was on our short route back to Ithaca. Having exhausted all the daylight, we opted for a stop at South Hill Cider instead, which we deemed a reasonable alternative. While sipping crisp local cider and sharing a charcuterie board, we enjoyed live bluegrass music with locals in the lively cidery.
While it’s always good to leave wanting more, we lamented only having time to explore a sampling of what Ithaca and the Finger Lakes have to offer. We look forward to returning one day!
Before the flight out of Rochester, we picnicked at a Rochester beach on the sandy shore of Lake Ontario, walking along the beach and gazing out across the vast lake, with Canada too far in the distance to see on the opposing lake shore. One last little adventure on our quick trip! Living in the lakeside town of Coeur d’Alene, I felt right at home during my quick visit to the lakeside City of Ithaca, where we chased waterfalls, sipped cider, enjoyed art, sampled fresh cuisine, and soaked up the local vibe. N
Denise is a long-time local real estate broker in Coeur d’Alene and a second-generation organizer of overseas hiking trips as the managing member of Good Soles Adventures, LLC
As seen in the 2025 Summer/Fall edition
By: Denise Lundy