Taughannock Falls State Park, State park with waterfall in Tompkins County, United States
Taughannock Falls State Park is a protected area of roughly 750 acres (303 hectares) in Tompkins County with a waterfall that drops 215 feet (66 meters) in a single plunge into a deep gorge. The park follows Taughannock Creek and opens onto Cayuga Lake at its southern end.
The land originally belonged to the Cayuga people until it was lost after the Revolutionary War. By the late 1800s, steamboats brought visitors across the lake and several hotels appeared near the falls.
The name comes from indigenous languages and describes the towering cascade surrounded by thick forest. Today visitors from across the region come to photograph the falls and walk through the gorge.
The 0.75-mile (1.2-kilometer) Gorge Trail leads along the creek to a viewing area at the base of the falls and passes Lower Falls. The 1.5-mile North Rim Trail and 1.2-mile South Rim Trail can be linked into a loop with views of Upper Falls. The Gorge Trail stays open all year, while the rim trails close in winter; swimming under the falls is forbidden.
In 1879, workers near the Taughannock House Hotel uncovered what seemed to be a petrified human figure over seven feet tall. The figure later proved to be a hoax, similar to the famous Cardiff Giant from the same region.
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