Taughannock Falls State Park

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 1.5-mile (2.4-kilometer) Gorge Trail follows the creek to the base of the falls and suits most visitors. Rim trails along the top of the gorge offer lookout points from above and require more stamina on steeper sections.

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.

Location: Tompkins County

Inception: 1925

Website: https://parks.ny.gov/parks/taughannockfalls/details.aspx

GPS coordinates: 42.54687,-76.59947

Latest update: December 13, 2025 03:01