How to Spend 24 Hours in Ithaca, New York
Here’s what to do with 24 hours in Ithaca, New York:
1. Hike in…
One part about teaching in New England I love is having an additional winter break. A week off in February right when the days are short, and the weather is cold is perfect. A close friend of mine from Texas decided to visit for the weekend with only one request: to experience winter.
After a few warmer days, I knew we needed to head north. One spot that’s always been on my list is Ithaca. Known mostly for two colleges in town, Cornell and Ithaca College, Ithaca has way more to offer than an incredible education.
A quaint, charming town way north of the common New York city experience proved to be the perfect winter getaway.
Here’s how we spent a day in Ithaca, New York:
1. Hike in Taughannock Falls State Park.
Hike is a loose term given the usual hikes I find myself chasing after. This time, we were chasing waterfalls instead. Taughannock Falls features a massive, 215-foot waterfall. And in winter, you can bet there’s incredible icy formations all around.
The park is popular, but we arrived in the afternoon and managed to snag a parking spot right away. Though the lot is small, the hike itself is a quick walk, so there likely wouldn’t be a long wait for another car to exit shortly.
We reached a short bridge about ¾ of a mile into our walk. The falls are visible from this bridge, but we walked a bit further on the path to get a close-up view.
Surprisingly, Taughannock Falls is actually three stories taller than Niagara Falls (not too far away from Ithaca). I’m not a big waterfall gal, but winter changes the game for me. This view was stunning and I couldn’t get enough!
Once you get your dose, drive up the road a couple minutes for a birds-eye-view of the falls from the overlook.
Things to note:
Both the trails mentioned above are open year-round, while the rim ones are not.
There is a $7 park entrance fee. The overlook is free though!
Dogs are allowed on a leash!
2. Peek into Cornell University’s Uris library.
I love a good library, and Cornell’s Uris Library is quite the gem. Think Belle from Beauty and Beast’s library meets J.K.’s Rowling’s rendition in her novels. The best part? It’s open twenty-four hours with incredible sunset views over nearby Cayuga Lake.
It was peacefully quiet when we entered and remained so as we explored. If you’re a book lover, it’s worth a quick stop here.
We did feel odd being back on a college campus after graduating several years ago. I definitely had flashbacks to all the late nights in the PCL library in Austin. I probably would’ve enjoyed going to the library more with views like these though (or I might’ve studied more…).
I had the Rise n’ Shine with a couple changes: a bagel with jalapeño cream cheese, roasted red peppers, provolone, and sausage. Anytime there’s jalapeño cream cheese on the menu, you can almost guarantee I’ll be ordering it.
I suggest grabbing the bagels to go and heading to the final stop on the itinerary: Ithaca Falls.
We stayed at a charming, pet-friendly, and very affordable AirBnB just moments from Ithaca Commons, which made all the adventuring in under twenty-four hours possible!
Though we only checked out two waterfalls, the Ithaca area is actually home to over one hundred waterfalls. It’s one-liner is “Ithaca is gorges.” So fitting. Have you visited any?
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