There is so much to love about Ithaca Falls!
Disclaimer: every waterfall I encounter becomes my favorite.
It’s a super short walk from the parking lot to the waterfall, so it should be accessible to most. It’s also a great destination for older dogs! My dog, Sparky, is 14 in the picture to the left, and he isn’t a fan of super long walks anymore so this was perfect for him. However, I didn’t let him swim in the water because there were signs saying there may be lead in the soil and Sparky likes to lick his paws so I didn’t want to risk him getting sick. That being said, my friends and I didn’t jump in either, no matter how badly we wanted to, since we didn’t know if we’d get sick from the water either.
Despite that tiny downside, Ithaca Falls is stunning. Standing basically under the waterfall, you can feel its power. It’s easy to just zone out and go into your thoughts here. My friends and I decided to lay out some towels, close our eyes and just listen to the sound of the rushing water. We had got there pretty early, maybe 9am, since one of my friends had something going on later in the day. Because of this, we were the only ones there for at least an hour. My friend Gianna says during that time, we were the main characters in our own coming of age indie movie.
To find Ithaca Falls, Apple Maps might take you to the bridge that crosses over it, at least that’s where it took me on multiple different trips to Ithaca haha. Additionally, it might take you down Cornell’s Greek Row to view the falls from the top. Greek Row definitely has a prime location that’s for sure. But, to get to the bottom of the falls, you’ll want to to head down Stewart Ave, towards Willard Way and turn right. As you head south on Willard Way, turn right onto Lake Street. You are going to pass two parking lots on your right. The first one is bigger and paved but I think it’s for some sort of business. The next one you pass on the right is smaller and has two entrances, one is steeper than the other so you can pick your path. This parking lot is unpaved and if you have a small car it may bottom out, but I don’t drive a Camry or a similar car to that size so I’m not 100% sure. Once you park, exit the parking lot and take a right and continue down Lake Street and you’ll see an entrance to the waterfall!
Here are the coordinates for the waterfall: 42.453, -76.492. This will take you to Greek Row but follow the directions I layed out above and you’ll be rockin.
Even though we didn’t go swimming, we took some cute pictures so enjoy 🙂
Also, if you see my post for Businessman’s Lunch, this is where my dad and I ate our lunch! My dad pointed out how you can go to Niagara Falls and spend a lot of money eating at a fancy restaurant looking over the falls. Or. You can get takeout and bring it here! (And pick up your trash obviously.) We got lunch from Gorgers, right near Ithaca Commons, and we were DROOLING before we even got to our car with our food. This wonderful lady was talking us up and turns out she went to the same high school as me and even used to walk through my neighborhood before they transformed it from a farm! And she still drives up to Syracuse (where I live) to go to the same dentist she’s been going to for years, which happens to be my dentist as well! I know if we were born in the same generation we’d be best friends because we were rambling on about our adventures throughout the state! And to top it off she gave us mini cookies to thank us for our business during quarantine. She was THE HIGHLIGHT of our day, my dad and I couldn’t stop smiling after our visit. I can’t wait to go back.
P.S. : get the Banh Mi sub 🙂 sadly I didn’t take pics of our food but I have one of my dad CHOWING.
Under The Sun 
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