Taughannock Falls is a 209-foot plunge waterfall on Taughannock Creek in Taughannock Falls State Park, Tompkins County, New York, on the west side of Cayuga Lake about 8 miles north of Ithaca. It falls in a single sheer drop into a stone amphitheater at the head of a gorge nearly a mile long, with cliffs that New York State Parks puts at nearly 400 feet.
The falls
The creek leaves the brink through a sharp V-shaped notch, one of many cleaved, almost geometric cracks in the bedrock of the streambed. A 2018 field survey measured the drop at 209 feet; the park and most earlier sources say 215 feet. On the 215-foot figure, Wikipedia calls it 33 feet taller than Niagara Falls. The gorge is a hanging valley cut into soft shale capped by siltstone and sandstone, and freeze-thaw and faults bring down pieces of the walls from time to time.
Getting there
The park is on Route 89 near Trumansburg. From the main parking area, the Gorge Trail runs three-quarters of a mile up the creek to a viewing area below the falls; the park describes it as relatively flat and suitable for all ages, with about 213 feet of gain. A separate overlook on Taughannock Park Road looks across the gorge from above. The North Rim (1.5 miles) and South Rim (1.2 miles) trails link into a moderate loop of about 3.1 miles.
Entry is $10 per vehicle, and the park is open year round from dawn to dusk. All trails reopened fully in April 2026.
When to go
The creek drains 66 square miles but is highly seasonal, and in summer it can drop to a trickle. Spring and fall bring the strongest flow, and winter builds ice around the falls; the Gorge Trail stays open all year. The park runs free guided gorge tours of about an hour and a half.
On site
Swimming below the falls is forbidden; the park's swimming beach is on Cayuga Lake, open daily from June 26 to Labor Day in 2026. Leashed dogs are allowed, up to two per party, but not in buildings or on boardwalks.
Rockfall is a real hazard. In August 2005 a slab of shale fell on a family that had left the trail near the base, killing a 51-year-old woman. In December 2024 a person who fell into the gorge about a quarter mile above the falls was recovered dead by rope rescue. Stay on the trail.
History and name
The name may come from Iroquois and Algonquin words meaning "great fall in the woods," or from a Lenni Lenape chief. The Cataract Hotel opened near the falls in 1850 and later became the Taughannock House, the setting of the 1879 "Taughannock giant" hoax; it burned in 1922. The state bought the overlook in 1924, and the park opened in 1925.
Nearby
Upper Taughannock Falls is about 0.4 mile upstream and Lower Taughannock Falls about 0.8 mile downstream toward the lake. Frontenac Falls on Trumansburg Creek is about 1.7 miles away.
Distances are straight-line.