Measuring the height of a waterfall turns out to be a trickier thing than I imagined, largely because it can be hard to tell where one waterfall ends and another begins when water cascades down over multiple ledges and rocks. But measuring Taughannock Falls in Ithaca, New York, is easy.

At 215 feet, this spectacular plunge waterfall is the tallest single-drop waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains. As titles go, it’s an unwieldy claim to fame, but it’s still pretty cool. That height makes it a surprising three stories higher than Niagara Falls (in fairness, Niagara is famous for being wide and powerful, not for being tall).

The Taughannock Falls State Park website calls it “one of the outstanding natural attractions of the Northeast.” And my mom and I loved our visit there.

Hiking to Taughannock Falls in Ithaca, New York

Getting to the falls is almost as exciting as the falls themselves. You start out at this small but lovely waterfall (where, if it’s warm, you’ll need to resist the temptation to hop into the water).

The hike from here is largely flat and runs through a gorge of towering 400-foot walls. The wide, canyon-like riverbed makes this trail feel much different from the narrower gorges in this area such as Treman State Park’s Enfield Glen. At Taughannock, the fairly level and easy trail starts in the tall trees …

… and soon runs along the water of Taughannock Creek.

If the water isn’t raging, you can walk right on top of the dry riverbed.

You can even stroll through the mud puddles …

… and into the river itself.

Taughannock Geology

The gorge floor is made of limestone, which was once lime mud (largely the product of the detritus of dead marine organisms) left behind after the seas receded from this area 380 million years ago. You can still hunt for fossils here – if you’re lucky, you’ll find brachiopods, crinoid stems, or fragments of ancient ferns and fish. But this is a state park, so you can’t take them home.

All of the gorges in this region were created 10,000–14,000 years ago, when the Laurentide Ice Sheet retreated. This glacial melt left Taughannock Falls “hanging” above the Cayuga Lake basin, with a river flowing down the valley from one to the other.

Swimming & Safety at Taughannock Falls

You’re not supposed to swim in the river, but the signs don’t say anything about sitting down …

That said, the risk of crumbling Devonian shale overhead – and vigilant park rangers below – makes going into the water at the falls themselves seriously inadvisable.

But even if you can’t swim here, the falls are incredible to see. And so are the gorge walls, with crumbly rock at the bottom made of shale and layers of sandstone and siltstone at the top.

This is an amazing place to visit – even the tiniest waterfalls are lovely!

When you’re done exploring the gorge, you can go for a swim on the banks of Lake Cayuga, which is also part of the park. I especially loved the diving platform.

If you love waterfalls, make sure to pair this with a trip to Lucifer Falls in Robert H. Treman State Park, just a twenty-minute drive away.

Bonus: The Ithaca Farmers Market

Should you be lucky enough to visit Taughannock Falls in Ithaca, New York, on a weekend between April and November, you can start or end your hiking and swimming adventure with a trip to the Ithaca Farmers Market. Just fifteen minutes from the park, the market takes place in a long, covered pavilion.

This is a wonderful place, with everything from homemade ceramics and prepared food to organic veggies …

… plants …

… and beautiful bouquets of locally-grown flowers.

The vibe is best at mid-morning, when the fiddlers start playing and the sun shines warm over the lake. So plan to grab a snack and a lemonade and sit for a while as you dream of the falls.