This has a bit of everything. Gorgeous views. Bike/running trails. Nice playgrounds. Beautiful old…read moreand new trees. A great place to relax and enjoy life, just be prepared for other people coming for the same reason.

Nice large park on the waterfront in Ithaca. Lots of music…read moreevents happen in this space every year including Ithaca festival and the reggae festival. I personally remember running a 5k road race here in the park. Good place to relax have fun in the playground which is big and awesome. Swings for two along the waterfront to watch a sunset. Bbq grill's aplenty for a nice day cook out.

The Cornell Lab does work that helps conserve birds diversity through research, K through adult…read moreeducation, and participatory activities. I first learned of them through a phone app i downloaded to help identify birdsong. We visited on a weekday (Jul 2026), viewing pictures and displays and information about local wildlife. They had a large windowed area looking into wild bird habitats. We walked the trails a little too. It was fun to visit! C'mon out to hike, look, and learn. Join or volunteer or make a donation. It's helping the local birds and birds around the world!

One of the coolest places I've ever been! The outdoor trails are incredible, with beautiful…read morehabitats that attract a wide variety of birds. We saw during our short walk two Osprey and Ruby-crowned Kinglets while exploring. The inside is just as impressive, with one of the best interactive museums I've experienced, full of fascinating specimens and thoughtful learning opportunities in a gorgeous building. The gift shop is well stocked and collaborates with Wild Birds Unlimited. A must see if you're in the area and into conservation or wildlife!

A nice hike to some lovely falls (Jul 2026). Please read the warning signs! Some of the pools were…read morecontaminated by Civil War lead-shot factories and so are not safe for swimming. We had to alert some international travelers who were swimming here with their children, and direct them to a safe spot. While I"m giving tips, the floor of the gorge is a light gray limestone. The crumbling walls of the gorge are shale, too flakey for climbing. At the very top of the cliff walls are sturdier layers of sandstone and siltstone.

Lovely water falls in Ithaca ny. I'm posting again just because it's such a great place ... and I…read morenoticed I had a really great photo that I didn't pass on the first go around. This duck with the baby on here back is a merganser.

Nice paved trail around the end of the lake and into the farmers market. Plenty of seats for chats…read moreand views. There are informational spots to learn some history and trivial pursuit facts.

The beautiful gardens at Cornell are a must-see if you're in the area. We only had a little bit of…read moretime to stroll around a portion of the gardens, but we were all so impressed with the variety of plants and the peaceful atmosphere of the gardens. This will definitely be on my list to visit again the next time I'm in the area.

Amazing! Well kept, organized and a beautiful way to spend the day. We went to the gardens around…read morethe welcome center, which was good enough for us. However, the campus has SO many gardens that they maintain, so there are plenty more to visit.

This is an amazing short trail that you can take for fun! The pathways for traveling through this…read moreplace are actually pretty flat and have little elevation/hills. While there are a few sections where you have to use the stairs on the trail, they are not that long or tall. I think this place is perfect for casual walks and doesn't take much effort to finish. The Cascadilla Gorge path doesn't require any fees to enter! Parking in a spot can be a bit difficult though. Just to notify visitors: depending on the weather, climate, season or conditions, the trail might end up getting partially closed off. The very first time I came here, the second half of the trail was cut off and locked behind a gate. There was a sign that said the conditions to travel any further were considered too dangerous. I returned again at a later date, and the remainder of the trail had been reopened.

Glad I got the chance to check out this check trail. It's been closed since I moved to Ithaca for…read moresome maintenance and just the winter but it's well worth it. You know it starts in the heart of College town right next to the theater in the law school and immediately spectacular fall with the stone arch Bridge. It's gorgeous the Falls continue Cascade down several bends and turns the trail comes right up to the Falls just pouring right next to you as your Spencer Street. There's another arch bridge and the final cascading Falls at the bottom. It was pretty nice. It was. It's kind of picture box by a nice little cherry blossom or I think maybe an apple rose blossom or something but well worth it on this nice spring day to check out now that it's open if you go to Cornell, definitely check it out. It's well worth it and it drops you off right at commons. So if you're taking the street to the commons from college town, considered this and said it's great.

Super easy to get to- free parking on weekends with a short walk. You get to drive around Cornell's…read morecampus too which is a plus! Pretty empty in the summer

This waterfall is more of a walk-by spot, as there's no access to the bottom. However, there's a…read morebeach area and spots to launch a canoe or kayak. The trails appear to circle the lake, offering great fishing opportunities, which were quite popular during our visit. Parking can be a challenge, as most spaces are reserved for the nearby college.

We came here sort of curious about what it was exactly and yeah it was wonderful. Upstate NY is so…read moredifferent then downstate because we do not have wonderful things like this! My son had so much fun and it was all free! We were miserable as it was hot but it was cute seeing him play and have fun.

If you have young children, stop what you are doing right now and plan a trip to Ithaca just for…read morethis park. It is jam packed with such a variety of fun, educational, and outdoors stuff that your kids will be occupied for hours, all day really, actually I'm sure they will be begging you to come back the next day too. We stumbled across this place by accident when visiting a nearby hiking trail (The black diamond trail) that is filled with lots of geocaches so if you are into caching, take a detour for those as well. Boasting a theater area, log stools, dwarf homes, a huge turtle, natural music equipment, chickens to feed, food to grow, composting in action, and all sorts of natural play spots this is a unique spot for children to really explore and play. Come visit this amazing place, your children will be begging to come back!

Visiting Ithaca and need something to do? Stop by this arboretum and take a walk. Get some fresh…read moreair, enjoy the trees and the beautiful scenery. It is a fun and pandemic appropriate activity! Know a lot about trees already? Test your knowledge and learn more in the nine different collections of trees. Not very tree savvy? Walk around and just enjoy the good old outdoors. Take a seat in one of the pocket gardens and sit down and rest a while. The arboretum provides a quiet peaceful, and beautiful place to walk around. Stop by now, we could all use a bit more of that in our lives!

This is a cute park with some interesting artistic structures and a nice lake with a bunch of fish…read moreand turtles. There are probably other parts of it as well, but it was a chilly day, so we didn't venture out too far. Pretty accessible parking, though, and probably nice to walk around on a nice day. I'd like to check it out again in the future!