We love visiting waterfalls and parks, and with all the rain lately, we wanted to check out some large waterfalls.  Taughannock Falls is three stories taller than Niagara Falls, and with all the spring rain we have had, we were looking forward to seeing how impressive the falls were.

The falls are easy to find, although Google Maps had the exact entrance off by a mile or so.  There are lots of signs along the road, and you can’t miss the entrance (despite Google Maps directing us incorrectly).

It costs $8 per car to enter the park.  If you plan on visiting more than one park in a day, hang on to your receipt, as you can use it to get in to the other parks without paying again.  There are several other parks nearby, such as Buttermilk Falls and Robert H. Treman State Park, or you could take a trip over to Watkins Glen State Park (which I highly recommend!).

We couldn’t park right next to the trailhead, but it was only a short walk from the parking lot to the trail.

The Gorge Trail is just under a mile, and easy to walk.

taughannock falls state park

The trail is pretty flat and wide, and we saw a lot of people there on a Saturday in June.  We wore hiking shoes, but the trail is very leisurely, and you could probably get away with something like flip-flops.

taughannock falls state park

There are some lower falls that we saw right away.  With all the rain we have had, there was a lot of water.

It was neat to explore the flat areas, which are an interesting geological feature.  This area was all at the bottom of an ancient sea 380 million years ago.

It was fun to explore, and there were some tiny tadpoles as well as some little fish.

The trail continues up to the falls, with scenic views of the gorge.

We crossed a bridge, stopping to take a picture here.  You can see up on the right where we were able to get closer.

Taughannock Falls are absolutely beautiful, and powerful too.  It was hard to make it to the platform, with a heavy cloud of mist in our faces and wind in our hair.  It is quite incredible and I definitely recommend going in the spring when the water levels are like this!

We headed back down the trail, stopping again to look for tiny fish and tadpoles along the way.

After hiking, we walked around the park, got some ice cream at the concession stand, and checked out the waterfront.  There is camping, cabinet, a marina, boat launch and beach nearby on Cayuga Lake.

Afterwards, we headed to Robert H. Treman State Park nearby.

taughannock falls state park

Visit Taughannock at https://parks.ny.gov/parks/62