Deep in the Finger Lakes region of New York, tucked along the western shore of Cayuga Lake, Taughannock Falls plunges 215 feet into a gorge ringed by 400-foot canyon walls -- making it taller than Niagara Falls and one of the most dramatic natural features in the entire Northeast. In this episode of Walking Tour of New York, we explore Taughannock Falls State Park in Ulysses, New York, from the flat and accessible Gorge Trail that winds three-quarters of a mile through an ancient canyon to the sweeping Rim Trail overlooks and the shimmering Cayuga Lake shoreline.

We dig into the park's remarkable geological story -- the glaciers that carved the Finger Lakes twelve thousand years ago, the hanging valley that created the falls, and the ongoing erosion that is still reshaping the gorge today. We also cover the park's Indigenous history as part of the Cayuga Nation's ancestral homeland, the Victorian hotel era when tourists arrived by steamboat to stay at the Taughannock House, and the Jones family estate that eventually became the state park in 1925.

You will learn about the park's camping, cabins, swimming beach, marina, and summer concert series -- plus tips on when to visit for peak waterfall power (spring), fall foliage (late September and October), and frozen-falls season (winter). We cover nearby dining including the Inn at Taughannock Falls Restaurant, with its Cayuga Lake views and locally sourced American-Mediterranean menu. And we highlight nearby sites including Watkins Glen State Park, Robert H. Treman State Park, Buttermilk Falls State Park, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at Sapsucker Woods, and the Cayuga Wine Trail.

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