Taughannock Gorge Trail late winter hike

sights during a 4 mile hike on icy trails around Taughannock Gorge

MichaelStephenWills

Wednesday afternoon this week my exercise was a 4 mile hike around the Taughannock Falls Gorge on the north and south rim trail. I parked at the Overlook and took in a view of Taughannock Falls in the gorge below.

The video and pics are from my Apple IPhone.

I then headed south on the North Rim Trail. It was slow going because the trail was solid ice in many places. Throughout the walk was evidence of the great work of the park maintence crew preparing for spring.

A bridge over the creek transitions from the North to South Rim trails. Here is an overview of the dramatic site below this bridge.

The trail ice forced me off onto the Gorge Road that parallels the trail. Even without the ice, a portion of the trail is closed for the winter due to dangerous conditions. There are interesting sites along this road.

Click any photograph for a larger image


Walking downhill only this medium-sized bark is visible, the road curves around to bring into view a tiny farmhouse, now abondoned, dwarfed by the barn.

I took a detour to explore a small cemetery just off Gorge Road on a shelf above the Taughannock Farms Inn.

Overview of this small cemetery overlooking Cayuga Lake

The lower falls is another worthy detour before I rejoined the Rim trail to climb up the north side of the gorge.

One of many Rim Trail overlooks. That is the Gorge Trail, below.

In this approximate 4 miles there is a 2088 foot change in altitude (1044 up and down). I took my time for an enjoyable 2 hours.

26 thoughts on “Taughannock Gorge Trail late winter hike”

  3. What a beautiful walk! Especially loved your inclusion of video — because it’s hard to do a waterfall justice with just a single still, isn’t it.

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  4. Oh, my goodness! The videos of the falls are amazing. Such an interesting cemetery, too. Wonder how many markers have been broken and lost over the years. Thanks for sharing your hike with us. 😊

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  7. This is a beautiful area of the world. We spent a week in the Finger Lakes near Ithaca a few summers ago and it’s on the list to return to. That’s a great hike and your gallery of images from the area really captures the essence, especially the gorges.

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    1. In researching family history I discovered my grandfather and family were from Shamong and West Jersey for 300+ years. Plan to visit the area to gather more info. We are thankful for our lives here in the Finger Lakes.

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  8. Wow, Michael, what a beautiful place! I get a sense of peace from the video + photos. I acknowledge you for walking in the snow and ice like that!! Thank you for sharing…really gave me a sense of the experience.

    Blessings,
    Debbie

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