September 20, 2023
Don’t Panic, it’s “Ta ga nick” (Taughannock))
Ithaca to Taughannock State Park and back
Taughannock Falls is the tallest falls in the US. Northeast - at 215 feet, it is 33 feet taller than Niagara Falls. Located about 10 miles north of Ithaca, the park is perfectly situated for a day ride.
We got a late start, primarily due to increasing cold overnight temps leading to very cool (low 40’s, which is downright cold for us weather-weeny Californians) morning temperatures. We didn’t roll until 10:45, allowing it to warm up into the mid-50’s.
For a college town, Ithaca has some aggressive and pretty bike-insensitive drivers. Jim navigated us to a bike path as quickly as possible and that led us to the Black Diamond trail. It is a rail-trail, named after the Black Diamond railroad, which ran from NYC to Buffalo from 1896 to 1959. It carried so many Honeymooners from NYC to Niagara Falls, that it was also known as the “Honeymoon Express.”
The trail is hard-packed smooth gravel, almost as fast and smooth as asphalt (and smoother than the roads we usually ride on in California.) Most of the trail runs through forest with occasional openings to farmed fields or crossroads. It was slightly uphill heading towards Taughannock, 1-2%, very fine cycling indeed.
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We turned off the rail trail about 10 miles out and almost immediately entered the state park. We descended a bit and entered the upper falls overlook area and visitor center.
The four of us had been debating how to pronounce Taughannock all week. Between the 4 of us we had at least 4 different versions. So Rich approached a park employee at the headquarters and asked her how it was pronounced; it must be a common question because she answered without a pause, “Don’t panic, it’s Taughannock.” So now we know.
After viewing the falls from above, we zipped down a steep grade to the Gorge trail to walk in about a mile to view the falls from below.
The trail was firm gravel and wide-very walkable in our bike shoes.
We reached the end of the trail. The sun angle made it difficult to get a direct view of the falls from here.
After returning to our bikes, we rode across the street to view Cayuga Lake close up. It is yet another digit in our trip. The darker hue and lack of clarity of the water made it appear deeper and fuller than the lakes we have seen previously. Also, the visible shoreline did not appear to be as completely developed as we have seen at the other finger lakes we have visited.
Rather than face a very steep climb back up through the state park to rejoin the Black Diamond trail for our return to Ithaca, we turned onto the lakeside highway instead. It climbed slowly, over about 4 miles, almost to the elevation of the trail, and then we were able to turn onto one of the roads that intersect the trail and ride a very short distance to rejoin it.
We made a quick return to Ithaca, stopped at Kelly’s Lakeside Cafe for lunch before returning to the hotel in time to cleanup before our Ethiopian dinner.
Experience a bit of our adventures:
Today's ride: 23 miles (37 km)
Total: 331 miles (533 km)
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