The college town of Ithaca, New York offers visitors a variety of indoor and outdoor attractions — from its iconic waterfalls to its local farmer’s market, there are many options for outdoor adventure.

Carolyn Ambrose, visitor service specialist at the Ithaca/Tompkins County Convention & Visitors Bureau, said that Ithaca’s busiest tourist season ranges from the beginning of May to the beginning of November.

“We have people come from all over the world,” Ambrose said. “Ithaca is basically halfway between New York City and Niagara Falls, so a lot of students and visitors come to Ithaca as an in-between stop over with lots of things to do.”

Ithaca caters to a variety of interests when it comes to the activities tourists can participate in.

“Ithaca really is a great town because people can do things inside and outside,” Ambrose said. “There’s lots to do — you can literally walk from downtown a few blocks and you are on a trail looking at a waterfall. Or you can drive 10 to 15 minutes outside of town, and you can do a 6-mile hike. You are in the middle of the woods.”

Ambrose added that many visitors enjoy Ithaca because of its wide selection of outdoor activities. The most popular places to visit outdoors are the waterfalls that can be viewed the three state parks in the area: Buttermilk Falls State Park, Robert H. Treman State Park and Taughannock Falls State Park.

“Taughannock Falls State Park is probably our most popular one,” Ambrose said. “It is the tallest free-falling waterfall in the northeast, and it’s three stories higher than Niagara Falls and they flow year round.”

In addition to the waterfalls, Ithaca also has many hiking trails within close proximity of each other, convenient for nature enthusiasts to explore the area.

“We have a ton of trails. We have connections to state forests, connections to the Finger Lakes Trail National Forest, some outdoor activities visitors can participate in at this time of year,” Ambrose said.

Visitors can also walk along the Cornell Plantations, which are botanical gardens adjacent to Cornell University’s campus. The trails lead to a local farmer’s market, around a park and near a marina.

Ambrose said Ithaca is a college town, with Cornell University and Ithaca College maintaining its youthfulness. She said the city does not have a targeted age group in terms of tourists because there is something to do there for every age group.

“People of all ages come here and enjoy it, so you don’t have to be in your 20s to actually enjoy Ithaca,” Ambrose said. “It’s a very artsy community — we have lots of theaters, museums and galleries. People around here really support the arts.”

Published on April 2, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact; tchuang@syr.edu