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The best place you want to visit is Treman State Park, but you have to be prepared to walk about 2 hours along the gorge trail and back (possibly on the south rim). Natural basin of water at lower waterfall is the best swimming area you could find in summer. But stunning views are in the upper area of the stream. It is worth visiting down town Ithaca to eat in restaurant row and shop in Ithaca commons. Then go to Cornell campus and visit botanical gardens (it is free and open till the dusk). Around 6 pm visit the main tower of the campus to listen to 15-minute performance of bell music and watch the sunset from the observation promenade. The nearby art gallery on the campus is free as well. If you do not mind driving to and back for 40 minutes from Ithaca, go to visit Watkins Glen. The gorge trail is more crowded, but one of the oldest tourist attractions in the region. The boat tours on Seneca lake are also popular. Almost neglected is Hector Falls on the east coast of the Lake, just next to the road. If you have only one hour to spend near Ithaca, go to Taughannack State park about 10 minutes north along west coast of Cayuga lake and walk 1.25 km along the wide path to the spectacular waterfall of same name. The path is open even in winter, and you could take small kids with you. There is also an access to the Cayuga lake there.

Favorite spots; the State Park and trails and Museum of the Earth Good restaurants were not nearby. Getting around the city is difficult because of busy roads and one way streets and the number of street running at angles rather than square block patterns. We would try the Watkins Glenn town on another trip.

Ithaca is great town to visit. Lots of gorges, hiking, waterfalls, winery's, parks, great restaurants and awesome people! I highly recomend taking a trip here. You could spend all day Cornell and still not see it all. The arboretum is worth the trip alone. Come to Ithaca and have a fabulous time. You won't be dissapointed. I also found 31 geocaches and did 5 lab caches while here. Incredibly informative...if you're a geocacher. Buttermilk Falls and Taughannock Falls were gorgeous and running nicely.

We loved seeing all the waterfalls and the Cornell botanical garden. We had a marvelous three days of outdoor adventures suitable to active, but mature, adults. Buttermilk state park and Watkins Glen state park were both amazing. Ithaca falls and Shequaga falls ate also worth a visit. Cornell has amazing gardens and an easy hiking trail with it's own smaller falls.

Really the only reason to go to the city of Ithaca is to be near the wonderful NY State parks that are a few miles out of town. The city itself was/is in the middle of urban renewal and the roads S##k. Do not rely on GPS to guide you around the awful streets; the many one way and closed streets that make up the area around the "Commons", the downtown restaurant and shop area. Google map sent us down one way street the wrong way a few times as well as continued to say 'turn here' when it was a one way the wrong. Hello chamber of commerce contact Google to redo your streets please! The Commons was always crowded and dirty because of the construction all around and that was midweek, can't image what the weekends are like, plus parking s**ks too. We stayed at the 4* Marriot and listened to jack hammer on the closed parking ramp abutting the hotel. The Ithaca ale house was suppose move into a new building several months and it's still a work in progress. Anyhow, the parks are amazing, swimming in natural streams with water falls is the normal at both Buttermilk Falls and Robert Treman SP. Taughannock Falls State Park has a nice lake side beach great for kids.

This trip was mostly personal work to help our daughter move from one apartment to another so there was not much time to do things in the area. But having visited many times before I can say that the area is really nice for a visit. So many wineries to visit many with cafe's with great scenic views. Great to rent a boat on one of the lakes for cruising, swimming and fishing (just didn't have time this trip). If you scout it out well you can find very nice dining options including places with outdoor seating. Gorges, parks and hiking trails and terrific.