Outdoors: The Great Falls in the Big Woods

Taughannock Falls from the lower trail

By Joan Young, contributing writer

I am in the East this week, traveling through my home territory of the Finger Lakes in New York. Although it’s not in Michigan, I really have to share a very special place. Yes, it’s special to me, but it’s pretty significant in the grander scheme of things as well.

Taughannock Falls (say tuh-GAN-uck) near Ithaca, New York, is the highest free-drop falls east of the Rocky Mountains. Taughannock roughly translates to “the great falls in the big woods.” The water cascades for 215 feet falling into a small but deep plunge pool. Trained divers have determined the depth to be about 30 feet. However, currents are treacherous.

When I was a child there was a drowning there nearly every year of someone who thought the warnings about entering the water were overdone. Now there is a barrier at the end of the trail, and, thankfully, I’m told there are fewer casualties.

Taughannock Creek arises about 20 miles away, on the ridge that runs between Seneca and Cayuga Lakes, the two largest of the Finger Lakes. Over this wandering distance it drops almost 1000 feet before emptying into Cayuga Lake. The shale cliffs surrounding the falls gorge are 400-500 feet high.

Growing up so close to a major geological feature somehow did not dim my appreciation. I’ve always called this “my” falls. I’ve hiked to the base of the falls too many times to count. In more recent years, a loop trail has been added that goes along one edge of the gorge to the much smaller upper falls and returns on the other side of the gorge. I’ve hiked that, and portions of it a few extra times. I never fail to at least stop at the upper overlook if I’m in the area. I’ve seen the falls when there was not even a trickle of water. I’ve seen it raging even more violently than in the pictures here. A friend of mine fell 100 feet over one of the cliffs and lived. But despite being a rebel, I’ve never ventured into that plunge pool. The steady succession of drownings when I was young apparently impressed me enough to overcome my desire for risk.

The lower falls, near Cayuga Lake are playful and welcoming to waders. The state park on the water’s edge hosted me for picnics, Scout campouts, church parties, and lake swimming (I tried my first high dive there). I’m sure such “unsafe” playgrounds are no longer allowed, but it’s also where I did my one-and-only “going over the top” in a chain-rope swing. I cringe now when I think about doing that!

In short, Taughannock Falls State Park is part of the fabric of my life. That said, I hadn’t walked to the base of the falls since about 1970. Recent trips with sufficient time have concentrated on the newer, longer trails. But this week, a friend and I hiked to the base of the cataract, swollen with snow melt. The hike in and out was under two miles, but what a trip back through time! The water roared with power you can’t hear from the distant upper overlook. The ice at the base was developing a huge crack, preparing to collapse and be carried downstream when spring arrives. The memories arose with the mist and I smiled, aware but content that I must share my waterfall with others.

You should visit it too, if you make it to the Finger Lakes of New York.

View of the falls from the upper overlook

________________________________

Please Support Local News and Sports Coverage

Receive daily MCP and OCP news briefings along with email news alerts for $10 a month. Your contribution will help us to continue to provide you with free local news. 

To sign up, email editor@mediagroup31.com. In the subject line write: Subscription. Please supply your name, email address, mailing address, and phone number (indicate cell phone). We will not share your information with any outside sources. For more than one email address in a household, the cost is $15 per month per email address.

We can send you an invoice for a yearly payment of $120, which you can conveniently pay online or by check. If you are interested in this method, please email editor@mediagroup31.com and we can sign you up. You can also mail a yearly check for $120 to Media Group 31, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454 (please include your email address).

Payment must be made in advance prior to subscription activation.

We appreciate all our readers regardless of whether they choose to continue to access our service for free or with a monthly financial support.

_____

This story and original photography are copyrighted © 2026, all rights reserved by Media Group 31, LLC, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454. No portion of this story or images may be reproduced in any way, including print or broadcast, without expressed written consent.

As the services of Media Group 31, LLC are news services, the information posted within the sites are archivable for public record and historical posterity. For this reason it is the policy and practice of this company to not delete postings. It is the editor’s discretion to update or edit a story when/if new information becomes available. This may be done by editing the posted story or posting a new “follow-up” story. Media Group 31, LLC or any of its agents have the right to make any changes to this policy. Refer to Use Policy for more information.