Exploring: Ithaca, NY

Ithaca is beautiful this time of year.



It's in New York State, but very far removed from New York City in culture, climate, and geography.  It's about 4 hours NW of NYC, and about an hour NW of Binghamton.  Here - this might be easier with a map.



There, that's better.  So that's Ithaca up there.  It's in the Finger Lakes region, right at the south end of Cayuga Lake.  It's best known for Cornell University of the Ivy League, but also garners a share of tourist attention for the natural beauty of the area.

I recently spent some time in Ithaca, and found it to be a gem of a place.  For much of the year, the weather is cold, with first snowfall usually happening in October and the last as late as May.  In August and for the short summer, the weather is warm and humid.  For my trip, it was warm during the day and a little cooler in the evening.

Here's a cool morning start on Monday.  Check out the humidity!

100%.  Wow.

Yep.  That's 100% humidity.  Here's another morning...

The humidity is way down here, only 87%.

That's about the worst I can say about the weather.  It rained every once in a while, but for the most part it was sunny throughout.  But before you can enjoy the weather, you have to get there.  Car is one option, but for me that would have made for a very long trip.  I started in one of these.

Big jet.  Vroom!

Then took one of these into Ithaca.

Small plane.  Buzzzzzzzz...

We landed at ITH, where the people were extremely pleasant and helpful.

Better than cream cheese.
(Slightly veiled reference to another airport in the Northeast ✈)

Ithaca's not in the mountains, but is home to river gorges that lead to nearby Cayuga Lake.  The tourism tagline is "Ithaca is Gorges," and it's not a misspelling.  It reminds me a lot of Boone in the mountains of North Carolina:  steep hills, wonderful trails, and rivers and waterfalls.

Running in Ithaca

The running community is pretty active in and around Ithaca.  I had just missed the Catharine Valley Half Marathon, in town but with prior commitments.  The Finger Lakes Runners Club anchors a large number of active runners you can find on Twitter:  @FLRCIthaca

The network of trails is extensive, and I've only explored a portion.  The Cayuga Trails Club is a nice place to start to learn about places to hike and run in and around Ithaca and the larger Finger Lakes region.

The best way to learn about the area is to simply pick a direction and run.  You're bound to find hills, valleys, and water features in every direction.  If you get turned around, just remember the lake is downhill and the people are friendly.

First Run:  Where Am I?

I was on the Cornell campus for the days, but was able to find daylight and sunshine enough to get in a few runs while I was there.  There were some country roads, and a greenway called "Recreation Way."  Here are some pics from the first run.

Country road (really not that far in the country)

Sign for Recreation Way

Pipes and bridges?

Still recreating.

I also found - quite by accident - Cornell Plantation,  Beautiful flora of all kinds are here, and this was the first of three trips I made to these gardens during the week.

There were signs everywhere marking the grounds.
I usually noticed them after being lost and finding my way again. :)

Lovely flora.

Lewis Building has a lot of ivy.
The picture isn't blurry, it started raining on my run. ;)

Sun peeking out after the shower.

Rainy campus road.

Cornell University sign

This is Dilmun Hill Student Organic Farm.
Visitors Welcome.
I didn't go, but it seemed interesting. :)

Was looking for the falls - are these the falls?
Nope.

Run:  Downtown and Cornell University

Where I chose to stay seems uphill from just about everywhere else in Ithaca.  To reach Cornell University, you go downhill.  to reach the town, you go downhill.  It's lovely, except for the small detail that one must also go uphill to return to a starting point.

On the descent into town.

Busy intersection (at least later in the week when the students arrived).
Patchouli wafting in the air.
Dude.

WWI Memorial.

WWII Memorial.

Cemetery on a steep, steep hill.

Stairs next to the cemetery.

Deer with no fear.

Cornell University

Campus.

Gates Building.
Cornell University.

Run:  First Gorges Run

This run was on the roads, no trails, but coming across bridges from which the gorges were visible.

That blue dot down there says "Ithaca is Gorges."
How to get there?

Gorges.
And gorgeous.

Two Runs:  Cornell University, Cornell Plantation, Gorges, and the Lake

The morning run was nice, starting around 5:30 AM.  The sky was just lighting, and the sun rose as the morning went on.  Coming from the east side of Ithaca, it was a short trip to Cornell Plantation and a jaunt around Beebe lake.

Brightening sky.

Beebe Lake.

Small falls and overflow at Beebe Lake.

It was a lovely morning, and the sun was peeking out as the run came to an end.

River runs through it.

Here comes the sun!

The evening weather was terrific, and a chance to get in one more run before the week in Ithaca ended for me.  Starting on the Cornell Campus, I wanted to see if I could find a trail to the blue painted rock seen on an earlier run - the one with "Ithaca is Gorges" painted on the side.

Gates Building.

My favorite picture from Cornell's campus.

My second favorite picture.

Varied architecture throughout Cornell's campus

I spent a lot of time going down into the gorges, then back up to the bridges that crisscrossed them from time to time.  It was nice to see where I've been and figure out where else I could go.  Many of the bridges have suicide barriers, suicide nets, and monitoring cameras.

Lovely gorge.
I ended up running across both of those bridges on this run. :)

Bridges of Tompkins County.
There is a monitoring camera at the other end.

Peeking through a safety fence.

 A nicely groomed trail ran alongside a long portion of the gorge, with steps that descended into the gorge at specific points.  The steps were well maintained, and took a while to get down - and a little longer to get back up. :)

Lovely groomed trail.

Entrance into the gorge from the lovely groomed trail.

Steps.  These aren't all of them.
There are more around the bend.

Information board on the trail.

Bottom of the steps.

In the gorge, looking at a bridge to find.

More steps.

Trail map.

Little sunshine.

Back out of a gorge and on a bridge.

Little higher.

Back down again to enjoy another fall.

The gorge flattens a bit and runs into Cayuga Lake.  Highways and the city of Ithaca run between the gorge and the lake, and I came across Ithaca High School and a lone runner on the track.  I remember thinking that if I lived here it would be much more entertaining to run on the trails instead.

Sign for the Ithaca Waterfront,
where the city touches Cayuga Lake.

Lakefront city park.

Cayuga Lake.

Back on Cornell's campus.

As for the painted "Ithaca is Gorges" rock, I found a way to get there but chose not to go because it was off trail.  Part of what keeps places like this beautiful is good stewardship of the land and features.  Going off trail can have serious environmental impact, including erosion and damage to fragile ecosystems.

Overall I had a wonderful time running in Ithaca.  I was a total tourist, taking many more pictures than are here and stopping often to enjoy the beautiful and varied architecture and scenery.  Overall it was a good 33-mile week, including a run with over 1,450 feet of elevation.  Looking forward to returning sometime soon!