Foaming Falls

Take Highway 34 to the north end of downtown Ithaca and exit the freeway onto East Shore Drive. Turn south (toward downtown) on East Shore Drive and continue for just over 1.1 miles to Stewart Avenue, then turn left onto Stewart and continue another quarter mile to the bridge spanning the Fall Creek gorge, then immediately after the bridge turn right onto Fall Creek Drive and continue for another quarter mile to a small parking lot next to the suspension bridge. The falls can be seen from the bridge, but the high chain fence on the bridge obstructs clear photos. A trail leads to the base of the falls from the opposite side of the gorge for better views - cross the bridge, then bear right (downstream) on the path and watch for the trail branching down a flight of steps to the creek below.Ithaca, New York is one of the few cities in the United States that harbors a substantial number of significant waterfalls right within its urban core. Bisecting various parts of the center of town are three major watercourses, all of which produce several waterfalls. The northernmost of the three, Fall Creek, flows through a huge, deep gorge which cuts through the middle of the Cornell University campus and drops over five large waterfalls over a run of about two-thirds of a mile. Foaming Falls - also known as Horseshoe Falls - is the middle of the five major waterfalls within Fall Creek Gorge, situated directly beneath the pedestrian suspension bridge which crosses the gorge between Fall Creek Avenue and University Drive, adjacent to the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art. The falls occur as the creek funnels into a V-shaped horseshoe slot in the bedrock with the point of the V directed upstream, allowing the water to funnel in to the narrowest part of the ledge. After the initial plunge over the top of the fall, the creek skips down a sloping ramp as the V widens downstream. The total drop of the fall is 31 feet, and the crest has a linear length of about 160 feet, but because it folds back on itself in the horseshoe shape the average width of the falls is only about 50 feet. Foaming Falls can be easily seen in tandem with Rocky Falls from the suspension bridge, as well as from the viewpoint at the bottom of the gorge (though most of Rocky Falls is obstructed from view from the lower vista). Fall Creek is among the largest tributary streams that feed into Cayuga Lake, draining from a basin which covers approximately 130 square miles in area. Its substantial drainage size ensures the fall will flow all year long, but there will be a substantial fluctuation in volume as the seasons progress. By the end of summer the streamflow may just be a fraction of its wet-season equivalent, but there should be more than enough water present at any time of year to allow the falls to remain boastful in stature.