Stewart Falls

Take Highway 34 to downtown Ithaca turn east onto Court Street. Follow Court for three-quarters of a mile to where it makes a hard left turn and becomes E. Linn Street. The road immediately crosses Cascadilla Creek adjacent to Treman Triangle Park – this marks the beginning of the Gorge trail. Park along the street where space is afforded. From Treman Triangle Park, follow the paved trail upstream, crossing Cascadilla Creek on a bridge immediately. This fall is encountered one-quarter of a mile upstream from E Linn Street, and is easily identified by the hefth concrete staircase to the left of the falls, and the Stewart Street bridge directly above.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 central of the three streams, Cascadilla Creek, flows through a narrow canyon which cuts through the south part of the Cornell University campus, dropping over eight distinct waterfalls and cascades over a run of just under half of a mile. Stewart Falls is the fifth waterfall along Cascadilla Creek, so named because of its position directly beneath the Stewart Street bridge. The falls tumbles down a stair-stepping style ledge for 24 feet, with a large concrete flight of stairs butting up against the falls on the left side to allow the gorge trail to climb above what would otherwise be an impassable obstacle to those wishing to travel up the gorge from below. Cascadilla Creek may pale in size in comparison to neighboring Fall Creek and Sixmile Creeks, but its approximate 12.2 square mile drainage basin produces a stream flow which is still significant, especially during the spring and following the passing of weather produced by summer tropical storms. Expect to see strong flow in the spring months, but by mid summer the flow will generally be reduced to low levels which will allow for more intimate exploration of the interesting bedrock in the canyon.