Triphammer 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 the intersection with Stewart Avenue. Continue straight through Stewart then bear left at the next Y-junction onto University Avenue and continue for another third of a mile to Thurston Avenue. Bear left onto Thurston and immediately cross Fall Creek on a bridge, with Triphammer Falls located upstream. Parking is limited in the area, so it may be necessary to walk from a public lot further away from the falls.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. Triphammer Falls is the first of the five major waterfalls within Fall Creek Gorge, located directly below the Beebe Dam and upstream of the Thurston Avenue bridge. The falls consist of two distinct tiers which drop a total of 55 feet. The upper tier of the falls has been partially altered by the Beebe Dam, and consists of an 18-foot natural ledge, followed by a smaller step of about 5 feet. After the creek flows beneath a footbridge, the lower tier of the falls then plunges a sheer 32 feet into a broad amphitheater. Because the Beebe Dam sits directly on top of the upper tier of the falls, water spilling over the top of the dam creates the illusion that the upper falls are taller than they actually are – the height of the spillway is not counted as part of the natural falls as it would not exist without the dam to divert the water over the taller part of the ledge. 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. Additionally, the diversion at Beebe Dam seems to relieve the creek of at least half of its natural volume, and possibly more. 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.