This park is brimming with sights and activities!…read more It looks out on Lake Cayuga. There are lots of benches and swing seats that offer stunning and shaded views of the water. The grass is well-maintained and perfect for laying out a blanket. There are coal fired grills available. There's also a basketball hoop (not a full court) and a jogging/biking path. You can rent kayaks and cross a pedestrian bridge over the creek that runs through it. They also have a bird watching trail. There are public restrooms, which were clean but out of toilet paper and soap when I visited. Great place to enjoy the outdoors solo or with friends and family.

We were vacationing in the Ithaca area recently, and Stewart Park was hands down our toddler's…read morefavorite place during the entire trip. The play area for children is large, and accommodates children of varying ages and abilities. The adults in our group also had some fun on the playground, since there weren't too many other groups when we visited. Along the lake, there are a good number of benches for sitting, including bench swings. The main path of the park is paved, so it makes for easy walking, stroller pushing, little kid biking/scooting, etc. We liked this park so much that we came here twice on our short vacation. I would definitely recommend it for families with young children who need to burn off some energy.

One of the coolest places I've ever been! The outdoor trails are incredible, with beautiful…read morehabitats that attract a wide variety of birds. We saw during our short walk two Osprey and Ruby-crowned Kinglets while exploring. The inside is just as impressive, with one of the best interactive museums I've experienced, full of fascinating specimens and thoughtful learning opportunities in a gorgeous building. The gift shop is well stocked and collaborates with Wild Birds Unlimited. A must see if you're in the area and into conservation or wildlife!

Nice viewing area inside the building, with provided spotting scopes. The girl behind the welcome…read morecenter desk was nice and friendly. We did NOT see much in the way of wildlife or birds, like we had hoped we would. That could be from the time of year I suppose. I'm sure the place is teaming with wildlife in the fall months. The biggest complaint/suggestion I would give to the people that run it is to have a BETTER system for marking the trails. There are maps at trail intersections, but they are VERY confusing. EVERY time we thought we knew where we were going, we NEVER ended up in the right spot (and I'm a seasoned veteran of woodsmanship for over 50 years!). PLEASE COLOR CODE the trails to help people ensure they are on the CORRECT trail. Some areas we saw twice, other areas we missed. Not sure about when we might return.

Incredibly beautiful waterfall any time of year. Has parking and is a very short easy walk from…read moreparking to the falls.

Very easy to access this waterfalls most time of the year. very beautiful in the middle of town…read more Winter might be a little slippery with ice buildup, but you can still get up close to the waterfall by following the trail on the side. Parking is free on Fall street. There is no marking, just a small lot.

Nice paved trail around the end of the lake and into the farmers market. Plenty of seats for chats…read moreand views. There are informational spots to learn some history and trivial pursuit facts.

Formerly known as the Cornell Plantations and consisting of 25 acres, Cornell Botanic Gardens is…read moreone of the most popular attractions around Ithaca and has something for everyone, which is why my partner, his family, and I came for a visit on this beautiful Saturday. Located in the center of the Cornell University campus, but also including the adjoining F.R. Newman Arboretum and over 3,500 acres of natural areas, there were hiking trails, nature walks, gardens, ponds, woodlands, meadows, glens, waterfalls, fens, bogs, and, of course, "gorges." The well-kept gardens were easy to access, easy to walk around, and were extremely quiet. It's very kid- and pet-friendly. The historic core revolves around the herb and perennial garden. Admission is FREE, but one does need to pay a parking fee to enter the park on weekdays. It runs you $1.50 per hour, so it's exceptionally reasonable, but it's free on weekends. We enjoyed our drive through the campus to get to the botanic garden, which we can recommend.

A great place to enjoy your weekend, peaceful and great variety of plants and flowers.read more

Glad I got the chance to check out this check trail. It's been closed since I moved to Ithaca for…read moresome maintenance and just the winter but it's well worth it. You know it starts in the heart of College town right next to the theater in the law school and immediately spectacular fall with the stone arch Bridge. It's gorgeous the Falls continue Cascade down several bends and turns the trail comes right up to the Falls just pouring right next to you as your Spencer Street. There's another arch bridge and the final cascading Falls at the bottom. It was pretty nice. It was. It's kind of picture box by a nice little cherry blossom or I think maybe an apple rose blossom or something but well worth it on this nice spring day to check out now that it's open if you go to Cornell, definitely check it out. It's well worth it and it drops you off right at commons. So if you're taking the street to the commons from college town, considered this and said it's great.

This awesome trail is right in downtown Ithaca. Parking is a little tricky, but there are free…read morespots and park to pay spots. Definitely read the signage! I read some reviews about this trail before going and everything was accurate and amazing. It's a simple enough trail that is just over 1 mile out and back. Dogs are allowed and there are several steps. It's very peaceful and beautiful. There is a waterfall around every corner!

This waterfall is more of a walk-by spot, as there's no access to the bottom. However, there's a…read morebeach area and spots to launch a canoe or kayak. The trails appear to circle the lake, offering great fishing opportunities, which were quite popular during our visit. Parking can be a challenge, as most spaces are reserved for the nearby college.

There is a short trail around the Beebe lake which will make a circle around the lake and end at…read morethe fall. Interesting place to take a walk

We came here sort of curious about what it was exactly and yeah it was wonderful. Upstate NY is so…read moredifferent then downstate because we do not have wonderful things like this! My son had so much fun and it was all free! We were miserable as it was hot but it was cute seeing him play and have fun.

If you have young children, stop what you are doing right now and plan a trip to Ithaca just for…read morethis park. It is jam packed with such a variety of fun, educational, and outdoors stuff that your kids will be occupied for hours, all day really, actually I'm sure they will be begging you to come back the next day too. We stumbled across this place by accident when visiting a nearby hiking trail (The black diamond trail) that is filled with lots of geocaches so if you are into caching, take a detour for those as well. Boasting a theater area, log stools, dwarf homes, a huge turtle, natural music equipment, chickens to feed, food to grow, composting in action, and all sorts of natural play spots this is a unique spot for children to really explore and play. Come visit this amazing place, your children will be begging to come back!

Visiting Ithaca and need something to do? Stop by this arboretum and take a walk. Get some fresh…read moreair, enjoy the trees and the beautiful scenery. It is a fun and pandemic appropriate activity! Know a lot about trees already? Test your knowledge and learn more in the nine different collections of trees. Not very tree savvy? Walk around and just enjoy the good old outdoors. Take a seat in one of the pocket gardens and sit down and rest a while. The arboretum provides a quiet peaceful, and beautiful place to walk around. Stop by now, we could all use a bit more of that in our lives!

This is a cute park with some interesting artistic structures and a nice lake with a bunch of fish…read moreand turtles. There are probably other parts of it as well, but it was a chilly day, so we didn't venture out too far. Pretty accessible parking, though, and probably nice to walk around on a nice day. I'd like to check it out again in the future!