Find out how to safely take pleasure in Cornell’s gorges

The two gorges that wend their means via Cornell’s Ithaca campus present pure magnificence however pose myriad hazards, from sturdy currents, unpredictable undertows, underwater rock ledges, steep cliff partitions and falling rocks.

Through a security program that mixes training and enforcement, Cornell is working to make sure that these iconic landscapes might be skilled safely.

For the third yr in a row, general violations within the patrolled areas of Cascadilla and Fall Creek remained regular final summer time, at round 2.5% of customers, down from a peak of above 8% firstly of monitoring in 2013 and above 7% in 2020.

Violations embody swimming and wading, trespassing previous fence traces and unleashed canine. The variety of fishing violations elevated from a handful in earlier years to 36 in 2025.

Fishing – identical to swimming and wading – just isn’t allowed in any of Cornell’s pure areas.

“Cornell’s gorges are one of the most beautiful and defining features of our campus, but they require respect,” mentioned Kate Supron, Gorge Safety Committee co-chair and campus-community liaison for University Relations. “Our priority is ensuring that students, staff and visitors understand both the wonder and the risk so that everyone can enjoy these landscapes safely and responsibly.”

In 2012, Cornell established the Nathaniel Rand ’12 Memorial Gorge Safety Education Program, named in reminiscence of a scholar who died in a gorge drowning accident in 2011.

As a part of this system, stewards patrol the Fall Creek and Cascadilla gorges from May via September, answering questions, redirecting guests who aren’t following the principles, cleansing up trash, disassembling rock sculptures and dams and clearing the path.

The program additionally consists of Orientation hikes for brand new college students, academic programming for Orientation leaders and residence advisers, a gorge safety video and a brochure. 

The Gorge Safety Committee meets all year long to evaluate this system.

“Since the institution of safety programming, the gorges have become a much safer place, with a tiny fraction of the violations that we began with,” mentioned Mark Holton, the Lindseth Director of Cornell Outdoor Education, which oversees the gorge stewards.

The surrounding space affords a number of locations to swim or wade safely, Holton mentioned, together with swimming at three nearby state parks and public swimming pools.

Cornell Botanic Gardens manages 30 miles of hiking trails on and off-campus, and Tompkins County has greater than 240 miles of trails to discover.

Holton mentioned that whereas gorge stewards strictly implement the gorge laws –

staying on trails, respecting path closures and prohibiting swimming, wading, fishing or bicycling – nearly all of gorge stewards’ interactions with individuals are pleasant. 

“In addition to safety, there are many other functions that have to do with hospitality and welcoming people to Ithaca,” he mentioned. “I’ve certainly had many of those types of interactions over the years.”