Things to Do at Cornell University

Cornell University spreads across 2,300 acres on East Hill overlooking Cayuga Lake, with campus tours free daily at 2 PM from the visitor center and parking available at 2 USD per hour in designated lots throughout the academic year. The campus built beginning in 1865 features over 260 buildings including the iconic McGraw Tower rising 173 feet above the Arts Quad, housing a carillon with 21 bells that chime every quarter-hour and can be heard 3 kilometers across Ithaca. Gothic Revival buildings constructed with local Cayuga bluestone create impressive quadrangles where you can hear students' voices echoing off stone walls while the carillon bells mix with the rustling of 150-year-old oak trees lining the central walkways. The campus sits 300 meters above Cayuga Lake providing spectacular views across the Finger Lakes region, while gorges carved by Fall Creek and Cascadilla Creek create dramatic ravines with footbridges spanning 45-meter-deep chasms where waterfalls plunge year-round. Cornell plantations maintain 4,300 acres of botanical gardens, forests, and natural areas with over 3,000 plant species, creating seasonal displays from spring wildflowers to brilliant autumn maples that turn the hillsides red and gold in October. Pro tip: Start campus visits at Uris Library tower (weekdays 9 AM-5 PM, free elevator access) for panoramic lake views, then walk the suspension bridge over Fall Creek gorge during golden hour when limestone walls glow orange and evening mist rises from the water 40 meters below.

Cornell University spreads across 2,300 acres on East Hill overlooking Cayuga Lake, with campus tours free daily at 2 PM from the visitor center and parking available at 2 USD per hour in designated lots throughout the academic year. The campus built beginning in 1865 features over 260 buildings including the iconic McGraw Tower rising 173 feet above the Arts Quad, housing a carillon with 21 bells that chime every quarter-hour and can be heard 3 kilometers across Ithaca. Gothic Revival buildings constructed with local Cayuga bluestone create impressive quadrangles where you can hear students' voices echoing off stone walls while the carillon bells mix with the rustling of 150-year-old oak trees lining the central walkways. The campus sits 300 meters above Cayuga Lake providing spectacular views across the Finger Lakes region, while gorges carved by Fall Creek and Cascadilla Creek create dramatic ravines with footbridges spanning 45-meter-deep chasms where waterfalls plunge year-round. Cornell plantations maintain 4,300 acres of botanical gardens, forests, and natural areas with over 3,000 plant species, creating seasonal displays from spring wildflowers to brilliant autumn maples that turn the hillsides red and gold in October. Pro tip: Start campus visits at Uris Library tower (weekdays 9 AM-5 PM, free elevator access) for panoramic lake views, then walk the suspension bridge over Fall Creek gorge during golden hour when limestone walls glow orange and evening mist rises from the water 40 meters below.