Ithaca is known for many things, including gorges, gardens, woodland trails and architecture. Freshman year can be a dizzying blur of parties, exams and new friendships, but it can be a smart idea to take a couple Saturdays to get to know the town in which you’ll be spending the next four years.

A day hike is the perfect way to truly experience Ithaca and Cornell. Grab a pair of comfortable, broken in sneakers and set aside five or six hours to explore your new home! Here’s a neat walk to get you started, taking you down into Ithaca and some of its prime public spaces, as well as through the famous gorges: Cascadilla and Fall Creek.

Gates of paradise: Ithaca offers many beautiful sights to see if you're in the mood for a leisurely walk.

This walk will expose you to that gorge you don’t get to cross every day on your way to class, and then take you down through Ithaca to the Farmer’s Market before bringing you past some adorable “cottages” in Heights, where you might just run into your chemistry professor.

Start by crossing the Triphammer Bridge on Thurston Avenue towards Central Campus. Stop off on the left side to check out the crumbled remains of an enormous hydraulic lab whose façade once dominated the gorge. After the bridge, dip onto the Arts Quad and bear right towards the Johnson Museum (a.k.a. the cement sewing machine). When you hit the museum, walk left towards Uris Library, along the crest of Libe Slope. Below you are the Gothics.

Walk around the back side of Uris Library, where you’ll see a glass-encased staircase coming out the building into the ground beneath you. You’re standing on top of the library’s crazy Hobbit-hole addition, “The Cocktail Lounge,” where many Cornellians pull all-nighters before papers and exams. Stop here and be sure to take in the views of the leafy upstate town you’re about to explore.

Head straight down Ho Plaza past the gothic-inspired Willard Straight Hall, then cross the road, passing the also Gothic-inspired Law School. The road will bend slightly and head down hill, and you’ll cross a stately yet rustic stone bridge into Collegetown. Right as you cross the C-Town bridge, take a sharp right down a path besides a white marble building and the gorge. Look out for a small entrance to a trail on your right, a dozen meters or so down the way.

This is the Cascadilla Gorge trail, a lengthy stone staircase that takes you straight to downtown Ithaca. A chain and orange tube alert you that this trail is closed. It would be irresponsible of me to tell you that this stops absolutely no one from enjoying this safe, scenic descent into town. So I’m not going to tell you that. If I were to give you this irresponsible advice, you’d descend into the gorge and take plenty of time to admire the cliffs, waterfalls, foliage and impressive stonework beneath your feet. The bridge halfway down the trail is probably the climax of this short trip towards town. Feel free to draw parallels to Lord of the Rings. Watch your steps, please.

You’ll be deposited on Linn Street near downtown Ithaca. Turn left and follow Linn around the bend for a block, where the road becomes Court Street (unlabeled until the end of the block). Then make a left onto Aurora Street. Check out the adorable William Henry Miller B&B on your left, which was designed by the same guy who designed the clock tower and Uris library.

Head down Aurora, past Seneca, until you hit the Commons (State Street). My personal shop recommendations are House of Shalimar, Evolution and the hemp stores. If corporate culture is more your style, a block further on Green Street you’ll find the new indie movie theater and an Urban Outfitters and a block back on Seneca is Starbucks. Aurora Street has great outdoor dining, particularly for those over 21 looking to for an alternative to the Collegetown scene. There are lots of grad students here at night. My restaurant recommendations are Moosewoods, The Mate Factor and Taste of Thai.

For now, ignore the food and find a large black marble monument that says “Our Sun” at the T-intersection of the Commons. This is the beginning of Carl Sagan’s Planet Walk, which ends at the Science Center. The point of this tour is to give you a look at what’s in our solar system while highlighting how far everything is from everything else. There is a free cell phone tour, narrated by Bill Nye ’77 the Science Guy. The sun is about the size of a soccer ball, and Pluto is a tiny pin prick, and to get between them takes about 15 minutes. Everything is to scale. You’ll see all the inner planets in the Commons. Head towards the Starbucks, out of the Commons on Tioga Street to begin the planet walk.

Hit Seneca Street and turn right past the Hilton. You’ll see the Jupiter monument by the end of the block. Cross the street and turn right on Cayuga, and you’ll soon see Saturn by the Tompkins County Library. Turn a diagonal left off Cayuga into a small park, following a stream, and past Uranus. You’ll head a ways down this small, shaded avenue (Willow Avenue) where you’ll find the babbling Cascadilla Creek to your left, and some of Ithaca’s best cottage gardening to your right. Then you’ll cross a shiny steel pedestrian bridge to your left marked with astronomical symbols. Neptune greets you as you step off the bridge, and to the right, the path becomes sunny with flower gardens. Turn right following the roadway, where you’ll reach Pluto and the Ithaca Science Center.

Head down this small street, Franklin Street, a rather industrial looking roadway parallel to Route 13, until you reach the end on Third Street. Turn right, to cross Route 13 (carefully) and head down Third Street past the water treatment plant. Right when things start looking the sketchiest, you’ll hit rows of parked cars in a dirt parking lot with overgrown bushes dividing the parking lanes. Cross these hedges and through the lot and you’ll reach a large, open, wooden pavilion — the Ithaca Farmers’ Market.

When I say “Farmers’ Market,” if you’re thinking of white tents in a strip mall parking lot selling a small batch of fresh produce, you’re on the completely wrong track. This large wooden pavilion has dozens of stalls selling prepared food, organic produce, arts and crafts and local wines, ciders and cheeses. Definitely try lunch here. I recommend the burritos, the flat bread pizza and the Cambodian food. Try Purity Ice Cream while you’re there.

The market closes at three, and the entire approach from North Campus as I’ve described it can take about two hours at a leisurely pace, stopping in a shop or two. I’d definitely leave the commons before 1:30 p.m. if you want to play it safe. The market is only open on weekends.

As you face the waterfront, beyond the pavilion, turn right, and you’ll find a small, well shaded dirt path besides the inlet that takes you past a marina. Towards the end, you’ll see the backside of the Haunt, an Ithaca biker bar.

Cross the water on a small footbridge by the railroad, and head left down the Road (Willow Avenue), away from Route 13 and past the Haunt. On a good day, you’ll see tons of motorcycles parked outside and hear classic rock from inside. You’ll pass the TCAT headquarters where you should see lots of buses parked. You’ll then hit a golf course.

Here, the adventurous have the opportunity for a half-mile detour. You can head left, along the western edge of the golf course, onto a gravel road along the waterfront. The road continues, around the back of a small cement building, into the woods, terminating at a cement breaker on the lakefront. If you walk out to the lighthouse on the end of this breaker, you’ll be treated to views of Cayuga Lake, Stewart Park and the Cornell campus above you. You can then tack across the tip of the golf course back onto the main route by the twin suspension bridges.

Lake gazing: After a moderate walk from the Cornell campus, you will be treated to spectacular views of Cayuga Lake.

Otherwise, turn right, on Pier Road and walk alongside the eastern edge of the golf course. The road will loop around the course for less than a quarter mile, into the woods by a waterway, and past a training facility for the Ithaca Fire Department. Peel off the road after this onto a broad gravel path, along the waterway. The woods are peaceful, with a fisherman or two on a Saturday. I have yet to take this path without seeing a majestic heron on the waterway. There are also plenty of geese. You’ll cross two pedestrian suspension bridges (made of green painted steel with wooden planks), into Stewart Park. Jumping up and down on these bridges is highly recommended.

Continue ahead over a large grassy field to the shore of Cayuga Lake, one of the two largest Finger Lakes in New York. Turn right and walk beneath elegant willow trees along the lake, and check out the summer barbecues and picnics. Recline on one of the swinging benches and enjoy the lake. You’ve been walking a lot today.

When you’re ready to leave, follow the road, across a railroad bed, and turn left on James L. Gibbs Drive (before Route 13). There’s a bus stop, and some careful coordination with the TCAT website can prevent the climb back to North Campus that awaits you. Keep in mind, this bus runs infrequently. I personally enjoy the hike back to campus.

Turn right on East Shore Drive, and cross underneath Route 13 (there’s only one underpass, so if you’ve found it, you’re near Boynton Middle School. You’ll see a small street climbing into the woods on your right called Renwick Drive. Ignore both turn offs onto Renwick Place. Head up Renwick Drive, round a sharp turn, and continue straight up on Wyckoff Road. You’ll start passing some nice homes in this leafy neighborhood, as you gain altitude.

To the left, just before Cayuga Heights Road is Sunset Park, which is particularly beautiful, oddly enough, at sunset. Stop off here for some excellent views of Cayuga Lake and the town below (much of which you just walked). This brief detour is about a dozen yards out of your way, and a good place to rest after climbing 200 vertical feet (with another 200 ahead of you). This first leg of the climb is much steeper than the second leg.

When you hit Cayuga Heights Road (first major road with a yellow line), turn right and Caygua Heights Road will eventualy turn into Stewart Avenue. There’s a sidewalk on the right side, and some seriously impressive views just before Fall Creek Gorge. Check out Ithaca Falls and the tallest cliffs in town. If you see a TCAT bus thunder by you, don’t be alarmed. They’ve never fallen into the gorge on this windy road … yet. Portions of the road are paved in old, rounded bricks, providing an older charm to this overgrown gem of a knoll.

You’ll cross the Stewart Avenue Bridge over Fall Creek and hear the roaring waterfall. Check out the fraternity house, Rockledge, precariously placed on the cliff.

Immediately after the bridge, cross the street to the left, onto a path in the woods along the top of the gorge.

If you have any energy at all left in you (and I always do), there’s a fenced off fork halfway along this trail down into Fall Creek Gorge. Old stone staircases, like in Cascadilla Gorge, take you down to a wonderful swimming hole, where you’ll see well over 50 sunbathers on a hot, summer’s day. There are no bridges to jump from, like on Beebe Lake, but there is a fun waterfall to slide down, and plenty of room for sun bathing on the rocks. Fall Creek is a much larger gorge than Cascadilla, with much more water running through it, and both gorges can be very dangerous after heavy rain. Unlike Cascadilla Gorge, much of Fall Creek’s bottom is technically not walkable. Nevertheless the adventurous can definitely climb their way through from the top of Ithaca Falls all the way to the Thurston Avenue Bridge.

Whether or not you choose that fork, head along this upper trail until you hit the Fall Creek Suspension Bridge, and you’re back on campus. Cross the bridge and turn right up Fall Creek Drive, and then right on Thurston Avenue, and you’re home.

Try this walk in the fall. Fall is upstate New York’s best season. New York and New England own autumn, and no one could convince me otherwise. But this walk also works well in late spring. Winter is a bad time for this walk, since the Ithaca Farmers’ Market is closed, and the gorge trail in Cascadilla is downright deadly, with massive icicles and rockslides.

There are many more walks to explore in and around our beautiful campus. You could spend just as much time trying to explore the vast Cornell Plantations, further up Fall Creek well into Varna. Or, find transportation out to Taughannock Falls State park to see a waterfall taller than Niagara. Thrill seekers should also head up, past Collegetown to Six Mile Creek for some serious cliff jumping. Whatever your cup of tea, Ithaca’s got an outdoor adventure waiting for you.

So get out and enjoy Ithaca! Even if you lack the time or energy to attempt this grand tour of downtown, you should definitely check out all the locations I’ve described here. This town is well known for its breathtaking scenery and intimate public spaces. So get out there and get walking!