Fall Creek Neighborhood Guide
By: Brenna O’Donnell
Welcome to Fall Creek! This charming neighborhood offers the best combination of Ithaca’s most popular traits: a vibrant college town feel paired with the quaint and eccentric personality that is perfect for students and families alike.
Looking for apartments in this neighborhood? Check out our Fall Creek apartments page!
Strolling around Fall Creek, you can’t help but be charmed by the welcoming atmosphere created by the creek running through the neighborhood, the sidewalks lined with lush trees, and the cozy hometown aura. If you’re someone who likes cookie-cutter neighborhoods, search elsewhere! The Fall Creek houses all burst with individuality with their distinctive structures, colors, and characters.
Ithaca residents and college students can always be found working diligently inside this cornerstone of the Fall Creek neighborhood. With locations across Ithaca and even in Manhattan, Gimme Coffee (aka “Gimme”) has always remained true to its roots, with personalized service and a “Customer of the Month” panel featured on the left-hand wall of the shop. Eric, a Fall Creek resident and barista at Gimme, said, “I don’t even feel the need to own a car here. Everything I need is in the neighborhood and I’m a pretty active person. I’m always biking or walking around so it’s perfect for me.”
Living in Fall Creek also means having premium access to Ithaca’s most quintessential offerings, including the eclectic downtown area, stellar schools, and of course the renowned gorges! Unlike many other areas in Ithaca, the Fall Creek neighborhood is flat and does not lie on Ithaca’s staple topographical incline, meaning there is ideal walkability for all. The bustling Ithaca Commons is less than a 20 minute walk away from the neighborhood! Other Ithacans are envious of Fall Creek’s easy access to the town’s most popular restaurants including Moosewood, The Ale House, and Taste of Thai, as well as popular bars like Lot 10, Silky Jones, and the Argos Inn. A 15 minute walk to the delightful Ithaca Farmer’s Market is guaranteed to be one of your favorite weekend traditions during your time in Fall Creek. For all your food and household needs, Wegmans, Walmart, and countless other stores and eateries on South Meadow Street are just an 8 minute drive from home!
Feeling more like retreating into nature rather than embarking a day on the town? Head east on a 4 minute walk on the picturesque Fall Creek nature trail that leads to Ithaca Falls, one of Upstate New York’s most scenic waterfalls, or take a stroll through the Cascadilla gorge on your way to Cornell’s Collegetown.
Every fall, Ithacans flock to Fall Creek for the annual Porchfest, a community music event where local bands perform from the comfort of their porches across the neighborhood! In 2016, 185 different acts filled the neighborhood with beautiful acoustics and melodies that brought the whole town together.
An added bonus to Fall Creek’s location is that you and your neighbors will never have to worry about competing for parking downtown during Ithaca’s other popular events like Applefest, the Chili Cook-off, the famous Wizarding Weekend, and the Ithaca Fest parade which passes right through Fall Creek!
Although Fall Creek’s perfect location includes optimum immediacy to some of Ithaca’s most popular attractions, the neighborhood itself retains an inviting sense of community within the hustle and bustle of this colorful town. Fall Creek’s borders encapsulate superb restaurants and bars such as the Northstar House, the Lincoln Street Diner, and the Fall Creek House. Also in the immediate area are churches, yoga and Pilates studios, dentist offices, music stores, playgrounds, a bowling alley, and so many more amenities that truly give the sense of suburban living.
The Fall Creek area is perfect for families with children, with prime proximity to Fall Creek Elementary, Boynton Middle School, and Ithaca High School. For after-school adventures, Purity Ice Cream, the Sciencenter, and Dewitt Park all offer nearby fun for the whole family.
College students will love this spot as well, with just an 8 minute walk to Cornell’s campus and a 10 minute drive to Ithaca College. Fall Creek is sure to be any student’s productive haven tucked away from the stress of campus.
Check listings available in Fall Creek here.