Activities

Cornell's main campus is in Ithaca, New York, one of the best college towns in the country.

Located at the south end of Cayuga Lake in the heart of the beautiful Finger Lakes region, Ithaca offers a breathtaking landscape of deep gorges and thundering waterfalls, rolling hills with farms and forests, and a lively community with shops, art galleries, and great places to eat (including the world-famous Moosewood Restaurant).

For information about things to do in the area—music, dance, cinema, sports, hiking, swimming, shopping, and more—see visitithaca.com or Cornell's Visiting Ithaca pages.

Also be sure to check out Cornell's events calendar, a great place to find information about the many concerts, lectures, exhibits, and other interesting events taking place on and around the Cornell campus.

What can I do for fun on campus?

Here are some of the activities students recommend:

• In the summer, check out our free music and lecture series.
• In the winter, root for the Big Red men's and women's hockey teams on the ice at Lynah Rink.
• Go sunset watching and star gazing from Libe Slope or the North Campus Fuertes Observatory, operated by Cornell's renowned Department of Astronomy.
• Visit the famous art, birds, brains, and other collections at Cornell, which include the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, the world-class Lab of Ornithology, and the fabled Brain Collection at Uris Hall.
• Picnic or walk through the Cornell Botanic Gardens, 4,000 magnificent acres of rose gardens, lovely woodland trails, waterfalls, gorges, and ponds.
• Climb to the top of the McGraw clock tower and see the chimes firsthand.
• Take advantage of the outdoor education opportunities, including basketball, tennis, swimming, golf, rock climbing, canoeing, and more, and visit the Cornell fitness centers for spinning, yoga, Zumba, and other wellness activities.
• Relax at Cornell Cinema, one of the best campus film programs in the country.

Where can I swim?

There are a number of options for safe and legal swimming in the Ithaca area. Please note that swimming in the gorges is prohibited. See Gorge Safety for more information.

Where can I work out?

With three summer locations around campus, Cornell Fitness Centers (CFC) provide an extensive variety of cardio and weight equipment and group exercise classes.