Last week, on March 7, Bill Hecht took pictures of the Cayuga Lake area from an airplane, including some shots of Taughannock Falls State Park on the west shore of the lake.

Taughannock Falls and Gorge. Photo taken March 7, 2012 by Bill Hecht. The Falls Overlook is by the gray parking lot to the right of the falls and gorge.

This is what the waterfall looked like in February from the Falls Overlook on Taughannock Park Road. Taughannock Falls, at 215 feet, is one of the tallest waterfalls in the East and drops more than Niagara Falls.

Taughannock Falls from the overlook in February. Photo by Tony Ingraham

And looking from the west; this view gives a good feel for how Taughannock Creek eroded the gorge and deposited the eroded rock and soil into Cayuga Lake, creating Taughannock Point.

Looking east over Taughannock Gorge toward Cayuga Lake. Photo by Bill Hecht. Can you find the top of the falls? How about the overlook parking area? Taughannock is actually two gorges, one above the falls and the larger gorge below it.

Taughannock Falls Gorge Trail is one of the few trails in area gorges that remain open in the winter. It’s a beautiful day, so why not do a little hiking?