Black Diamond Trail

The Black Diamond Trail follows the Lehigh Valley Railroad's old Ithaca line for about 9 miles between the Ithaca Children's Garden on Cayuga Lake and Taughannock Falls State Park near Trumansburg. The surface is smooth crushed gravel. Riding north from Ithaca is a steady, gentle climb of about 420 feet, with the steepest sustained grade near 1 percent, so the return ride is a long easy coast. Trees shade most of the corridor, and roughly a third of it runs below wooded valley walls. Trailheads at Kraft Road and the park's north lot break the route into shorter rides. At the north end, the state park's rim trails lead to the 215-foot Taughannock Falls.

• Named for the Black Diamond Express, the Lehigh Valley Railroad's flagship, which ran New York City to Buffalo from 1896 until 1959.
• The Lehigh Valley chose the train's name from more than 35,000 contest entries; the winner was Charles Montgomery, a hotel clerk in Toledo, Ohio.
• The 315-foot Black Diamond Express was nicknamed the 'Honeymoon Express' for couples bound for Niagara Falls.
• The corridor served Ithaca on a Lehigh Valley secondary line rather than the double-track main line to the west.
• The north end sits in Taughannock Falls State Park, home to a 215-foot waterfall.
• The trail measures about 9 miles by our geometry, 8.4 miles on the park's own map.
• It climbs roughly 420 feet, spanning about 413 to 832 feet in elevation.
• The steepest sustained grade is only about 1.3 percent, true rail-grade riding.
• Tree canopy averages 61 percent, with 41 percent of the corridor in deep shade.
• The route holds a steady southeast to northwest axis, about 82 percent of it within 30 degrees, with roughly a third running below valley walls.

The corridor carried the Lehigh Valley Railroad, whose flagship passenger train, the Black Diamond Express, ran from New York City to Buffalo from its first trip in 1896 until 1959. The Lehigh Valley picked the name from more than 35,000 contest entries, honoring the anthracite coal the line was built to haul; the winning entry came from Charles Montgomery, a hotel clerk in Toledo, Ohio. Promoted as 'The Handsomest Train in the World,' the 315-foot train served Ithaca on a secondary line rather than the double-track main line to the west, and newlyweds bound for Niagara Falls earned it the nickname 'Honeymoon Express.' After the last run in May 1959 the line was abandoned, and over the following decades Taughannock Falls State Park acquired the roadbed and rebuilt it as this trail.

• Ithaca Children's GardenMILE 0Directions
• Kraft RoadMILE 6.1Directions
• North TrailheadMILE 8.2Directions
• Taughannock FallsMILE 9Directions

• Ithaca Trails · Black Diamond Trail - Ithaca Trails
• Visit Ithaca · Black Diamond Express
• Wikipedia · Black Diamond (train) - Wikipedia
• AllTrails · Best hikes and trails in Taughannock Falls State Park - AllTrails
• www.gofingerlakes.org
• www.visitithaca.com

plus interpretive signage along the trail