Campus & Location

Cornell’s 2,300 hundred acre campus is located in Ithaca, New York, a vibrant college town in the Finger Lakes region of central New York State. Ithaca is home to a wide array of bookstores, shops, restaurants, and cultural activities (including professional opera and ballet companies). On campus, you'll find academic buildings and residence halls, libraries and eateries, and state-of-the-art research labs and facilities. The buildings reflect our storied past and progressive future.

One of the best ways to learn about Cornell University is to explore our Virtual Visit page. Watch information sessions, meet our incredible students, learn more about Cornell’s unique undergraduate colleges and schools, and see the scenic beauty of our campus and the Finger Lakes.

Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit (TCAT) serves Ithaca and the surrounding area. Cornell students receive free, unlimited rides on all TCAT buses after 6 p.m. on weekdays, and anytime Saturday and Sunday. New Cornell students enrolled in an undergraduate degree program receive a free bus pass for their first academic year. Many Cornellians find that public transit is a convenient, economical, and sustainable way to get around.

Cornell is located in Ithaca, New York, a vibrant college town in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. Choose from six regional airports a short driving distance from campus.

Ithaca, New York is a small, vibrant college town situated on the southern end of 38-mile long Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of central New York State. Ithaca is home to a wide array of bookstores, shops, restaurants, and cultural activities (including professional opera and ballet companies), with nearby wineries, state parks, farms, and forests throughout Tompkins County.

Cornell is in operation around the clock throughout the academic year. During the day, students are attending classes, working in one of the research facilities on campus, or enjoying a meal at one of the 30 dining locations on campus. (Cornell Dining was ranked by Princeton Review as one of the top 10 among U.S.

Ithaca, New York has a four-season climate. The fall is spectacular, with the leaves changing color and the annual Apple Harvest Festival taking place in Downtown Ithaca. Winter arrives in late November and usually exits sometime in March. Spring is lovely, with open-air farmers markets and flowers in bloom. Summer is beautiful. Temperatures in the low 80s encourage students who stay on campus to enjoy the surrounding gorges, waterfalls, and lakes.

Cornell is approximately a four-hour drive from New York City (in light traffic). The campus is located in Ithaca, New York, in the heart of the beautiful Finger Lakes region of New York state. Cornell is about an hour north of Binghamton, an hour south of Syracuse, and three hours from Niagara Falls. For students who want to experience New York City, there are daily Wi-Fi equipped campus-to-campus (C2C) bus trips to and from Cornell and NYC.

Cornell’s 2,300 acre campus is located in Ithaca, New York, a vibrant college town in the Finger Lakes region of central New York State. Situated at the southern end of 38-mile long Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is home to a wide array of bookstores, shops, restaurants, and cultural activities (even professional opera and ballet companies). On campus, you’ll find academic buildings and residence halls, libraries and eateries, research labs and facilities. The buildings reflect a storied past and progressive future.