On cool days, I walk the trail in Stewart Park. I like that it’s flat and easy walk. I’m always struck by how beautiful the park is. We’re very lucky to have such a great place in our town. - Carol

Friends of Stewart Park, in partnership with the City of Ithaca, is enhancing, revitalizing and maintaining Stewart Park and the Cayuga Waterfront Trail with your help.

We’re making a splash in Stewart Park!

New Splash Pad and Playground Bathrooms opened July 4, 2024!

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The Stewart Park Inclusive Playground is a multi-structure state-of-the-art playscape that invites children and caretakers of all abilities to play together!

From its inception, this playground has been a community-wide labor of love.

It was funded by local families and businesses, planned by local playground design firms, and, in part, physically built through a community construction effort. LEARN MORE

Wharton Studio
& Cafe

Preserving and celebrating the region’s role in early American movie making.

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Current Projects

Splash Pad and Accessible Bathrooms

Two essential play area projects remain: the playground bathrooms and accessible splash pad. Together, these two features echo your values as a community, creating a more inclusive, accessible, and engaging play area for everyone.

Wharton Studio & Cafe

FSP, with Wharton Studio Museum, plans to develop the Wharton Studio building where silent films were once made —currently a City of Ithaca Department of Public Works storage and maintenance facility—into the Wharton Studio & Cafe, with a exhibits, park information and indoor and outdoor seating.

Completed projects

Winterized Bathrooms

The Bathrooms in the Wharton Studio Building are now winterized and accessible. Conveniently located in the center of the park, these silent film inspired facilities are the first step in the creation of the Wharton Studio Park Center, a project in partnership with Wharton Studio Museum.

Stewart Park Playground

Stewart Park has become home to a state-of-the-art accessible playground! The playground includes preschool structures inspired by Stewart Park history and a sprawling school age structure, with slides, monkey bars, climbing and spinning features, and entry points at varying elevations.

Cayuga Waterfront Trail

Historic Building Interpretive Signs

Knowing more about Stewart Park’s unique history helps park patrons appreciate the park even more. Friends of Stewart Park and Wharton Studio Museum have installed interpretive panels on historic buildings.

Renwick Wildwood Interpretive Panel & Ecological Restoration

Under the advocacy of the Cayuga Bird Club, In 1914, Renwick Wildwood was designated a nature preserve by the City of Ithaca. This interpretive panel which tells the story of how the woodland is important for bird life.

Carousel Restoration

Friends of Stewart Park has been revitalizing the Carousel through the years, from painting the horses and adding a ramp for improved accessiblity, to installing a permanent cover and more attractive fence.

Tea Pavilion

Built circa 1895, the Tea Pavilion is an elegantly designed small structure used for picnics and performances throughout the summer months.

Welcome Gardens

Visitors to Stewart Park arriving through the main entrance are now greeted by a new planting installation.

Memorial Flagpole Garden

In 2012, FSP restored the historic flagpole and new plantings were designed and installed by members of the Ithaca Garden Club working with the Friends of Stewart Park.