Posted: 7/17/2012 2:50:38 PM EDT
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We are planning on going to the Finger Lakes area for vacation this fall.
We would primarily be going for the wineries. Can anyone help us out with some guidance, places to stay or not , wineries to visit , etc. Thanks in advance. 39 |
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Seneca lake has good wineries, better than cayuga in my opinion. I dont have suggestions on where to stay but you cant go wrong going up and down seneca and cayuga lakes. There is also a good distillery toward ithaca that i like, they make good gin nd some decent corn whiskey.
I try to look up a few of the places that I've eaten over the years, there are some very nice places that wont kill the wallet. If you get bored of dropping back shots of wine there are some beautiful waterfalls in the area as well that make for a decent stop. If you let us know what area you were thinking of staying I can offer some other suggestions. 
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| The Statler Hotel is a must. It's located on the campus of Cornell and the summer rates are very reasonable. Plus there are a ton of great places to eat in College Town or in The Commons. If you want a fantastic meal try John Thomas steak house in Ithaca. It's expensive but worth it. |
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Quoted:
Taughannock Falls State Park is worth a stop and a hike, as is a drive through of Cornell and Ithaca I've always preferred the trails at Robert Treman. Even Buttermilk has some decent trails. Taughannock revolves around the falls and thats it Quoted:
The Statler Hotel is a must. It's located on the campus of Cornell and the summer rates are very reasonable. Plus there are a ton of great places to eat in College Town or in The Commons. If you want a fantastic meal try John Thomas steak house in Ithaca. It's expensive but worth it. I've never stayed at the Statler. I can't agree about JT Steakhouse.It is nice enough for what it is. |
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Another vote for the Seneca wineries although there are some good ones on Cayuga (Treleaven/King Ferry comes immediately to mind). Fingerlakes Distillery (on Seneca) makes fantastic rye and pretty good bourbon, gin, etc.
Statler is supposed to be nice but campus is FULL of construction this summer; I'd avoid it. Honestly, I'd look for a b'n'b in the area if you want the local flavor. If you don't like b'n'b for whatever reason, there's all sorts of options in Ithaca - Super8 (avoid), Hampton, Holiday Inn (eh; old and needs refurb), Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites, Courtyard Mariott, etc. Seneca has fewer options for lodging and far fewer chains. The Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel is supposed to be nice and is RIGHT on the lake. At the north end is the city of Geneva; they have the usual chains but Geneva feels sort of out of the way to me. State Parks are great; like tc556 I think Taughannock is kind of dull - but is good for a quick walk up to the falls. Treman, Buttermilk, and Watkins Glen are much prettier but much more rugged trails. If there's anything else, let us know! |
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There are a lot of weekly rentals on the lakes. If you'd rather camp, there's a couple state parks on the lakes too.
Each lake has it's own wine trail; not to just send you to another site but, Google Finger Lakes Wine Trail and you have several options; guessing 100 plus wineries in the area. We did the West side of Cayuga Lake last year. I'm not a huge wine drinker, but they were good. Some of the wineries have special weekends; like the Harvest Tour at Kueka, Sept 15-16. Or some have bands, have fall colors tours... |
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go to Lakewood winery, they have a pretty good mead called mystic mead
Earle Estates Meadery has some good stuff too both are on seneca lake, I think on the western side but it's been a few years since I was there luckily both have stuff that gets carried by the local liquor stores so I don't need to drive back out there 
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IMHO there are two tours/ loops worth doing, Keuka and Seneca.
Forget the other lakes as far as wineries go, but there is beautiful scenery. Mid-October is your best bet for foliage. You didn't say what your budget is, and that has a big impact on where you stay & eat, so my suggestions are going to run a bit on the expensive side. Here's a suggested itinerary: Start in Sodus Point. Dinner at Bay Street Hotel. Overnight at Carriage House B&B. Next morning drive straight down Rt. 14 to Geneva. Get out and take a look at the Seneca lake. Then head down the east side of the lake, stopping at the wineries. Lunch at Red Newt winery or in Watkins Glen on the waterfront. While in Watkins Glen go to the gorge and then the WG motor racing museum. Continue up Rt. 14 hitting the wineries. Assuming it's now late afternoon, take Rt 54 into Penn Yan. I can't think of a B&B or place to stay, but if you want I'll think of somewhere nice. Day 2, head down the east side of Keuka Lake, hitting the wineries. Watch for signs for Amish handicraft places, they're neat to visit. Stop at the south end of Keuka in Hammondsport for lunch. Continue up the west side of Keuka, hitting the wineries. Plan on getting into the NE end of Keuka (Branchport) about 4pm. In Branchport, go a bit west and go to Esperanza Mansion for early dinner. The food is OK, but the view is to die for. Overnight on the west side of Keuka Day 3, in the morning drive west on the back roads (if you want, I can be specific) for some gorgeous views on the way to Naples. In Naples, buy some grape pies and look around. Cute town. Head north out of Naples. Watch for the Rt. 21/ 12 split. You want to take Rt 12, which you can see goes up a steep (15%) hill. If you have a sporty car, open it up on the way up the Rt 12 hill. At the top there's a rest area overlooking Canandaigua Lake, which has a stunning view. Stop for lunch at Bristol Harbor- great food, great view. Mosey into the "city" of Canandaigua, park, and hit the shops. A really neat town. Make sure you go down the pier, and check out the unique boathouses lined up along the waterfront. Go to the Wine & Cullinary Center for wine tasting. Dinner at Nolan's or Inn on the Lake. So there's a three day tour. Dinner places I've recommended run about $25/plate not including apetizers, drinks, or tips. If you can specify your budget for lodging, I can give you more recommendations. |
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I happen to be well schooled in the Seneca Lake, Rte 14 (West Side) of the lake.
Choice for hotels: Harbor View Hotel - Village of Watkins Glen next to Harbor. Very Very Nice Glenora Wine Cellars - Just north of the village. Jacuzzi suites, fine dining, vineyard walks, some outdoor entertainment on weekends. Belhurst Castle - Geneva on the south end of town. Great brunches on the weekends. Pretty views, lovely place to be. Seneca Lodge - See below. Cabin rentals. AVOID: Geneva Ramada - Overpriced poor service Geneva Hampton - Not particularly nice in my experience. Wineries: Four Chimneys - "Americas first organic winery" Glenora - Best Cabarnet Sauvigon in the finger lakes in my opinion. Ashley Lynn - Very good fruit wines Fox Run - nice views, good wine, nice people. Anthony Road - Closer to Geneva has a nice Merlot Ventosa - Is on the EAST side, south of Waterloo. Great Cabernet Franc. Best views only second to Glenora. Great tasting room, beautiful bldg. For the kids: Seneca Lake Grand Prix - South of Watkins Glen on corner of County Rd 17 and Montuor Townsend Rd. Has Ice Cream, go carts, mini golf, summer ice skating. Shopping for Man & Wife: Famous Brands Outlet - Watkins Glen Village. Great shoes store, womens clothes, mens dept upstairs, clearance boots, a "hunting lodge with mens outdoors clothes. Fine Dining: Seneca Lodge - Rustic lodge dining, great prime rib and london broil. The bar is a archery/racing/country classy bar. They give $2 bills and .50 cent coins for change. Also have small cabin rentals. First class in my opinion. Any specific questions, please PM me. As I said, this area is my area. Would love to help as much as possible. |
| Theres a hotel on Seneca Lake called geneva on the lake. A 5 star place. Pretty pricey but you can do a package where they'll have a driver take you for 4 hours to different places on Seneca. Plan something like this so everyone can partake and you don't need to DD. Even drinking the tastings it will catch up with you quick. Lots of Limo/Car tour places depending on how many in your group you have different options. From a bus or if its just you and the wife they have regular cars instead of limos at better rates... |
As already mentioned, Watkin's Glen State Park is a good place to visit, plan on taking a few hours for the hike thru the Gorge. Plan on hiking thru, and taking the bus back. Bring Water.
Corning Museum of Glass is a decent visit too, All sorts of glassware stuffs, also check out the glass-blowing show. (your Wife will likely enjoy the Corning factory outlet in town too...) Both of these are within a half hour or hour of each other. |
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I stay at a very nice B&B the 1819 red brick inn- very nice with friendly owners. I second the curtis museum-excellent both general local history as well as aviation.
originally was going to say to avoid college campus hotel due to not being able to CCW there but since you are from out of state you are not allowed to anyway. I beleive one of the lakes (seneca?) has an antique boat show that looks cool. wonderful region IMO. |