Finger Lakes advice needed
 

My wife and I will be travelling from Albany NY to Chicago in two weeks and will be spending two days and three nights in the Finger Lakes area. I'd appreciate any suggestions on what towns to see and where to stay. I've hears Skaneateles (sp?)is nice but I know very little about the area. Our interests incluse antiques, architecture, and just wandering around quaint towns. For lodging, we like historic hotels and b and b's
although we aren't really into the victorian frilly types. I know the Syracuse area is known for its arts and crafts style and something like that would be great. Thanks for your help.

Skaneateles (pronounced Skinny Atlas) is one of the nicest towns in the Finger Lakes area--lots of cute shops within walking distance in the downtown area. Another really nice town is Ithaca--typical college town with the kinds of cool shops and restaurants catering to students and faculty. The only downside is it's very hilly.

Outside those two towns, a lot of the Finger Lakes area is, frankly, a little shabby. Upstate New York is beautiful but just doesn't get enough good weather to support a big tourist industry. The city of Syracuse itself is largely industrial gray and nothing special. A nicer city is Rochester; as the home of Kodak and other big employers, it has a livelier arts scene. And it wouldn't be much of a detour. Another good stop, not too far out of the way, is Corning--the glass factory and tour is great.

A little farther west, but probably on your way as you head to Chicago, is Lake Chautauqua. While you won't be able to get into Chautauqua itself (it's gated), there are many other interesting towns around the lake. We ate lunch at Bemus Point a couple of years ago and thought it was charming.

One of my favourite things to do in the Finger Lakes is go wine tasting. The wine is not great (generally very sweet, although there are award winning Gevertz) but the wineries are small, family owned and very friendly. The Keuka Lake wine trail is my favourite.

Letchworth Park is beautiful. It has some places of historical interest, deep ravines, a beautiful river and nice hikes. In the fall the leaves are beautiful.

Watkins Glen is also nice. It has an impressive gorge with beautiful waterfalls.

I lived in Rochester for 4 years and would say that, while nice, it is not worth going out of your way to see. There are some interesting places of historical interest (Susan B. Anthony's grave, Erie Canal). If you like classical music, the Eastman school of music is a MUST see. There is almost always something being performed and tixs are cheep.

Syracuse is a dump. I would avoid it. Buffalo has some places of historical interest and of course N. Falls are a must see.

Have a great trip!!

There are lots of quaint, wonderful small towns throughout the Finger Lakes. Hammondsport and Watkins Glen are two that I've spent time in and had fantastic dinners, tasted outstanding wines (they are not all sweet; they make world class reds and whites), gorgeous state park at Watkins Glen (must walk the gorge trail). Lots of nice bed and breakfasts all along the shores of each lake. Some of the wineries have nice b&b facilites too. Just do a search on Finger Lakes and you'll find all sorts of great information. You will love the area.

Some of the best restaurants in this region are at the wineries. Bully Hill on Keuka Lake has a great restaurant, as does Wagner on Seneca Lake. I've done all the wineries on Keuka and a bunch around the lower half of Seneca and I really enjoy the wines. They do have a way with Rieslings up there, among other things!

For towns, you might like Naples, a small town somewhere between lakes Keuka and Canandaigua. Hammondsport is also a cute little town, but it is TINY. Most towns up there are quite small. But you'll definitely find antiques up there.

There's a book on the Finger Lakes. Look for it on Amazon. It's the only book I've found that discusses the Finger Lakes in depth and I've found it pretty helpful.

Spending a long weekend at the Finger Lakes was one of the nicest mini vacations we've taken. We came up through Pennsylvania and into Watkins Glen and then toured north around Lake Seneca up to Geneva. We stayed in Geneva and enjoyed the little town tremendously. The next morning we started back down the other side of the lake. There were so many small, great wineries and we purchased wines at many. The reds were surprisingly good but I'm not a wine critic.
There's a state park that we toured in Watkins Glen on our return which was also very nice. From there we went into Pennsylvania and toured the Grand Canyon of PA. Truly great, memorable 3 days.

As a great fan of New York wines and the Finger Lakes Region I take umbrage at the dissing of the fine wines this region produces. In the past the Finger Lakes DID indeed produce mainly sweeter Kosher wines and grapes for the juice industry but those days are over. In the late 50's I belive, Dr. Frank
http://www.stargazettetimeout.com/wine/051602jr.html

began to graft French varietals onto hardy root stock and the rest is history. Go to the address below to see what wine spectator has to say about the region.

http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Ar...75,550,00.html

Even California has taken note of the region and California wineries have recently been secretly buying up acreage in this area with and eye to the future. The transformation of the area has been dramatic over the last ten years. In fact it is widely recognized that the Finger Lakes is the premier region for producing world class reislings.

http://www.nywine.com/nygold/wineandfood.asp

I'll agree that the weather ins't what it is in Napa but there are plenty of luxury accomodations in the region and to suggest that the region is "shabby' is unfair. Sure, Upstate has seen better times and there are more than a few run down farms in the area but it is on the upswing due primarily to the wineries. In fact, it would be a great place to invest in since prices for land aren't out of reach YET.

Don't be a snob and you'll be pleasantly surprised with all that the Finger Lakes and the wineries there have to offer.

If you are looking for a beautiful place to stay in Skaneatelas, try Mirbeau Inn and Spa. It is a beautifl French Country Inn. The spa and restaurant are wonderful! Check out their website. Have fun in the beautiful Finger Lakes!

Thank you all for your well though out responses, I've read them all carefully. It looks like we'll be spending at least one night in Skaneateles and I'm torn between two places to stay. The Sherwood inn is the type of place I'd usually jump at with its cottage style architecture. But the Mirbeau looks great too, and there are internet specials from only $139 a night. Ordinarily we like hiking, but from what I understand the hunting season will be in full swing. Not only do we not want to get shot, but feel a bit sad when we see hunters and would consider that a vacation downer. I imagine we'll be treated to a few "trophies" strapped to cars on the Thru-way.

Still planning the rest, thanks again for your great suggestions. We'll have to find a way to get to ithaca since we love those college type towns, Boulder, Burlington VT etc.

DanB -- Don't stay away from hiking in the state parks because of the hunting season (which I think, starts on 11/17). Ithaca, Watkins Glen, Hammondsport, and Skaneateles are all worth seeing. For ithaca, try this site: www.visitithaca.com. It has all area B&Bs.

You wouldn't believe how much of your day can be passed with wine tasting, and wandering around the quaint towns [Trumansburg (north of Ithaca) is also cute, very small, but cute]. Good luck!

I am probably a couple of days late on this but wanted to add my $.02

Mirbeau is amazing!! That place should be charging $300-400 a room. Consider it a steal and give it a try! You'll love everything about it!