73 Best Sights in The Finger Lakes, New York

Now part of the National Park Service's Harriet Tubman National Historical Park, the property's simple white clapboard house is where, beginning in 1890, Harriet Tubman tended to elderly African-Americans; the adjacent brick house served as her primary residence. Before Emancipation, Tubman led more than 300 slaves to freedom in the North. At the encouragement of William Seward, an abolitionist who served in two presidential cabinets, she settled in Auburn in the late 1850s. Seward and his family lived on the same road, a mile closer to town. The grounds are open for self-guided tours; house tours are given twice-daily (reservations are not required but are encouraged).

Cornell University's I.M. Pei–designed Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art houses more than 30,000 works of art: American and European impressionist paintings, some contemporary pieces, and an extensive collection of Asian art and artifacts. But the most stunning sight here may well be the unforgettable views of Cayuga Lake. The museum is open 10–5 Tuesday through Sunday; entry is free.

Beautiful Keuka Lake views are one of the draws at this winery built by John and Josephine Ingle in 1977. John Ingle maintains the winery's Ingle Vineyards, which were planted on the western shore of Canandaigua Lake in 1972 and feature chardonnay, cabernet franc, merlot, Riesling, and pinot noir grapes. Heron Hill's winemaker, Thomas Laszlo, oversees the Heron Hill Vineyards, which were planted here in 1968 and include chardonnay and Riesling grapes. The Heron is open from May through October.

Stand on a bridge over the Genesee River, watch and listen to the High Falls cascading 96 feet, and feel the power that drove Rochester's flour mills in the 19th century. The Triphammer Forge, a reconstructed waterwheel, is one of the largest in the state. Frontier Field and Eastman Kodak world headquarters are across the street. The High Falls entertainment district has pubs, clubs, and restaurants, as well as frequent events in summer and a laser show every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

The High Falls Visitor Center has a museum, with interactive exhibits, that give an overview of Rochester history.

Established in 1888, this was Rochester's first public park. Site of the hugely popular Lilac Festival, Highland Park has more than 500 varieties of lilacs. Walking paths crisscross the park and lead to a reservoir that provides an unobstructed view for miles to the south.

The Keuka Lake Wine Trail encompasses nine wineries. Recommended: Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars, Heron Hill, and Ravines Cellars in Hammondsport; Hunt Country Vineyards in Branchport; and Rooster Hill in Penn Yan. Wineries are more or less evenly distributed along the outer edges of the lake.

The Lamberton Conservatory, built in 1911, houses arid desert species and lush tropical vegetation. It's incredibly popular on snowy winter days.

The design studios and factory of this home-furnishings empire occupy a Victorian farmhouse and other attractive buildings on a bluff overlooking Cayuga Lake. A 15-minute studio-tour video plays continuously in the visitor center, where artisan demos are given Friday and Sunday 11–4. You can tour the "farmhouse," a late-1800s Second Empire–style home that's been renovated and decorated with MacKenzie-Childs products. The extensive, 75-acre grounds include gardens, trails, and a shop devoted to MacKenzie-Childs wares.

Twain wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in this study built for him by his sister-in-law and her husband. The octagonal shape was inspired by a Mississippi riverboat pilothouse. The study was moved to the Elmira College campus in the 1950s and is part of the school's Center for Mark Twain Studies. Cross the street to visit the (free) Mark Twain Exhibit to learn more about Twain's connection to Elmira or to buy books in the gift shop.

More than 5,000 years of art is contained within the 14 exhibit rooms at this museum, opened in 1913. Egyptian coffins, medieval tapestries, impressionist paintings, European masters, and African carvings are on permanent display. The collection of American art is strong and regional artists are represented and compete in juried shows here.

Formed by a glacier that left undulating terrain upon its retreat, the 196 rolling acres of this cemetery are as much a park as they are the final resting place for more than 370,000 people. Among the more famous laid to rest here are suffragist Susan B. Anthony and anti-slavery leader Frederick Douglass. The cemetery, dedicated in 1838, is one of the nation's oldest. Many headstones retain Victorian symbols such as the anchor, crown, obelisk, or sheaf of wheat. The city owns the cemetery, but a caretakers group called the Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery offers tours.

Walk through replicas of the human heart and brain; crawl, jump, and slide through the five-floor Science Playhouse; and learn about cave formations exploring the Discovery Cave. The MOST, as it's called, is a hands-on science museum built to entertain and educate. It occupies a former armory and includes an IMAX theater.

Experience the natural history of New York State through exhibits called "Beneath an Ancient Sea," "Where Dinosaurs Walked," and "A World Carved by Ice." Whale and mastodon skeletons, along with audiovisual theater presentations, help prepare museumgoers for hands-on labs featuring fossils, dinosaurs, and ice. The on-site Paleontological Research Institution runs the museum.

Dozens of sailplanes and gliders, dating from the late 19th to the late 20th century, are on display at this museum, part of Harris Hill Park. Movies and exhibits help explain and explore the heritage of gliding. You can even take a sailplane ride ($70; April–November weather permitting; reservations required).

At this waterfront educational center you can attend a dinner hosted by a local winery, take wine or food workshop, watch guest chefs in action, get expert advice on the various wine trails, or peruse the gift shop for locally made honey, pottery, and other food- and wine-related items. The center has more than 400 classes each year for the general public, including wine basics, various types of wine pairing, and cooking classes that focus on local foods. Most are a few hours in length and you can often arrange same-day signups. Drop-in classes are always available on weekends. A tasting room offers wine and beer flights, and the on-site restaurant serves a seasonal menu highlighting local food and wine.

The museum of the Yates County Historical Society is in an 1852 house that was the residence of the Olivers, a well-known local family of physicians. Guided tours lead you through the Victorian rooms and historical exhibits. Revolving exhibits may cover period furniture, costumes and textiles, carpentry and blacksmithing tools, American Indian artifacts, paintings and photographs, and decorative arts.

The showcase of the Charlotte neighborhood, the restored park recalls its days as the "Coney Island of the North." The 1905 Dentzel Carousel ($1) has three rows of animals—pigs, giant rabbits, and giraffes as well as horses—and is one of only about six such Dentzel menagerie carousels still operating in the country. Free concerts are held on Wednesday nights in summer. To get here, take Lake Avenue all the way north until you reach Lake Ontario.

A multicultural approach helps children enjoy the fine arts through masks and puppets, ranging from English marionettes to Indonesian shadow puppets. Performances are given at 11 am on some Saturdays from October to April. The theater also has a storytelling series. Browse masks, puppets, and traditional wooden toys in the gift shop.

The 1829 mansion, run by the Geneva Historical Society, contains period rooms and local history exhibits. It's a good place to orient yourself to Geneva's rich social and cultural history.

Everyone in the family can play with hands-on exhibits that focus on science and technology and their impact on our daily lives, as well as some nature and local cultural-heritage exhibits. Highlights include Light Here/Light Now, an optics exhibit; the interactive Expedition Earth, which delves into how the region was formed; a Seneca Indian exhibit; and the Strasenburgh Planetarium, which presents astronomy and laser-light shows and large-format films about space and Earth.

The museum has the largest collection of Western American art in the East. Art from the 19th and 20th centuries and American Indian artifacts and works show the people, places, and ideas of the West. Kids get to use special interactive backpacks as they go through the displays. The museum occupies an 1893 building, the old city hall, in the historic Market Street district. A Southwestern restaurant is on the premises.

Part of the half-mile loop at this zoo is a treetop boardwalk that allows you to traipse above fields of reindeer and other hoofed animals. You can touch the Asian elephants, which have been bred here for decades. Sand cats, ocelots, meerkats, penguins, red pandas, and Amur tigers reside here, too, along with hundreds of other animals. A reptile house and a free-flight aviary are among the indoor exhibits.

Swim, fish, boat, and walk for miles at this 1,852-acre park on the shore of Seneca Lake. The museum honors the nation's second-largest naval training station during World War II. The Air Force took over the station during the Korean War, and an Air Force Museum, in the same building, tells that story. A boat launch and 120 berths surround the marina, next to a gravel swimming beach. More than 240 campsites are nestled among wooded areas. Tennis courts, playgrounds, and a concession stand, open in summer, are also part of the complex.

Four miles of trails lead through the 220-acre Sapsucker Woods Sanctuary, part of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Bird artist Louis Agassiz Fuertes named the woods after two yellow-bellied sapsuckers he had spotted in the area. A computer touch screen leads you through interpretive displays. The visitor center is open weekdays 8–5 (until 4 on Friday), Saturday 9:30–4, and Sunday 11–4.

A tide-pool touch tank and a two-story kinetic ball sculpture are among the 100-plus exhibits at this hands-on museum catering to youngsters. The Sagan Planetwalk, a to-scale solar-system walking tour around the city, honors scientist Carl Sagan, who taught at Cornell University. Outside there's a wooden playground.

The Jack Rabbit, a wooden roller coaster built in 1920, is the most famous ride at this park on the Lake Ontario shore. Sampling all the water rides, the log flume, the carousel, the bumper cars, and the midway makes for a very full day.

Elaborate woodwork and Victorian furniture decorate the 1855 Queen Anne mansion on Cayuga Street, which is lined with grand homes. A female ghost is said to wander its 23 rooms.

Other wineries near Geneva that are worth checking out are White Springs Winery, Billsboro Winery, and Ventosa Vineyards. For information, contact the Seneca Lake Wine Trail.

More than 30 wineries make up the Seneca Lake Wine Trail. Some favorites are Fox Run Vineyards in Penn Yan, Glenora Wine Cellars in Dundee, and Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars in Lodi.