The Finger Lakes announce themselves slowly. Driving west from Syracuse or south from the Thruway, the landscape rolls through farmland that could be anywhere in the rural Northeast — dairy barns, cornfields, roadside stands selling sweet corn and tomatoes. Then the road tips downward, and suddenly a lake appears below you, long and narrow and impossibly blue, filling a valley carved by glaciers ten thousand years ago. Vineyards line the steep hillsides. A stone gorge opens in the forest. A waterfall drops two hundred feet into a green amphitheater. You have arrived in one of the most beautiful and underappreciated regions in the eastern United States.
Eleven glacial lakes stretch like fingers across central New York, carved by ice sheets during the last Ice Age and filled with water so deep and clear that they moderate the surrounding climate enough to grow wine grapes at a latitude where, by all rights, winter should kill the vines. This geological accident — deep lakes acting as thermal batteries, storing summer warmth and releasing it through autumn — created one of the world’s great cool-climate wine regions. The Finger Lakes now host over 130 wineries, and the Rieslings produced here rival those of Germany’s Mosel Valley and France’s Alsace. But wine is only part of the story. The same glacial forces that carved the lakes also carved gorges of staggering beauty, left waterfalls taller than Niagara, and shaped a landscape that combines agricultural richness with wild, dramatic scenery in a way that few American regions can match.
I first visited the Finger Lakes expecting a pleasant wine weekend and found something far more compelling — a region where you can hike behind a waterfall in the morning, taste world-class Riesling with a vineyard lunch at noon, paddle a glacial lake in the afternoon, and eat a farm-to-table dinner made entirely from ingredients grown within thirty miles. The combination of natural beauty, culinary excellence, and genuine hospitality puts the Finger Lakes in the conversation with Napa Valley and the Willamette Valley, at a fraction of the cost and without a shred of the pretension.
Watkins Glen State Park — The Gorge Trail
Watkins Glen State Park is the single most spectacular short hike in New York State, and it is not particularly close. The Gorge Trail — a 1.5-mile path that climbs 832 stone steps through a narrow canyon of layered shale and limestone — passes behind, under, and alongside 19 waterfalls in under two miles. The scale is intimate rather than vast: the gorge walls rise 200 feet on either side, close enough to touch in places, while water cascades over ledges, pools in plunge basins, and mists the air with a cool spray that feels miraculous on a July afternoon.
The trail was first constructed in the 1860s and has been rebuilt and improved many times since, with stone bridges, carved tunnels, and staircases that integrate into the natural rock so gracefully that the human work feels like an extension of the geology. The centerpiece is Rainbow Falls and the Cavern Cascade, where the trail passes directly behind a curtain of falling water through a rock overhang carved by centuries of erosion. Stand there — water thundering inches from your face, stone curving overhead, green light filtering through the mist — and you understand why this park draws over a million visitors a year.
The gorge trail is open mid-May through early November, weather permitting. The most important advice I can give: arrive early. By 10 AM on summer weekends, the parking lots fill and the narrow gorge trail becomes congested enough to diminish the experience. Arrive at 8 AM when the gates open, and you will have the first hour nearly to yourself — the morning light filtering into the gorge, the waterfalls catching the low sun, and the stone walls echoing nothing but water and birdsong.
Stone Cathedral
Watkins Glen's gorge trail winds through 200-foot walls of layered shale, past 19 waterfalls, and behind curtains of cascading water — a 1.5-mile walk through geology measured in millions of years.
Seneca Lake Wine Trail — Riesling’s American Home
Seneca Lake is the deepest of the Finger Lakes at 618 feet, and that depth is the key to everything. The lake never fully freezes, storing enough thermal mass to moderate winter temperatures on its steep hillside slopes and extend the growing season just long enough for Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Franc to ripen properly. The result is the most concentrated wine region in the eastern United States: over 30 wineries line the 40 miles of lakeshore on the Seneca Lake Wine Trail, and the quality of the best producers is genuinely world-class.
Riesling is the star, and it is not close. The Finger Lakes produce Rieslings in every style — bone-dry mineral expressions, off-dry wines with honeysuckle and stone fruit, and lusciously sweet late-harvest and ice wines made from grapes frozen solid on the vine in December. The best dry Rieslings from producers like Hermann J. Wiemer, Ravines Wine Cellars, and Red Newt Cellars can stand alongside anything from the Mosel or Alsace, with a distinctly American personality — bright acidity, citrus and green apple notes, and a mineral undertone that reflects the glacial soils.
A day on the Seneca Lake Wine Trail is one of the most enjoyable things you can do in New York State. The wineries are spaced a few minutes apart along Routes 14 and 414, each with its own tasting room, view, and personality. Some are elegant — Belhurst Castle in Geneva pours wine in a Romanesque stone mansion overlooking the lake. Others are casual — Glenora Wine Cellars has a deck where you can sit with a flight and watch the sun track across the water. Most charge $8-15 for a tasting of five or six wines, and many waive the fee if you buy a bottle.
The practical challenge is driving. Tasting rooms pour generously, and five wineries in an afternoon adds up quickly. Book a guided tour with a designated driver, split driving duties with your group, or pace yourself — three or four wineries per session, with food in between, is the responsible and enjoyable approach. The Seneca Lake Wine Trail Association offers maps and seasonal events, including Deck the Halls in November and Pasta & Wine in February.
Taughannock Falls — Taller Than Niagara
Taughannock Falls drops 215 feet in a single plunge — 33 feet taller than Niagara Falls. The comparison is not entirely fair (Niagara’s volume is incomparably greater), but standing at the base of Taughannock’s sheer drop, looking up at a ribbon of water falling from a ledge that seems impossibly high above you, the number becomes irrelevant. The falls are simply breathtaking.
Taughannock Falls State Park sits on the west shore of Cayuga Lake, about 10 miles north of Ithaca. Two trails access the falls. The Gorge Trail is a flat, easy 0.75-mile walk along the creek bed to the base of the falls — accessible to virtually anyone and the best way to appreciate the scale. The Rim Trail follows the gorge edge for views from above, passing through hemlock forest with overlooks that frame the falls against the gorge walls. Both trails together make a satisfying two-hour outing.
The falls are most dramatic in spring, when snowmelt swells the creek into a roaring cascade that fills the entire amphitheater with mist. In summer, the flow diminishes to a delicate veil that catches the light beautifully. In winter, the falls sometimes freeze into a towering column of ice — spectacular but requiring careful footing on the trail. The park also has a swimming beach on Cayuga Lake, a boat launch, and a concert series on summer evenings that brings live music to the gorge rim.
Corning Museum of Glass — 3,500 Years of Light
The Corning Museum of Glass, in the city of Corning at the southern edge of the Finger Lakes region, is one of those rare museums that genuinely changes the way you see an everyday material. The collection spans 3,500 years of glassmaking — from ancient Egyptian vessels and Roman cameo glass to Art Nouveau masterpieces by Tiffany and Lalique to contemporary sculpture that pushes the medium into territory indistinguishable from fine art.
The live glassblowing demonstrations are the highlight for most visitors. Professional gaffers (the technical term for master glassblowers) work in an open studio, narrating the process as they transform blobs of molten glass into vases, bowls, and sculptural forms. The heat, the precision, and the transformation from liquid to solid art is mesmerizing. The Make Your Own Glass experiences ($20-30) let visitors blow their own ornament or fuse a glass flower, guided by museum staff. These are genuinely hands-on — you work with real molten glass at real temperatures, and you leave with something you made yourself.
Allow at least three hours. The museum is far larger than most visitors expect, and the Innovation Gallery — which traces glass technology from fiber optics to the Gorilla Glass on your phone to the mirrors of space telescopes — grounds the artistry in science and engineering that make the aesthetic beauty feel even more remarkable.
Wine Country
Vineyards cascade down glacial hillsides to the shores of Seneca Lake — over 130 wineries producing Rieslings that rival the world's best, in a landscape carved by ice ten thousand years ago.
Letchworth State Park — The Grand Canyon of the East
Letchworth State Park, on the Genesee River about an hour west of the main Finger Lakes, earns its nickname as the Grand Canyon of the East with cliffs that drop 600 feet to the river below and three major waterfalls visible from easy overlook trails. The park stretches 17 miles along the gorge, and the scale is genuinely surprising for the eastern United States — this is not a gentle river valley but a deep, dramatic chasm with exposed layers of Devonian-era rock and a river that has been cutting downward for millions of years.
Middle Falls, at 107 feet, is the most photographed — especially in autumn when the gorge walls blaze with orange and scarlet maples framing the white cascade. Upper Falls and Lower Falls complete the trio, all accessible via short walks from roadside parking areas. The Genesee Valley Greenway provides longer hiking, and hot air balloon rides over the gorge (offered by Balloons Over Letchworth, $250-375/person) provide a perspective that no trail can match — the gorge opening below you as the balloon drifts silently over 600 feet of vertical rock and forest.
The park’s Glen Iris Inn — a historic Victorian mansion on the gorge rim, built by William Pryor Letchworth himself — serves breakfast and dinner with a view of Middle Falls that is difficult to describe without hyperbole. Reserve a table on the porch at sunset.
Keuka Lake — The Quiet Heart
Keuka Lake is shaped like a Y, the only one of the Finger Lakes with a branching form, and its unusual geography creates a feeling of intimacy that the larger lakes lack. The hillsides are steeper, the shoreline more wooded, and the village of Hammondsport at the southern tip is the kind of place that small-town America fantasizes about being — a walkable main street with an ice cream shop, a craft brewery, a village square, and lake access that feels like it belongs to the community rather than to tourists.
Hammondsport is also the birthplace of American wine. The Pleasant Valley Wine Company, founded here in 1860, was the first bonded winery in the United States. The Keuka Lake wine trail is smaller and quieter than Seneca Lake’s, with about a dozen wineries producing Riesling, Blaufrankisch, and excellent sparkling wines. Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery — founded by the Ukrainian-born viticulturist who proved that European vinifera grapes could survive Finger Lakes winters — remains one of the most important and highest-quality producers in the region. The tasting room overlooks Keuka Lake from high on the western hillside, and a flight of their Rieslings is an education in what this region can achieve.
The Glenn H. Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport tells the story of the aviation pioneer who built and flew some of the earliest aircraft in America right here on the shores of Keuka Lake, rivaling the Wright Brothers in innovation if not in fame. The museum houses restored early aircraft, motorcycles, and local history exhibits.
Where to Eat in the Finger Lakes
The Finger Lakes food scene has quietly become one of the best in upstate New York, driven by the same farm-rich landscape that supports the wineries.
Dano’s Heuriger on Seneca in Lodi serves Austrian-inspired cuisine that pairs perfectly with the region’s Germanic grape varieties. The Wiener schnitzel and braised red cabbage alongside a glass of local Riesling is a meal that makes geographic and gastronomic sense simultaneously. $18-30 per entree.
Red Newt Cellars Bistro on the east side of Seneca Lake pairs their own wines with a seasonal menu that changes weekly based on what local farms deliver. The atmosphere is casual-elegant, the wine list is outstanding, and the kitchen treats local ingredients with the respect they deserve. $20-35 per entree.
Stonecat Cafe on Seneca Lake near Hector serves creative American food in a converted 1850s building with a garden patio. The emphasis on local sourcing is genuine — the menu lists the farms, the portions are generous, and the wine list focuses exclusively on Finger Lakes producers. $16-28 per entree.
The Village Tavern in Hammondsport is a casual, beloved local spot with excellent burgers, lake fish fry, and craft beers. Sitting on the patio overlooking Keuka Lake with a burger and a local IPA is one of the region’s simplest and best pleasures. $12-20 per plate.
Grape pie in Naples — during the September-October grape harvest, the village of Naples (between Canandaigua and Keuka lakes) produces grape pies using local Concord and Catawba grapes. Monica’s Pies is the most famous producer, and the annual Naples Grape Festival in late September is a celebration of this hyperlocal specialty. A whole pie costs $15-20 and is worth every crumb.
Gorge Country
Water carved these canyons over millennia — from Watkins Glen's 19 waterfalls to Taughannock's 215-foot plunge, the Finger Lakes gorges are as dramatic as anything in the American East.
Where to Stay in the Finger Lakes
Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel — The only waterfront hotel on Seneca Lake in Watkins Glen. Lakefront rooms, on-site dining, and walking distance to the village and the gorge trail. $200-350/night depending on season.
Belhurst Castle, Geneva — Romanesque Revival castle on Seneca Lake’s north shore with its own winery, spa, and three restaurants. Stone turrets, lake views, and the feeling of staying in a European estate. $250-500/night.
Black Sheep Inn, Hammondsport — A beautifully restored Victorian bed and breakfast in the heart of Hammondsport village, walking distance to Keuka Lake, the Curtiss Museum, and the village square. Personal attention and local knowledge from the innkeepers. $150-250/night.
Budget options — Airbnb and VRBO rentals around the lakes offer excellent value, particularly lakefront cabins and cottages ($100-200/night). State park campgrounds at Watkins Glen, Taughannock Falls, and Letchworth run $20-35/night. Motels in Watkins Glen and Corning provide basic rooms for $80-120/night in summer.
Practical Details
The Finger Lakes region is spread across a wide area — Seneca Lake is 36 miles long, and the distance between the eastern and western lakes spans roughly 80 miles. A car is essential. The scenic routes circling each lake are two-lane roads with vineyard views, farm stands, and state park pulloffs that make driving part of the experience rather than just transportation.
Cell service is reliable in the towns and along the main highways but can be spotty on rural roads between the lakes. Download offline maps if you are planning to explore back roads and smaller wineries.
Summer weekends, particularly July-August and the October foliage season, bring the heaviest crowds. Watkins Glen State Park parking fills by mid-morning on peak summer Saturdays. Weekdays and shoulder season (May, June, September) offer better availability and lower prices.
The Finger Lakes Trail, a 580-mile hiking trail that crosses the region, connects to the North Country National Scenic Trail for long-distance hikers. Day-hike segments are accessible throughout the region.
Scott’s Pro Tips
- Arrive at Watkins Glen at 8 AM: This is the single most important piece of advice for the Finger Lakes. The gorge trail is magnificent, but it is narrow, and by 10 AM on summer weekends it becomes a shuffling queue. At 8 AM, you will have the waterfalls, the stone bridges, and the mist-filled amphitheaters nearly to yourself. The morning light filtering into the gorge is also far more beautiful than the harsh midday sun.
- Three Wineries Per Session, Maximum: Wine tasting fatigue is real, and it sets in faster than you expect. Visit three or four wineries per session, eat a real meal in between, and save more for the next day. You will remember and appreciate the wines far better than if you marathon seven or eight tastings in an afternoon. Quality over quantity applies here more than anywhere.
- Do Not Skip Keuka Lake: Most first-time visitors focus entirely on Seneca Lake, and while Seneca deserves it, Keuka Lake offers the most beautiful scenery and the most charming village (Hammondsport) in the region. Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery alone is worth the drive. Combine Keuka with a lunch in Hammondsport and you have a perfect half-day.
- October Foliage is Spectacular: The Finger Lakes in October rival Vermont for fall color, with the added advantage of wine trails and gorge hikes. The hillsides ringing the lakes turn gold, crimson, and copper, and the reflection on the water doubles the effect. Book accommodation early — October weekends sell out months ahead.
- Combine with Ithaca: Ithaca sits at the southern tip of Cayuga Lake, 30 minutes from Watkins Glen, and offers its own gorge trails (Buttermilk Falls, Robert Treman State Park), a vibrant food scene, and Cornell University's stunning campus. A Finger Lakes trip that skips Ithaca is missing one of the region's best assets.
- Budget Hack — Grape Pie in Naples: If you visit in September or October, drive to Naples for grape pie. Monica's Pies makes them fresh with local Concord grapes, and a whole pie costs $15-20. Eat a slice on the village green, buy a pie for the road, and you will have found the most delicious $4 you can spend in the Finger Lakes.
The Finger Lakes belong to a rare category of American landscapes — places where the beauty is not diminished by human presence but enhanced by it. The glaciers carved the gorges and the lakes, but the winemakers, farmers, cheesemakers, and chefs who have built their lives on these hillsides have added a layer of culture and craft that transforms scenic beauty into something richer. A glass of dry Riesling on a winery deck overlooking Seneca Lake at sunset, the vineyards dropping steeply to the water, the far shore glowing amber in the last light — this is not just a pretty view. It is the product of deep geological time, agricultural knowledge passed between generations, and a community that has chosen to build something beautiful in a place that the glaciers, with magnificent indifference, happened to carve into exactly the right shape. The Finger Lakes are not trying to be Napa Valley or the Mosel or Burgundy. They are becoming something entirely their own, and the best time to discover them is right now, before the rest of the country catches on.