SENECA LAKE TRAVEL GUIDE

Way, way up in the northern, more remote part of New York (the state, not the city…yes, believe it or not there really is more to the state than just the city! Ha!) there is a beautiful lake region known for great hikes and wonderful wine aka two of mine and Dave’s favorite things. So, around this time (mid-September), a few years back (yes, I’m aware this post is way over-due. *insert palm to forehead*), when we decided we wanted to go on a little Upstate getaway (like real upstate, not just an hour outside of the city upstate) we knew it would be the perfect spot to go. We packed the car up and set out about 5 hours northwest of the city for a few days on a Finger Lakes Getaway with plans to spend our time focusing on exploring Seneca Lake.

Seneca Lake happens to be the largest of all the Finger Lakes and, among its many claims to fame, it also happens to be known as the lake trout capital of the world (File that under: random facts you didn’t need to know, but now do. You’re welcome.), although I can neither confirm nor deny that fact as I neither saw, fished for nor ate lake trout while in the area.

As far as I am (and probably you, too) concerned, the claim to fame I care about is the region’s wine. They’re known for having incredible Rieslings (one of my personal favorite varietals of wine) and Gewürztraminers, as well as Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc and Merlot, among others.

So I may have missed out on the lake trout (A real bummer! Ha!), however, what I did not miss out on is sipping on some delicious wine, as well as hiking, visiting some of my favorite farm animals, enjoying lots of yummy food from the many local restaurants and farms, and just generally embracing and fully enjoying the slower pace of life. And while I’m sure the region is lovely no matter when you visit, I truly can’t recommend it enough at the time we went in early fall. The weather was beautiful, with warm, sun-kissed days and cool evenings, the foliage was peeking through and it wasn’t too crowded. It was truly such a relaxing little slice of heaven that felt like it was millions of miles away from New York, and I can’t wait to go back and explore it more one day. In the meantime, keep reading for more about our two day Finger Lakes getaway.

FINGER LAKES GETAWAY: EXPLORING SENECA LAKE

WHERE WE STAYED

SENECA SOL GLAMPING

This trip seemed like as good of a trip as any to dive into glamping. Aka Dave suggested glamping, and I said “Do I even have a choice?” and well, you can guess what his answer was based on where we stayed! Ha! Ok, but in all honesty, Dave actually found us a great spot, on a small campground right near Seneca Lake. The facilities were super clean, everything was brand new (when we stayed) they had a walking trail on the property itself, there was a fire pit going every evening and fresh breakfast and hot coffee served every morning, the owners/hosts gave amazing local recommendations (aka pretty much all the recommendations I'm sharing with you came from them) and they were just all-around very friendly hosts. Overall, everything was truly wonderful and I really couldn’t have asked for a better first glamping experience. If you want to know more, you can read all about our first glamping experience here.

If you’re looking for a home rental or more of a traditional b&b or hotel stay, here are a few other options for where to stay in and around the Seneca Lake area-

WHAT WE DID

LIVELY RUN DAIRY FARM

This is a goat farm. Need I say more? Like if you know me, you know someone says goats and I’m there. No questions asked. Dave even said to me that if we take time to go to the goat farm we might not make it to all the wineries we wanted to go to and I was like “Wineries? What wineries?!” The goats are all I need! Ha! And don’t worry, if you’re slightly less enthusiastic about goats than I am, they also do tastings of their delicious cheeses ($6 per person to taste all 10 of their cheeses paired with local honey and preserves) and a gift shop where they sell their cheese, goat milk products, local provisions and more. In case it wasn’t clear, I can’t recommend this enough! (And, as I’m sure you can’t tell by these photos below, I was not at all excited to be at this farm! Ha!)

HIKING

There’s no shortage of great hikes around the Finger Lakes (in fact, if you stay at Seneca Sol, they even have hiking trails on the property), but the most well-known spot in the area is Watkins Glen State Park (I’m sure you’ve seen the infamous waterfall on the ‘gram). If you’re short on time, and can only do one hike, this is definitely a great spot to pick. But whatever you do, make sure you come here early! There are so many tourists and tour buses that come in just to see the falls that part of this hike can feel a little less like, well a hike, and more of a miserable game of waiting in lines and attempting not to get pushed over the edge by some rude person (I’m only partially kidding about that last part! Ha!). But the falls are pretty, so there's that. And they’re definitely worth it if, like I mentioned before, you get there early enough.

FARM STANDS

As I’m sure you can expect, being in the country, there are plenty of farms. So many of them have roadside stands where you can stop to buy produce, or, like Lively Run Dairy, they even have a small shop where you can pop in to buy some of the provisions that they grow/harvest/make. Some are better marked than others, so keep your eyes peeled for signs and stands and be prepared for a spontaneous stop or two while you’re driving around.

WHERE WE ATE + DRANK

RESTAURANTS

STONE CAT

This restaurant was recommend to us by our glamping hosts and it did not disappoint. It’s low-key and chill, but it gets packed so be sure to make a reservation if you can. And, while it’s not a bbq joint by any means, the menu definitely leans a bit more bbq-focused, but like elevated bbq (for example, I got the pulled pork plate that came with fresh cornbread and a delicious dill coleslaw). However, there are still plenty of other non-bbq options on the menu. One thing I particularly liked about this place was their emphasis on using local provisions and produce (for example, you’ll notice goat cheese from the goat farm I mentioned up above, on several of their dishes). They also have live music on some evenings and they do offer take-out as an option, as well.

F.L.X WIENERY

Another glamping host recommendation that did not disappoint; they have fresh in-house made sausages, hot dogs, burgers, french fries, poutine, spicy onion rings, fried cheese curds, milkshakes, deep fried oreos and so much more. There are a lot of unique options and flavor combinations, like the peanut butter burger, k-town fries or the bacon & brown sugar milkshake. But don’t worry, if toppings aren’t quite your thing, you can also order standard burgers, hot dogs, fries and milkshakes. And they even have vegetarian/vegan options. Great fast, relaxed, no-frills spot if you need to grab quick, casual bite for lunch or dinner in-between wine tastings, after hiking, etc. (we stopped for lunch on our way out of town). But if this doesn’t sound like your kind of thing, don’t worry.

The team behind this spot has a variety of other restaurants in the area, including F.L.X. Provisions, where you can go to pick up wines as well as local provisions, which is perfect if you’re planning a picnic or you don’t want to eat out for a meal (although they do have some bites and charcuterie items you can enjoy there), and, for a more traditional dining experience, you can check out their more upscale restaurant, F.L.X. Table (we really wanted to go here, but, with limited seats available, they get booked up in advance and quickly, so, if you’re planning to go, be sure to make reservations as soon as possible). Since we last visited the restaurant group has expanded to included a few other spots around the area- The Maillard Club, which is a restaurant focused on wood fired cooking, The Quincy Exchange, a modern bistro, a brewery, Culture House and even a winery, Element Winery.

WINERIES/BREWERIES

TWO GOATS BREWING

I think there might be more breweries and wineries around the Finger Lakes region than there are people, so trying to select which ones to actually go to is a bit of a challenge. However, since we’ve established by now that I can’t say no to anything to do with goats, it was a no brainer to come here purely based on the name alone (if only choosing the other wineries we stopped at was so easy…). But this brewery actually ended up being one of my favorite spots of the whole trip. It was super chill, everyone was incredibly friendly and it just had a great local vibe (which, if you know us, you know we always prefer a local vibe to a touristy one). The beer was great and reasonably priced, they had free popcorn to snack on (at least when we were there), live music and a back deck that allowed you to enjoy your beer while watching the sunset over the lake. Easy, chill, perfect! Oh, and don’t miss their signature beef-on-weck sandwich (it’s the only item on their food menu besides a hummus sandwich for vegetarians).

WINERIES

With so many wineries in the area to choose from (there are 29 on the Seneca Wine Trail alone and over 120 in the entire Finger Lakes region), it was hard to narrow it down to the ones we had time for. However, they do get booked up with tours, tour buses, etc. so that also helped us make our decision as we had no reservations and just decided to go to them on a whim. I do suggest that if the wineries are important to you, and there are specific ones you absolutely want to visit, I highly recommend checking each wineries website for specifics of visiting. Some allow you to do tastings without a reservation while others require one, some you can come in and just order a glass of wine but you need a reservation for a tasting, some you can’t go in at all without a reservation, it really varies from winery to winery. Here are the two we chose to go to that didn’t require a reservation-

• RED NEWT CELLARS // We stopped at this lovely winery on the way back from visiting the goat farm. It was a bit later in the day, but we were still able to do a wine tasting before grabbing a bottle of wine and one of their charcuterie boards to enjoy on the deck surrounded by the relaxing countryside setting.

• ATWATER WINE // This winery, located overlooking Seneca Lake, was a completely different vibe than Red Newt. It was a bit more lively (although I’m sure time and day have something to do with that). We didn’t do a tasting here (although you can), but instead chose to just grab a glass of wine to enjoy while watching the sun set over the lake. It was so nice to be able to experience two different wineries, in two different settings, with completely different vibes, and I really liked each one, for different reasons, but I must say, being able to enjoy the sunset over the lake at Atwater was such a beautiful experience and perfect way to end our trip.

One spot we didn’t make it to, which I would have loved to since I really like ciders, is the Finger Lakes Cider House. They have all kinds of ciders, live music, food made with locally sourced ingredients, u-pick fruit, and, you can even stay on the property in a yurt (you know, if that’s your thing). While I can’t vouch for it personally, it seems like it would be an especially great stop for a fall visit to the Finger Lakes.

As far as other wineries, if you need help figuring out which ones to visit, booking tastings, or planning a full itinerary of tastings, I highly recommend checking out the Seneca Lake Wine Trail for a full guide to the wineries (this site is another great resource as well as this one). There are also a plethora of wine tasting tours in the area, including this one and this one.