Fall in the Finger Lakes

There are as many wonderful ways to see fall foliage in the Finger Lakes as there are red, gold, and orange leaves on our trees, just a half day’s drive from Toronto, Montreal, Buffalo, Albany, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New Jersey, and most of Pennsylvania. Here are our favorites: (Please see our complete Google Map of Fall in the Finger Lakes for all these locations and more information.) • From a ridge high above Cayuga Lake...with a breath of crisp cool air filling your lungs, looking down to Ithaca, with the paintbox hills rolling out for miles. There's a great winery - Long Point - about 100 yards away and a terrific hillside bistro - Pumpkin Hill - another half mile to the north. • From a winery terrace...looking through the crystalline depths of a glass of world-class Riesling cupped in the palm of your hand. You are at the Chateau LaFayette Reneau, 140 acres of vineyards, ponds, and woodlands. • From a shale-strewn beach...in a shoreline park, reflected in the ice-blue waters of the lakes. • From the deck of a cruise boat...sailing slowly up along the lakeshore on a fall foliage cruise. • From the shore of a creek...with your fishing fly tumbling down among the rocks. The Conhocton River in Steuben County is one of the premier trout fishing streams in the state. • From the basket of a balloon...gliding through the mist from the great falls of the Letchworth gorge. • From the front porch...of a scenic inn in an historic village with a glass of hot cider warming your fingers and insides. • From a tree stump break...on a hike through the rolling hills and fields on the Finger Lakes Trail. • From behind the wheel...of a vintage racecar running down the main street of Watkins Glen, the original main straight of the historic racecourse. Click here to get details on vintage racing at Watkins Glen this fall. • From aboard an Erie canal boat...cruising past Palmyra, the “queen of canal towns” during "Canaltown Days," September 13-14. • From a vintage railcar…stopping at a lakeside railroad station on the shore of Cayuga Lake. See Finger Lakes Scenic Railway to catch a ride on a historic trail. • From the seat of a bike...beginning the possibly perilous descent to lake level, following the water over 212-foot-high Taughannock Falls, near Trumansburg. • From a stone bridge arching over...a tumbling stream with the leaves falling around your shoulders from the high gorge walls overhead at Robert H. Treman State Park, near Ithaca. All this comes to life in the Finger Lakes: the most beautiful lakes, valleys, and waterfalls surrounding historic villages and rural countryside, with the world-class wines and fresh, local food. The eleven narrow and deep ice-age lakes run north and south through 9,000 square miles of rolling hills and plunging gorges, and the best hiking, sailing, hunting, and fishing to be found. Rochester and Syracuse bookend lively small cities like Auburn, Ithaca and Geneva, and charming small towns like Skaneateles and Canandaigua - places that gave birth to Women's Rights and Abolition and continue to create new ideas today. More than 80 wineries and winemakers produce world's best Riesling and other wines that pair perfectly with the area's abundant fresh and organic food. Learn more about the Finger Lakes are www.fingerlakes.org. See our Google Map of Fall in the Finger Lakes.
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