I was fortunate enough to head to the Finger Lake area of New York once again! Visited two years ago (see that blog post here) and this recent trip was to visit colleges in the area (I have a senior!). I stayed with my good friend who lives in the Auburn area and I focused on doing things I hadn’t done my previous trip.

Again, I was plagued with rain while hiking and waterfall searching, but what are you gonna do, right?! You go with it. I drove up and arrived mid day on a Saturday at Watkins Glen State Park. I regretted not going there last trip and it was my number one to do item. I knew it would be busy and was it! That being said, I only waited about two minutes in the parking lot to catch someone leaving and snag a spot (it was $10 to park).

I was starving and was pleasantly surprised by the Watkins Glen cafe and gift shop. We had some sandwiches, and a little coffee for me, used the restrooms, which were quite clean, and set off.

Watkins Glen was mouth droopingly gorgeous. I was in awe around every corner, at every waterfall (there are tons!) and at the beautiful rock formations. Even the wildflowers and greenery cascading down the rocks were mesmerizing. It’s a bucket list place for sure!

My son and I hiked up the gorge trail, following along the water, heading up lots and lots of stairs. The rocks gave us great coverage from the rain :) Once we reached the upper section of the park, Jacob’s Ladder, we climbed those steps (holy cow!) and chose to walk the Indian Trail back down. This helped us avoid the crowds and get back down faster since the rain picked up.

We finished the entire hike, 2.6 miles, in an hour and a half.

From the park I drove an hour to Auburn, stopping at several vineyards along the way. I was reminded just how many are in the area, like thousands of vineyards all along the lakes. I wanted to have a collection of wines to bring home and ended up coming home with about seven bottles. The wineries are all unique and beautiful.

That was the end of the first day and I crashed at my friends house, peacefully sleeping after a happy day. The second day started off with wandering around the town of Skaneateles (pronounced skinny-atlas) on the lake of the same name. My previous trip only involved driving alongside this lake, I wanted to see more. The cutest little downtown area!

I loved walking around the downtown area, shopping and having a snack at the bakery. We have lots of very good apple cider donuts here in Connecticut, but the one I had at the Skaneateles Bakery was the best ever.

From Skaneateles we drove to Aurora on Cayuga Lake. The Aurora Inn is a stunning place! We walked around, had lunch at Fargo Bar and Grill and soaked up some of the history in the area. The old flour mill along the shore was cool to see.

On the drive back to Auburn we stopped in at another vineyard to grab a bottle of their wine. Honestly the names of the ones I stopped at completely escape me right now, there are soooo many! The area is known for their dry red wines, which just so happen to be the type I like. The area has many farms and therefore farm stands on the side of the road. We grabbed some fresh veggies in King’s Ferry. So yummy!

We ended the day walking around Emerson Park and out onto the pier at Owasco Lake. This is the northern tip of the lake.

The last day in the Finger Lakes area involved a trip up to Rochester to see a college and then a drive back to Connecticut in the afternoon. It was a long six hour drive home; I had to keep stopping to stretch. My goal is to next visit the area in summer so I can swim in those clear blue waters!