Where to Stay in the Finger Lakes for Wine Tasting

Which Wineries Do You Want to Visit?

Due to the sprawling nature of the region and mostly rural backroads connecting the lakes, it should be no surprise that the biggest deciding factor of choosing where to stay in the Finger Lakes should be the wineries you want to visit.

It doesn't make a lot of sense to stay on Cayuga Lake if you want to spend all of your time wine tasting on Keuka Lake, as the drive times between Ithaca and Hammondsport can be more than an hour each way. Similarly, the larger lakes, Seneca and Cayuga, also have about an hour-long drive time from opposing ends.

All of this adds up to a lot of car time for those who are moving not only from lake to lake but from the northern end to the southern end of any single lake as well. And that is before you factor in additional time driving around once you get there!

So, the first thing to consider is which Finger Lakes wineries you may want to visit and work backward. If your research shows you want to spend more time exploring wineries on Seneca Lake, then perhaps staying on (or near) Seneca Lake would make sense. The same is true for Keuka Lake, Cayuga Lake, or anywhere else you may want to visit as the core component of your trip.

If your research into Finger Lakes wines comes back to producers on all three lakes, then we would defer to perhaps recommending considering staying near the northern or southern end of any given lake (again, favored to the side the wineries are closest to), if only because that also gives you accessibility to drive not only on both sides of the lake that your accommodation is on, but to travel east and west on back roads as well.

Still, if you are planning a trip focused predominantly on wineries, you may save yourself a headache by letting the lake you plan to be on be the driving factor on where to stay. It is really that simple.

What Other Activities Do You Want to Enjoy?

Moving away from wineries for a moment, we would be remiss if we didn't point out that there is a lot to enjoy in the Finger Lakes outside of wine, with the region's beautiful nature being near the very top of the must-see lists.

Seneca Lake is home to Watkins Glen State Park next to its southern shore and is a must-visit for virtually all visitors to the region. Ithaca, home to Cornell University and an array of city amenities and businesses, can be found at the southern shore of Cayuga Lake. Some of the Finger Lake's best waterfalls are found near Cayuga as well (don't miss Taughannock Falls and Robert H. Treman State Park). The city of Corning is also found about 30 minutes south of Seneca Lake and Keuka Lake and just under an hour from Cayuga Lake, too, giving visitors the ability to check out the world famous Corning Museum of Glass (seriously don't miss it if you have time, it is stellar, but you'll need the better part of a day to enjoy it all).

These are just a few of the many, many non-wine activities that you can enjoy when visiting the Finger Lakes. But, much like with the wineries, the recurring theme of driving distances strikes yet again.

Want to stay on the northern end of Seneca Lake but visit the Corning Museum of Glass? That'll be an hour each way. Want to go from Hammondsport to Taughannock Falls State Park near Cayuga Lake? Another hour.

We could go on.

Lake Views or Town as a Base?

In fact, we could extend the above commentary even further and ask a follow-up question- do you stay to be in a town/city or be on a lake with a view?

Amenities and, of course, driving distances are still the biggest concerns here. Being remote with a view of a lake is stunning, but consider distances to nearby towns and dining options if you do not plan to eat in. Personally, if we were to go the route of booking something with a view, we'd probably try and find something within 5-10 minutes' drive from the nearest town simply to have more amenities within a short drive and to minimize driving on rural roads at night.

That said, there are many restaurants found along the lakes, so this one isn't too big of an issue, but is just worth noting depending on what your driving tolerance will be like, particularly towards the end of the day after wine tasting.

A great compromise for those who want both is finding the premium lake-front hotels in, or just outside, popular towns. These often come at a significant premium for having both views and proximity to a town center but are a great compromise for those who want to splurge. We love the Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel on Seneca Lake, for example, because it offers the best of all worlds!

Most of the towns have similar higher-end lakeside hotels to consider, depending on what lake you're looking at. But, as always, they come with a price attached!

Our Ideal Location – Southern Seneca Lake

Ultimately, after visiting the Finger Lakes several times over the years (and staying on the major wine lakes at least once), we've come to one logical conclusion that we will abide by for the foreseeable future- stay near Seneca Lake. Particularly near the southern shore of Seneca Lake.

Why? Well, let's list off the perks!

First, and perhaps most importantly, we find Seneca Lake to be the premier AVA of the Finger Lakes and is home to some of our personal favorite wineries. That isn't to say that wineries on other lakes are bad (far from it), but rather that some of our favorites, like Boundary Breaks, Hermann J Weimer, Standing Stone, Damiani, Anthony Road, and many, many more can be found along the southern half of the lake.

Going even further, many of these are found in southeast Seneca Lake's acclaimed “banana belt,” which has some of the best soil and microclimate in the region. To no one's surprise, many of our favorite wineries can be found here, and staying in the south simply provides great access to these spots that we most assuredly visit every single time.

Second, the accessibility to nearby lakes and attractions is unrivaled. We've alluded to this many times in this article, but when driving around the Finger Lakes, many drives are often around 30 minutes, 60 minutes, or, in some cases, much longer one-way. Southern Seneca Lake in particular gives the most driving distances within that 30-minute timeframe, with the exception being driving to the northern end of Seneca Lake (it's that big)!

Want to visit Watkins Glen? If you're in the south, you're only a few minutes away. Want to hit the other lakes? You're 30 minutes to the closest shore (plus, naturally, more time to get to any winery you're looking at). Want to visit Cornell? About 30 minutes. Taughannock Falls? About 30 minutes. The Corning Museum of Glass? About 30 minutes. This checks a lot of boxes for us, but your itinerary may vary.

Third, in being on one end of the lake, you can have easy access to drive up both sides of the lake, allowing for strategic visiting of wineries with one day on the western side, one day on the eastern side, and additional days on the other lakes. Much like other points here, it helps reduce the backtracking you may have to do when popping around wineries and lakes. Staying midway up a lake and driving over an hour to reach the other shore can be a chore!

Finally, we would be remiss if we didn't point out that this one is simply a decision of proximity. We like most of the small towns along the lakes, and even enjoy the broader amenities in Ithaca. It isn't that much of a stretch to justify staying along another lake. We are just personally not ones to enjoy excessive driving, so our strategy is primarily picking the best location in terms of proximity.

Will you have a great time if you stay in Ithaca? Hammondsport? On the shores of the lake? In Penn Yan? Or Geneva? Honestly, the answer is more than likely a resounding yes for all of these. We'll be the first to admit that this entire analysis really hinges on how averse you are to extra drive times, because in the Finger Lakes, that really is one of the biggest issues to consider.

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