Falling for the Finger Lakes region

Nature entices visitors to northern New York with 25 state parks. And, with Cornell University at its heart, it's a breeding ground for fine inns, hotels and restaurants.

By JEFF CORYDON

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 8, 2000

[Photo: New York State Economic Development ] Watkins Glen State Park’s 2-million-year-old gorge serves up cooling views of water coursing over rocks.

It was the Ice Age that fashioned the Finger Lakes region, and its winters are fittingly rugged. Once summer comes, though, it offers non-stop outdoor recreation amid impressive natural glory.

Since the last glaciers melted and created numerous lakes more than 2-million years ago, streams have eroded scores of spectacular shale-wall gorges. But it is the lakes that define the region.

Keuka, Cayuga and Seneca, the largest lakes and at the area's center, have circumferences ranging from about 60 to 80 miles. All told, the 11 Finger Lakes' combined shoreline totals about 350 miles.

The Finger Lakes region encompasses 14 largely rural counties between Syracuse on the east, Rochester on the west, Lake Ontario on the north and Pennsylvania's border on the south.

Among numerous public sanctuaries in this area are 25 state parks. Three of them -- on Cayuga, Seneca and Keuka lakes' northern shores -- each offer picnic grounds, swimming beaches and boat ramps, while the Seneca Lake park has more than 200 boat slips. The lakes abound with trout, landlocked salmon and bass.

And Finger Lakes National Forest, between Cayuga and Seneca lakes, is 16,036 acres of woods, well-maintained roads and 25 miles of interconnecting trails.

Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, 35 miles to the north, showcases wetlands including 7,000 acres of restored marshes, a birders' mecca.

The treats of New York If city streets aren't your thing, the Empire State offers more: countryside byways with hamlets and villages and a charming dose of Americana. Falling for the Finger Lakes region Nature entices visitors to northern New York with 25 state parks. And, with Cornell University at its heart, it's a breeding ground for fine inns, hotels and restaurants. Awash in wine A score of western New York's wineries welcome visitors with free tours that are similar in nature. But it's the tastings that define them. Company town reborn Corning, N.Y., reinvents itself as a prosperous marketplace, with nods to its architectural past and its ties to Corning glassware and Mark Twain. If you go Beyond all the longer articles today about western New York, there are still more places worth visiting, and they run the gamut from geologic wonders to a museum of the history of aviation and its place in warfare. Except as noted, these attractions are open year-round, closing for major holidays:

Finger Lakes' playground is a leisurely three-day drive from Tampa Bay via Interstates 95 and 81. By air, it's only hours away. Ithaca, a cosmopolitan college town of 60,000 at Cayuga Lake's southern tip, is an ideal gateway to Finger Lakes country.

Cornell University, sprawled on a ridge "high above Cayuga's waters" and the town, has nourished regional tourism. On campus is Cornell Plantations, a 200-acre botanical garden with lush plantings of flowers, herbs, vegetables, shrubs and trees. Graduates of its famous hotel and restaurant courses regularly open special eateries and B&Bs here.

Few American towns have more dramatic topography. Visitors can get guided field tours at the Paleontological Research Institution, founded in 1932 by a Cornell geology professor. This private "museum of the earth" also researches one of the nation's richest fossil troves and has a fossil collection exceeding 3-million specimens.

Among the natural wonders to explore are the vicinity's waterfalls, including 150-foot Ithaca Falls (right downtown), 10-cascade Buttermilk Falls just to the south and, a few miles up Cayuga's western shore, 215-foot Taughannock Falls, in a state park. One of the highest waterfalls east of the Rockies, its cascade exceeds Niagara's in height.

Don't miss Watkins Glen State Park's falls at the south end of Seneca Lake, which attracted 750,000 visitors last year. The park overlooks its same-name village, where a famed raceway hosts a NASCAR Winston Cup race. Climbing the steep stairs and path carved into the gorge's rim, visitors pass alongside and behind tumbling rapids.

A private group called Finger Lakes Culinary Bounty promotes regional hospitality efforts by farmers, vintners -- this region is second only to California in wine-grape production in the United States -- innkeepers, restaurateurs and others. One goal is developing distinctive, appetizing cuisine based on locally produced foods and wines.

Throughout summer and early fall, hordes of visitors join residents on the scenic wine trails around Cayuga, Seneca and Keuka lakes' 13,000 acres of vineyards. Competition awards won by local vintners prove the product is far better than outdated stereotypes of New York wine would suggest.

The Finger Lakes region's cultural role for over two centuries is fascinating counterpoint for those exploring its recreational pizazz. A sampling of cultural attractions follows (phone numbers are area code 315 unless otherwise noted):

Canandaigua. This upscale bedroom suburb of Rochester at Canandaigua Lake's north end boasts Sonnenberg Mansion and Gardens. Former summer estate of Citibank's founder and his wife, it became a VA hospital site after their deaths, then was opened to tours by an act of Congress. The restored, 40-room Victorian mansion and gardens are at 151 Charlotte St. Call (716) 394-4922 or go to the Web site http://www.sonnenberg.org.

Geneva. Residents here lay claim to "America's most beautiful street," 19th-century South Main Street. West of town on Seneca's shore are two AAA 4-diamond hostelries, Belhurst Castle and Geneva-on-the-Lake (see If You Go). A few miles east is Waterloo village, where Memorial Day was born after the Civil War; the village has a small museum (call 539-9611).

Seneca Falls. The women's rights movement began here in 1848 at convention chaired by local resident Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. Keyed to this are Women's Rights National Historical Park and Stanton's restored home (568-0024; http://www.nps.gov/wori), as well as the National Women's Hall of Fame honoring outstanding American women (568-8060; http://www.greatwomen.org).

Auburn. Anti-slavery activist Harriet Tubman's 180 South St. home was one of the last stops on the Underground Railway for runaway slaves. AME Zion Church has made the house an informal museum (252-2081), lovingly tended by Tubman's great-grand niece, Pauline Copes Johnson. At 33 South St. is the restored estate of the man who bought Alaska for the young United States, then-Secretary of State William Seward (call 252-1283). Both buildings are National Historic Landmarks, as is Frank Lloyd Wright's Willard Memorial Chapel at 17 Nelson St., built in 1894 (252-0339).

Jeff Corydon is a freelance writer who lives in Lutz.

If you go

Getting there: Only US Airways has daily service between Tampa and Ithaca, the best base for exploring the Finger Lakes. Other carriers fly one-stop from Tampa to Syracuse or Rochester. Rental cars are available at the airports.

Staying there: Hotel and motel chains have sites at Ithaca, Corning, Geneva, Canandaigua and Skaneateles. Doubles are usually less than $100, with some exceptions during major events. Some other convenient, quality resorts, inns and B&B's follow, with doubles starting at $75 to $100 except as noted.

Ithaca: Statler Hotel on Cornell campus, (800) 541-2501, http://www.hotelschool-cornell.edu/statler/, is an on-the-job training site for advanced hotel school students. Rooms run $125 to $300; its Banfi Restaurant has a tasty, eclectic menu. William Henry Miller Inn, 303 N Aurora St., (877) 256-4553, has seven antique-studded guest rooms; it was built by Cornell's first architecture student as his home in 1880. Taughannock Farms Inn, north of Ithaca on Route 89, (607) 387-7711, has five Victorian-era rooms and three guest houses across from Taughannock State Park; it offers easy access to the park and a dinner-only restaurant.

Geneva: Geneva on the Lake, Route 14 S, (800) 343-6382, once a Capuchin monastery, has Italian Renaissance architecture, a statuary garden, Seneca Lake view and 30 tony suites ($300 up); its Lancellotti Dining Room is strictly gourmet and, naturally, high-priced. Also on Route 14 S is romantic 1885 Belhurst Castle, (315) 781-0201, whose 13 guest spaces from $125 include an elegant suite in a castle turret over the lake; the expensive restaurant has a classy wine list.

For more information:

Ithaca Tompkins County Visitors Bureau, (800) 284-8422, http://www.visitithaca.com

Finger Lakes Wine Trail Tours, (607) 387-6292

Finger Lakes State Parks, (607) 387-7041, http://www.nysparks.com

Finger Lakes National Forest, (607) 546-4470

Paleontological Research Institution, (607) 273-6623

Cornell Plantations, (607) 255-3020

Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, (315) 568-5987

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