Explore the Towns, Wineries & Scenic Drives on a Finger Lakes Road Trip
Looking for charming towns, wineries, cideries and scenic drives? This guide covers the communities and local stops that made our Finger Lakes road trip memorable.
Included in this guide:
- Corning
- Watkins Glen
- Ithaca
- Skaneateles
- Fox Run Winery
- Americana Vineyards
- Lakewood Vineyards
- cideries
- restaurants
- shopping
RV living is fun because everything you need travels with you. In a small RV like my truck camper, however, I’m constantly juggling items, unpacking and repacking. Cooking and cleaning can be challenging with so little counter space, which is also why everything must have a home—and return to it after use.
So when I get the chance to avoid messing up my kitchen, enjoy a good restaurant and indulge in a little convenience, it’s a deliciously welcome part of the trip.
The Finger Lakes road trip delivered these little detours beautifully. The towns were absolutely charming and gave us the ideal break in our travels when we needed one. Honestly, it all felt a bit extravagant!
Corning, New York
Our first town stop on our Finger Lakes road trip was actually the city of Corning…where we didn’t eat at all! Our efforts were focused on reaching the Corning Museum of Glass before it closed.
Corning’s identity has been shaped by glassmaking for more than 150 years. In 1868, Amory Houghton Sr. moved the Brooklyn Flint Glass Works from Brooklyn to Corning, where it became the Corning Flint Glass Works. The word “flint” referred to the clear, high-quality glass it produced—not Flint, Michigan. The company later became Corning Glass Works and, eventually, Corning Incorporated.
Over the years, its innovations have included glass for railroad signal lenses and Edison’s light bulbs, Pyrex, CorningWare, fibre-optic cable and the Gorilla Glass now used on smartphones and other devices.
The Corning Museum of Glass opened in 1951 as a gift to the nation marking the company’s 100th anniversary. Today, it holds the world’s most comprehensive collection of glass, tracing 3,500 years of glassmaking history, art and innovation.
There was plenty of parking for our RV, and we caught the shuttle to the museum’s main entrance—but, alas, we were too late.
We weren’t too late to wander through the enormous museum store, though. It was filled with beautiful glass created by a variety of artisans, and I probably spent the most time admiring the huge selection of Christmas ornaments and exploring the CorningWare section.
CorningWare itself began with a fortunate laboratory accident. In the early 1950s, Corning scientist S. Donald Stookey was experimenting with photosensitive glass when a furnace became much hotter than intended. Instead of melting, the glass crystallized into an unusually strong, heat-resistant material. That discovery became Pyroceram, the glass-ceramic used to create the nearly indestructible CorningWare dishes introduced in 1958.
After getting our fill of the beautiful—and the practical—we walked back to our camper and hit the road again.
I hadn’t expected to stop in Corning until I realized how close we were. As a result, I knew about the Corning Museum of Glass but nothing about the rest of the city.
If I go back, I’ll be sure to visit the Gaffer District. Named for a master glassblower, Corning’s downtown district has a Market Street lined with restored brick buildings, independent shops, galleries, restaurants and cafés.
I nearly had a heart attack when I discovered that the Rockwell Museum was there—until I realized it wasn’t that Rockwell.
The museum isn’t dedicated to Norman Rockwell. It grew from the collection of local business owners Robert and Hertha Rockwell and now explores the American experience through Western American, Native American and contemporary art. It is also a Smithsonian Affiliate, so I would still like to return to see it.
And, of course, I still need to see the Corning Museum itself!
Watkins Glen, New York
From Corning, we drove north to the village of Watkins Glen.
This was my perfect town: it was easy to find street parking for our oversized rig, we didn’t have to hike miles from our parking spot to reach the centre of town, the shopping was interesting and the food was yummy.
I stopped at The Blackberry Inn Kitchen for a coffee and couldn’t resist trying its lox and bagel.
OMG.
It was 1,000% better than any I had eaten before. I can honestly say it was the best lox and bagel I’ve ever had in my life! I only wish I didn’t have to travel so far to get another one.
Watkins Glen also has a helpful visitor center filled with information about the area, including a room dedicated to the Watkins Glen Grand Prix.
The village has a surprisingly important place in American motorsport history. Its first Grand Prix was held in 1948 on a 6.6-mile course that ran along public roads and directly through Watkins Glen. Spectators watched from lawns and sidewalks as the race cars sped through the village.
After several accidents—including a fatal crash involving a young spectator in 1952—the races were moved away from the village. A purpose-built track opened southwest of Watkins Glen in 1956 and evolved into Watkins Glen International, which has hosted Formula One, NASCAR, IndyCar and endurance racing.
Information on the races can be found in the visitor center, too.
Ithaca, New York
By the time we arrived in Ithaca, New York, we were ready for some big-city fine dining and souvenir shopping on our Finger Lakes road trip.
A little research led us to Ithaca Commons, a four-block pedestrian shopping area in the heart of downtown. What that research didn’t tell us was how difficult it would be to park an oversized rig anywhere nearby. There barely seemed to be room for a normal-sized vehicle.
We drove in ever-widening circles but never found a place where I felt comfortable pulling in—or leaving the camper while we hiked back to the pedestrian mall.
We decided to change gears and explore the Cornell University campus instead. Unfortunately, we kept encountering construction, and because I hadn’t researched the route ahead of time, we were navigating by best guesses. Wandering around an unfamiliar city in an oversized vehicle was a little too nerve-racking, so we eventually gave up and headed out.
Ithaca became the stop that wasn’t.
Until we saw the waterfall—but that part of the story belongs in my Finger Lakes natural wonders post.
Skaneateles, New York
Skaneateles may be the ideal lakeside town to visit on a Finger Lakes road trip. It wraps itself around the northern tip of Skaneateles Lake, with shops, restaurants and small waterfront parks all within an easy walk.
We arrived early in the day, so parking was a breeze—even in our oversized rig. We pulled into one of the spaces along U.S. Route 20 near St. James’ Episcopal Church and Thayer Park. If your timing is right, you may even get to hear the church bells.
The St. James’ congregation was organized in 1816, and its first dedicated church was built beside the lake in 1827. That original wooden building had a square tower containing a clock and bell. It was taken down in 1873 to make way for the stone church that stands there today, which was dedicated in 1874.
After parking, we leisurely made our way toward the center of town. I stopped at Vermont Green Mountain Specialty Company, ordered a delicious mocha and drank a few sips while drooling over the chocolate displays.
We continued window-shopping until we decided it was time for breakfast. On our way to Clover’s, we passed a line that stretched outside Skaneateles Bakery. We opted for a relaxing breakfast at Clover’s instead, where I could connect to the internet and charge my computer before we moved on.
When we came out, the bakery line hadn’t gone down. It was even longer and stretched past the front windows.
I finally stopped to ask a father standing in line with his very excited children what the draw was. He told me the bakery was known for its coffee and baked goods. If I hadn’t been so full, I would have joined the line too.
I’m sharing this so you know to head there first—and don’t fill up somewhere else as I did!
We walked off breakfast along the pier and through Clift Park, one of three small parks preserving public access to the village waterfront. Skaneateles has drawn visitors to the lake since the 19th century, when rail passengers arrived in the village and continued their journeys aboard steamboats travelling between communities along the shore.
Beside Clift Park is Shotwell Memorial Park. Its size and collection of plaques seemed surprisingly extensive for such a small village, but I later learned that the park preserves the names of local veterans across generations.
The veterans’ park was dedicated on Memorial Day in 1936, when a large plaque honouring approximately 200 Skaneateles residents who served during World War I was unveiled. Over time, memorials were added for those who served in the War of 1812, the Spanish-American War, World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the War on Terror. What initially appeared to be one memorial was really a record of more than two centuries of dedicated military service from this small community.
From there, we returned to Thayer Park, where we found a bench beneath some crooked cedars beside St. James’ Episcopal Church and sat looking out over the lake.
The view, peace and quiet felt like such a gift—a chance to pause and reflect.
And then the church bells tolled.
It was a lovely way to awaken from our reverie and continue our road trip.
Local Wineries on the Finger Lakes Road Trip
I do love my red wine, so I’m always excited to taste wines from new regions. I’ve gone wine-tasting in two countries, but I had no idea the Finger Lakes was a wine region—or how extensive it was—until I arrived and visited the Watkins Glen Visitor Center.
The map I picked up showed winery after winery spread around several of the lakes. There were so many that it was difficult to decide which ones to visit on this Finger Lakes road trip.
“Why not visit them all?” is what any true wine lover would ask.
Well, I prefer to drive my own rig, so I had to choose carefully. If I could visit only two wineries for tastings, I wanted them to offer the best possible experiences.
I turned to my trusty researcher, ChatGPT, and asked the platform to recommend wineries based on my criteria: highly rated wines, good food and beautiful views.
Lakewood Vineyards
Award-winning wines and a view led us to Lakewood Vineyards on the western side of Seneca Lake.
The winery was quiet when we arrived, and we walked past beautiful gardens and a lovely outdoor seating area. Rows of grapes covered the hills as they dipped toward Seneca Lake. I couldn’t actually see the lake, but I knew it was there.
I paid for a flight and began tasting Flight A, its dry-wine grouping. Most of the wines were lighter than the reds I usually prefer, but Long Stem Red stood out as my favorite.
My lovely tasting-room host was helpful and conversational, sharing the history of Lakewood Vineyards while I worked my way through the flight.
The Stamp family moved to Lakewood Farm in 1951, when the property was still a struggling peach and apple orchard. They began planting grapes the following year and sold their first crop to Welch’s Grape Juice Company in 1955. Our host told me that the farm once grew all its grapes for Welch’s and that it still supplies the company with a portion of its harvest today.
During the 1980s, the family began adding new grape varieties with the hope of eventually making its own wine. Lakewood produced its first vintage in 1988 and opened to the public the following year. Today, three generations of the Stamp family work together on the farm and at the winery.
There was also a lovely story behind all the roses I had noticed.
In 1965, when First Lady Lady Bird Johnson began her campaign to beautify America’s roadsides, Frank and Lucy Stamp planted a row of roses along Route 14. In 1974, Lucy sent Lady Bird Johnson photographs of the roses in bloom and received a letter commending the family for its contribution to a more beautiful America.
The roses became a local landmark and eventually the Lakewood Vineyards logo. A rose now appears on every wine label—and inspired names such as Long Stem Red, the wine I most enjoyed.
Fox Run Vineyards
The second winery I chose from ChatGPT’s recommendations was Fox Run Vineyards. My criteria were good food and a beautiful view, along with highly rated wines.
We got all three.
We continued north along the western side of Seneca Lake, descending until we were nearly level with the water.
Fox Run reminded me more of the California vineyards I had visited. A large artistic entrance gate and sculptures welcomed us to the property. A patio extended into the vineyards on one side of the building, while a deck overlooked Seneca Lake on the other.
Fox Run seemed much larger and busier than Lakewood—or perhaps it only felt that way because we arrived at lunchtime and it was one of the few wineries in the area serving a proper lunch.
I found parking for our oversized rig beside a small tour bus and wandered inside to look around. I could have pulled up to the tasting bar and tried another flight, but what I really wanted was a lovely glass of red and a delicious lunch.
My husband ordered a fancy flatbread. I chose the age-old combination of French bread, aged cheese and a glass of red wine, which we enjoyed on the deck overlooking the lake.
Fox Run has an extensive lunch counter offering cheese boards, flatbreads and sandwiches, along with wine by the glass or bottle. There’s even macaroni and cheese for the little ones.
Americana Vineyards
I had no intention of visiting another winery—especially first thing in the morning before breakfast!
As we headed toward Taughannock Falls, we cut through the Interlaken area. I began searching for a local coffee shop as soon as we left our campsite, but there wasn’t much available, and the few places I found were closed.
Then I spotted a café listed on Google Maps at Americana Vineyards.
Great, I thought. Breakfast and coffee.
Not so fast.
The café was closed, and no Americana breakfast was being served. The winery itself was open, though, and completely empty. Apparently, people don’t usually taste wine in the morning!
We were starving, so we settled for cheese and grapes that had been carefully arranged on small plates and stored in the refrigerator.
Americana is the perfect name for this winery. Walking into its tasting room feels like stepping inside a barn from another time—which is exactly what it is.
The tasting room and gift shop occupy a restored swing-beam barn originally built in the 1820s about five miles from its present location. When the barn was threatened with demolition, it was carefully dismantled and reconstructed board by board on East Covert Road. Americana later became one of the founding members of the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail.
The person helping us explained that the business had not fully recovered from the disruption of the COVID shutdowns and was only beginning to get everything running regularly again. That explained the closed café and unusually quiet atmosphere we encountered. The winery is now under new ownership and describes this to be a year of remodelling and reopening, so the experience may be quite different when you visit.
As we were preparing to leave, I noticed a large container resembling a slushie machine. Red and white mixtures swirled around inside it.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Wine slushies.”
And that is how, instead of beginning my morning with my usual coffee, I went into full vacation mode and started the day with a red wine slushie.
It was the perfect cooling drink on a morning that was already becoming hot and sticky. Wine slushies should be standard drinking during the dog days of summer!
Next Finger Lakes Road Trip; Someone Else Can Drive
We passed several cideries along the way that I would have loved to visit too, but there is one small disadvantage to travelling with your home on your back: someone still has to drive it.
Trying to explore the Finger Lakes wineries and cideries while remaining responsible behind the wheel meant choosing only a few places to stop. Although that gave us three very different winery experiences, it also left me wondering about all the places we passed.
Next time, I would stay in one location for a few days and book a wine tour. With someone else doing the driving, there would be no need to choose quite so carefully—or worry about tasting and driving.
There would also be more time to return to the places we missed: the Corning Museum of Glass, the Gaffer District, the Rockwell Museum and perhaps even Ithaca Commons, once I figure out where to park the camper.
That may be what I enjoyed most about our drive through the Finger Lakes. Even after charming towns, lakeside parks, local restaurants, wineries and one unexpectedly appropriate breakfast wine slushie, the region still gave me plenty of reasons to return.
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