Hemlock-Canadice State Forest
Two undeveloped Finger Lakes and 6,684 acres of old-growth watershed forest.
Hemlock-Canadice State Forest is the 6,684-acre protected landscape that surrounds the only two Finger Lakes with entirely undeveloped shorelines. The reason is the City of Rochester, which began purchasing shoreline property in the late 1800s to secure its drinking water source and eventually bought out the resort cottages that had once ringed both lakes. The landscape today is what the Finger Lakes looked like before tourism: wild shoreline, old-growth hardwood forest, and tributary waterfalls that most visitors never see. Fourteen miles of marked trails move through the forest. Rob's Trail, built in 2008 by the Nature Conservancy and extended in 2016, now connects Hemlock and Canadice with a single hike. Swimming is prohibited on both lakes. Low-horsepower paddling (under 17 feet, 10 horsepower) is allowed with restrictions. Don't miss: Rob's Trail in October, when the ridgeline view across both lakes is the reason the photographers come. Bring binoculars for the bald eagles.
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A Cayuga Lake brewery and restaurant in King Ferry with a deck overlooking the water, hay fields, and vineyards, plus outposts in Rochester and Syracuse.
Buttonwood Grove Winery
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Estate lakeside tasting room with cabins on the property
Cayuga Ridge Estate Winery
Food Drink
A founding member, a gothic barn, and The Copper Oven pizza
Hosmer Winery
Food Drink
70-acre sustainable estate on the western shore
Lucas Vineyards
Wine
Lucas Vineyards is a winery located in Interlaken, Seneca County, featured on the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail.
Sheldrake Point Winery
Food Drink
Gold Coast limestone soils, dock parking available
Thirsty Owl Wine Company
Food Drink
Walk-in and boat-accessible, with an on-site bistro
Seneca Shore Wine Cellars
Food Drink
The winery that sold its grapes to other Finger Lakes producers for 19 years before deciding to bottle the Gold Medal Riesling itself.
Anthony Road Wine Company
Food Drink
The Martini family's Penn Yan operation since 1989, where the Riesling and Gewurztraminer program is serious enough that reservations are strongly encouraged and group size caps at six.
Miles Wine Cellars
Food Drink
A west-shore winery on a quiet road above Himrod that earns the detour most Route 14 visitors never take.
Glenora Wine Cellars
Food Drink
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Fulkerson Winery
Food Drink
A west shore Seneca Lake farm with roots going back to 1805, where seventh-generation winemaker Sayre Fulkerson also supplies grape juice to home winemakers across the country.
Toast Winery
Food Drink
A dry-vinifera operation on the east shore where the winemaking steps aside and the Seneca Lake AVA does the work.
Lakewood Vineyards
Food Drink
Three generations of Stamps have been farming the west side of Seneca Lake since 1952, opening the winery in 1989 and growing it to 80 acres without leaving the family.