Where to Stay on the Finger Lakes Wine Trail

Seneca Lake has dozens of wineries, with tasting rooms a few miles apart along Route 14 on the western shore and Routes 96A and 414 on the eastern shore. Most lodging is at the two ends of the lake: Geneva in the north, a small college city with hotels and inns such as Belhurst Castle, and Watkins Glen in the south, with the state park gorge, the racetrack and a wider range of lower-priced lodging. Between them, the east shore has small inns among the vineyards, such as The Fox and the Grapes in Lodi and Stonecat Café & Rooms in Hector.

Cayuga Lake, about 38 miles long, has wineries along both shores, most of them on Route 89 on the western side between Ithaca and Seneca Falls. Ithaca, at the southern end, home to Cornell University and Ithaca College, is the lake's main lodging center, with inns including Argos Inn and The William Henry Miller Inn. North of Ithaca, Inn at Taughannock Falls overlooks the lake from inside the state park, and on the quieter eastern shore, The Inns of Aurora fill five restored 19th-century buildings.

Keuka Lake is shaped like a Y, with its two northern arms meeting at Bluff Point and its southern tip at Hammondsport. Keuka has fewer wineries than Seneca or Cayuga, but Hammondsport is where the region's wine industry began: Pleasant Valley Wine Company was founded there in 1860. Hammondsport is the main base, a small village with inns such as The Black Sheep Inn and Keuka Lakeside Inn, and the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum. Penn Yan, at the northeastern tip, is closer to Seneca Lake's wineries.

Most Finger Lakes lodging is B&Bs, small inns and vacation rentals, with few large hotels outside Ithaca, Geneva, Watkins Glen and Canandaigua. A few inns sit among vineyards, but most visitors stay in a village inn or a rural B&B and drive to the wineries. The fall harvest, in September and October, is the busiest time, and weekend rooms are scarce then.

For a trip centered on wine, Seneca Lake puts dozens of wineries within a short drive, from a base in Geneva, Watkins Glen or the east shore. Cayuga Lake suits travelers who want Ithaca's restaurants and gorges or have a reason to visit Cornell, and Keuka Lake suits travelers who want a quieter lake with a long wine history. The lakes are close enough that a base on Seneca allows day trips to Keuka and Cayuga.