Finger Lakes Hemlock Lake, New York
Hemlock Lake wineries
Hemlock is the Finger Lake with no houses on it. Rochester has drawn its drinking water from here since 1876, the cottages came down from 1895, and the shore is now state forest, with bald eagles nesting at the southern tip. There are no wineries on the lake and, for good reasons, no vineyards. This guide explains how the lake stayed wild, why vines never came, what a morning on it offers, and where to taste: west on Conesus Lake, east around Naples.
October to December 2026
What's on around Hemlock Lake this autumn
Hemlock Lake is a reservoir with no village on its shore, so the season's events are in the towns a short drive away: Geneseo and the Conesus shore to the west, Naples and Bristol over the hills to the east. Every date comes from the organiser's own listing as of ; dates in wine country move, so confirm before you drive, especially for ticketed evenings and the trail weekends, which sell out weeks ahead.
October 11 events
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Fall Festival at Bristol Mountain
· 11 am to 5 pm · Bristol Mountain, Route 64 · $20 with a sky ride (ages two and up); $12 general admission for ages 12 and up, under 12 free
Two days of sky rides, summit hikes, SweeTango apple sampling, a Kids Adventure Park, rock wall, bungee trampolines and aerial park, with live music, food and artisan vendors.
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Fall Sky Rides at Bristol Mountain
· 11 am to 4 pm in October; the mid-station café is open noon to 4 pm; hours for 1 November not posted · Bristol Mountain, Route 64 · $15 booked three or more days ahead, $20 inside three days; ages two and under free; on Fall Festival weekend (10 and 11 October) rides are $20 through the festival ticket
Chairlift rides over the Bristol Hills foliage on Saturdays and Sundays until 1 November, plus Columbus Day Monday, with hikes from the summit and the Morning Star Café at mid-station. Children under 48 inches must ride with an adult.
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Genesee Valley Hunt Races
· 10 am to 4 pm (first horse race 11 am; boutiques, wagon and pony rides to 3 pm) · 3320 Nations Road, off County Route 39, Geneseo · general admission ticket, price not printed on the organiser page; children 12 and under free with a paying adult
Steeplechase racing on Nations Road from 11 am, after the Jack Russell terrier races at 10 am, with wiener dog races, a hound parade, children's activities, wagon and pony rides, a farmers market, food vendors and wine and craft beer tasting; the boutiques and rides run to 3 pm. Leashed dogs are welcome and parking is free.
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Oktoberfest & Fall Market at Hazlitt Red Cat Cellars
· 11 am to 5 pm · Hazlitt Red Cat Cellars, Naples · no price listed
An Oktoberfest afternoon run jointly with Engine 14 Brewery next door: craft vendors and the Macarollin' food truck line the street between the two, live music plays outside from 1 to 4:30 pm, a beer pong tournament starts at 3:30 pm at Engine 14, and the evening carries on there with music from 6 to 9 pm.
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Kids' Pumpkin Decorating at 20 Deep Winery
· four one-hour sessions at 10:30 am, noon, 1:30 pm and 3 pm; the 10:30 session was full by 9 October · 20 Deep Winery, Mendon Ionia Road, Honeoye Falls · $18 per child; adults need no ticket
Four one-hour pumpkin decorating sessions for children aged 2 to 12, with the pumpkin, paint, stickers, googly eyes, glue and apple cider included and the finished pumpkin going home with them. Adults need no ticket and can have a cider mimosa or a glass on the covered patio while the kids work. Each session is capped at 18 children; the 10:30 session was full by 9 October.
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Halloween Celebration at Letchworth State Park
· 11 am to 3 pm · Humphrey Nature Center, Letchworth State Park, Castile · free
A free Halloween afternoon at the park's Humphrey Nature Center, with continuous activity stations and treats at the center and along the Autism Nature Trail. Run by NYS Parks with the Autism Nature Trail and the Friends of Letchworth.
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Halloween Party with Genesee Saw at Arbor Hill
· 5 pm · Brew & Brats at Arbor Hill, Naples · no price listed
A Halloween party at Brew & Brats at Arbor Hill, the brewpub on Route 64 in South Bristol, with Genesee Saw, alongside Arbor Hill's wines, grape pies and sauces. The listing gives no price or further detail.
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The Enchanted Forest at Cumming Nature Center
· 5:30 to 8 pm; check-in from 5 pm; the first half hour is kept for the youngest visitors · RMSC Cumming Nature Center, Gulick Road, Naples · $8 adults and teens, $5 children 12 and under; members $1 off
A family-friendly, not-so-scary night hike: a half-mile loop through pines strung with twinkle lights, meeting a cast of costumed characters and learning about nocturnal wildlife. The 5:30 slot suits younger children. Cider and donuts are sold at the nature center, red cellophane is offered for flashlights, and a carved pumpkin dropped off by 4 pm on Friday 23 October earns a free ticket.
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Wine and Halloween Candy Pairings at Hazlitt Red Cat Cellars
· 10 am to 5:30 pm · Hazlitt Red Cat Cellars, Naples · complimentary with a wine tasting
For three days the Naples tasting room (and the Hector winery) adds a complimentary Halloween candy pairing to the tasting: three wines, each matched with a classic Halloween candy, to see which pairing works best. Winery hours 10 am to 5:30 pm.
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Halloween Costume Party at Deer Run Winery
· time not yet posted · Deer Run Winery, 3772 West Lake Road, Geneseo · price not yet posted
Conesus Lake's oldest operating winery hosts a Halloween costume party on the Saturday night of Halloween itself. The winery has posted the date on its autumn calendar but says tickets and details will follow, so check the events page before you go.
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Halloween Parade in Geneseo
· 6 pm · Village Park to Main Street, Geneseo · no price listed
A parade that gathers at Village Park at 6 pm and heads down Main Street, on Halloween itself.
November 2 events
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Vintner Dinner at Deer Run Winery
· time not yet posted · Deer Run Winery, 3772 West Lake Road, Geneseo · price not yet posted
A Vintner Dinner at the winery on a mid-November Saturday. The winery has announced the date only; menu, price and booking are still to come.
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Holiday in the Valley Christmas Market at the Wadsworth Homestead
· 11 am to 5 pm · Wadsworth Homestead, Geneseo · admission price not listed
A holiday shopping day at the Wadsworth Homestead with 45 vendors of handmade goods inside the decorated 1804 house and under an outdoor heated tent, plus food trucks and specialty cocktails. The homestead is open to tour during the market.
December 7 events
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Candlelight Nights at Deer Run Winery
· time not yet posted · Deer Run Winery, 3772 West Lake Road, Geneseo · price not yet posted
Three Thursday evenings billed as Candlelight Nights at the winery in the run-up to Christmas. Dates are posted; hours, what is planned and any reservation details are still to come from the winery.
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Christmasing in Geneseo
· 6 to 7 pm · Village of Geneseo · no price listed
A one-hour evening gathering in the village on the first Friday of December; the organisers say more details are to come, so check the listing nearer the date.
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Avon Holiday Spectacular on Genesee Street
· 2 to 9 pm · Genesee Street business district, Avon · no price listed
Avon's downtown holiday evening fills Genesee Street with lights, music, family activities, local vendors and artisans, and Santa makes appearances. Overflow parking is at Avon Middle School with a shuttle.
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Family Interactive Christmas Movie Night at Deer Run Winery
· time not yet posted · Deer Run Winery, 3772 West Lake Road, Geneseo · price not yet posted
A Family Interactive Christmas Movie Night at the winery on the first Saturday of December. The winery lists the date and the title on its autumn calendar; the film, start time and any ticketing are still to be announced.
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A Magical Afternoon: Pictures with Santa at the Wadsworth Homestead
· 1 to 4 pm · Wadsworth Homestead, 4 South Street, Geneseo · ticketed; price not yet posted
Santa receives children in the 1804 Wadsworth Homestead on a December Sunday afternoon, with a professional photographer taking pictures and digital files supplied afterwards. Families are encouraged to dress in holiday attire. Tickets will be sold through Valley Ticketing.
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Hometown Holidays on Main Street, Geneseo
· 11 am to 4 pm · Main Street, Geneseo · no price listed
Main Street's Saturday holiday celebration in the village; the organisers say more details are to come, so check the listing nearer the date.
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Breakfast with Santa at the Big Tree Inn
· 9 to 11 am · Big Tree Inn, Main Street, Geneseo · $21 for children 12 and under, $34 for adults
Photos with Santa from 9 am, then a buffet breakfast from 9:30 to 11 am with a hot chocolate station for the children and a cash bar for mimosas and bloody marys for the grown-ups, at the village's historic inn. Tickets are sold on the inn's event page.
Know of a wine, vineyard or family event around Hemlock Lake that belongs here? Send it in and it will be added once the organiser's listing is confirmed.
The Finger Lake that kept its forest
Most of the Finger Lakes have vineyards on their slopes; Hemlock, with Canadice beside it, has forest, and the forest is deliberate. The lake has supplied Rochester's drinking water since 1876, the city bought and cleared the shore from 1895, and since 2010 the whole watershed has been the Hemlock-Canadice State Forest. The result is the only pair of Finger Lakes with shorelines that are, to all intents, undeveloped: no docks, no lawns, no swimming, trees to the water's edge for 7 miles.
For a wine traveller, that makes a different kind of day. Nothing is poured on the lake, since its one historic producer keeps no public hours, so the lake takes the morning, on foot along an old shore road or by canoe, and the wineries take the afternoon: west, about 20 minutes, to Deer Run Winery on Conesus Lake, or east, about 40 minutes, to Naples at the foot of Canandaigua Lake, where four tasting rooms sit within about ten minutes of each other and the village bakes grape pies every autumn.
The wineries nearest Hemlock Lake, on the map
Each pin sits on the winery's street address. The chips show only what a winery states on its own website, and they narrow the list below as well.
Every winery on all eleven lakes, with wine-style filters, saved favourites and suggested stops between one tasting room and the next.
The wineries nearest Hemlock Lake
No winery pours on Hemlock Lake, so these are the twelve nearest by straight line: Deer Run Winery on Conesus Lake; seven around Canandaigua Lake, four of them in or just above Naples; 20 Deep Winery at Mendon, towards Rochester; and three on Keuka Lake, over an hour away. Six of the Canandaigua seven belong to the Canandaigua Lake Wine Trail, a membership organisation of eight: a marketing group, not a quality mark.
Nearest first. Each name opens the winery's own page, with hours, wines and places to stay close by.
Nearest wineries 12 wineries
Drive times are from the hamlet of Hemlock, where Route 15A meets US 20A at the north end of the lake. West is one stop; east is a cluster; Mendon lies on the way back to Rochester; the three Keuka Lake wineries fall inside 25 straight-line miles but belong to a separate trip.
| Winery | Town | Drive | Dogs | Kids | Food | Book online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer Run Winery | Geneseo | Conesus Lakeabout 20 minutes via Route 20A and West Lake Road | Yes | |||
| Hazlitt Red Cat Cellars | Naples | Canandaigua Lakeabout 40 minutes via Route 20A to Honeoye, then County Road 36 and Route 21 to Naples | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Inspire Moore Winery & Vineyard | Naples | Canandaigua Lakeabout 40 minutes via Route 20A to Honeoye, then County Road 36 and Route 21 to Naples village | ||||
| Hometown Wine Company | Naples | Canandaigua Lakeabout 40 minutes via Route 20A to Honeoye, then County Road 36 and Route 21 to Naples village | ||||
| Arbor Hill Grapery & Winery | Naples | Canandaigua Lakeabout 30 minutes via Route 20A and Route 64 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Barrel Necessities at Randall-Standish Vineyards | Canandaigua | Canandaigua Lakeabout 40 minutes via Route 20A and Route 64, then Dugway Road across to Route 21 | ||||
| Raymor Estate Cellars | Bloomfield | Canandaigua Lakeabout 30 minutes via Route 20A, then Routes 5 and 20 east from East Bloomfield | ||||
| 20 Deep Winery | Mendon | Near Rochesterabout 35 minutes via Route 15A and Route 64 to Mendon | Yes | Yes | ||
| Acquilano Wine Cellars | Canandaigua | Canandaigua Lakeabout 35 minutes via Route 20A and Routes 5 and 20 to Canandaigua | Yes | |||
| Stever Hill Vineyards | Branchport | Keuka Lakea little over an hour via Naples to Branchport | ||||
| Point of the Bluff Vineyards | Hammondsport | Keuka Lakeabout an hour and a quarter via Naples to Hammondsport | ||||
| Azure Hill Winery | Hammondsport | Keuka Lakeabout an hour and a quarter via Naples to Hammondsport |
How Rochester's reservoir became the wildest of the Finger Lakes
Hemlock Lake is 7 miles long, about half a mile wide and 91 feet deep, 1,800 acres lying 905 feet above sea level. What set it apart was thirst. Rochester, 24 miles north, wanted clean water that would flow to the city without pumping, and Hemlock, high in its valley, could provide it. An act of 1872 authorised the works, the first Hemlock water reached the city on 24 January 1876, and it arrives by the same gravity conduit today.
Protecting the source meant owning it. From 1895 the city bought the shoreline of Hemlock and then of Canadice, and the hotels, cottages and farms on both were condemned and taken down. The forest grew back over the cottage lots, and in 2010 the state bought the watershed for $13.7 million as the 6,849-acre Hemlock-Canadice State Forest, where swimming, wading and camping remain unlawful and the water is still drawn for the city.
The wildlife came back with the trees. By 1972, the year DDT was banned, New York had a single breeding pair of bald eagles left, and they nested here; their eggs collapsed in the nest, the shells thinned by the pesticide, until biologists slipped captive-bred chicks under them. The male was found shot in 1980, but by then the restoration programme begun in 1976 was releasing young eagles, and one of them took up the Hemlock territory in 1981. Eagles still nest at the south end, and more than 400 acres of old-growth forest on the south-west shore were never cut.
Why there are no vineyards, and what that says about vines
The short answer is the law: the watershed is a public water supply held as state forest, so nobody may clear a slope and plant it. But Hemlock would have been marginal anyway, and the reasons show what the Finger Lakes do for a vine.
Because water warms and cools far more slowly than land, a deep lake holds so much of the summer that it keeps the slopes above it a few degrees warmer on still autumn nights, delaying the first killing frost by weeks, and in spring stays cold long enough to hold the buds back until the danger has passed. The effect scales with volume: Seneca is 618 feet deep and covers 43,343 acres, Canandaigua 276 feet and 10,558 acres, Hemlock 91 feet and 1,800.
Height compounds it. Air cools as it rises, and Hemlock's surface lies 905 feet above sea level, 217 feet above Canandaigua, 190 above Keuka and 460 above Seneca. Riesling ripens late and needs every week of warmth; add a shore wooded to the waterline, and the case for planting here was never strong.
Conesus, one valley west, shows marginal in practice: shallower than Hemlock at 66 feet but lower and broader, it carries the five acres Deer Run Winery farms, which supply about a fifth of its fruit; the rest is bought in. The one grower who did plant above Hemlock had a reason unconnected to climate: Bishop McQuaid founded O-Neh-Da Vineyard in 1872 to secure altar wine for his churches and gave it the Seneca name for the lake. Its vines on the hills above the west shore were left standing when the city cleared the shore, and it still makes sacramental wine from its own grapes.
The walk, the water, the roads and where to base
Everything public on Hemlock is reached from Route 15A, the ridge road on the east side. At the north end, Hemlock Lake Park has picnic tables, a gazebo and fishing from the bank, dogs on a short lead, no swimming. From the north end an old lake road, closed to cars, follows the east shore south for about three miles, level enough for cyclists: the walk to take before the tasting rooms open. Further south off 15A, the Nature Conservancy's Rob's Trail drops 1.5 miles through hardwoods to the shore and links over the ridge to Canadice.
Paddling shows the lake from the middle. Canoes and kayaks under 24 feet launch from gravel ramps at the north-east corner and the south-east corner, the quiet end where the eagles are; motorboats must be under 17 feet with 10 horsepower or less, the water north of the northern launch is closed to boats, and nobody may swim, wade or let a dog in. Fishing is allowed.
For a bed, there is nothing on the lake and no camping in the forest, so choose by direction: Livonia, Lakeville and Geneseo, west along 20A, have the hotels nearest Deer Run Winery and I-390; Honeoye, five miles east, is where the Naples road turns south; Springwater, to the south, is the quiet one; Naples and Canandaigua suit the eastern wineries. Each winery's page here lists places to stay nearby, and the trip-planning guide compares bases.
Where to taste: west to Conesus, east to Naples
The wineries divide by direction, so give the morning to the water and one road the afternoon.
West: Conesus Lake
Deer Run Winery is about 20 minutes away on Conesus Lake, opened in 2003 by George Kuyon, who makes the wines with his son Scott: more than 15, from dry Riesling and unoaked Chardonnay through semi-dry Traminette to the sweet red Max Black, with a dry, oak-aged Marquette and Cabernet Franc at the dry end. The Tankroom Cafe, opened in 2022, serves a full menu and a Sunday brunch, and summer Thursdays bring concerts.
East: Naples and the Canandaigua hills
Hazlitt Red Cat Cellars occupies the former Widmer cellars above Naples, bought in 2011; Red Cat is made here, the tasting comes with popcorn, and a short loop trail climbs through the old Widmer vineyards. On North Main Street, Inspire Moore Winery & Vineyard pours Riesling and Cabernet Franc, and a few doors along Hometown Wine Company opened in autumn 2025 in the carriage house of the 1794 Ephraim Cleveland House, one of the first houses in the village, a walk-in room where a UC Davis-trained winemaker pours dry wines from growers across the country, including traditional-method sparkling. Ten minutes north on Route 64, Arbor Hill Grapery & Winery, founded in 1987 by a Cornell pomologist from Widmer's, was the first winery to release Traminette; it sells grape pie filling and wine jellies, and pours guided tastings Thursday to Sunday, by reservation, in its Brew and Brats carriage barn.
Grape pie is the village's own dish, a custom begun in the 1960s at a village restaurant, and the Naples Grape Festival falls on 26 and 27 September in 2026 with a grape pie contest. Up the lake, Barrel Necessities at Randall-Standish Vineyards pours estate wines on Saturday afternoons, Raymor Estate Cellars opens Saturdays or by appointment, and Acquilano Wine Cellars is in the city of Canandaigua. At Mendon, towards Rochester, 20 Deep Winery grows everything it pours and has made Gamay Noir its signature. The three Keuka Lake wineries, Stever Hill Vineyards, Point of the Bluff Vineyards and Azure Hill Winery, are a different day.
Making the most of a visit to Hemlock Lake
No tasting room on Hemlock Lake keeps public hours, so give the lake the morning, choose one direction for the afternoon, and settle who is driving before the first glass.
- Walk or paddle first. The east-shore road is about three miles each way and level enough for a bicycle; Rob's Trail is a steeper 1.5 miles to the water. Most tasting rooms open between 10 and noon, Deer Run Winery not until noon most days, so there is no need to hurry.
- Pick one direction, and let lunch decide it. West is one stop about 20 minutes away with a kitchen, the Tankroom Cafe at Deer Run Winery. East is Naples, about 40 minutes, with four tasting rooms within about ten minutes of each other and Brew and Brats at Arbor Hill Grapery & Winery for lunch. Doing both means driving back past the lake, so give each its own afternoon.
- Taste for the contrast. Naples spans the Finger Lakes argument within a mile: sweet Red Cat and dry Grüner Veltliner at Hazlitt Red Cat Cellars, semi-dry Traminette at Arbor Hill Grapery & Winery, bone-dry Vermentino and Meritage at Hometown Wine Company. Wherever both are poured, taste a dry and a semi-dry Riesling side by side; the acidity that carries the sugar is the region's signature.
- Check the day before you book anything. Hours are short and seasonal. Arbor Hill Grapery & Winery pours guided tastings Thursday to Sunday by reservation, with a self-guided flight whenever the shop is open; Hometown Wine Company takes no reservations and seats groups of up to eight; several small producers open one or two days a week. Each winery's page here carries its current hours.
- Settle the driving and pick the season. Naples is 40 minutes from the lake and the Keuka wineries over an hour, so nominate a driver who is not tasting. Late September is the moment if you can choose: the harvest is in and the Naples Grape Festival fills the village on 26 and 27 September 2026.
Common questions
Are there any wineries on Hemlock Lake?
None with public hours. The shore has been Rochester's protected water supply since the 1890s and is now state forest. O-Neh-Da Vineyard, on the hills above the west shore, has made sacramental wine since 1872, but by its own calendar it has been open only for private parties since June 2025. The nearest tasting room with regular hours is Deer Run Winery on Conesus Lake, about 20 minutes west.
Why are there no vineyards on Hemlock Lake?
One reason is legal, one physical. The watershed is a public water supply, so the slopes cannot be cleared or farmed. And Hemlock would have been marginal anyway: at 91 feet deep and 1,800 acres it stores far less summer heat than Canandaigua or Seneca, so it does less to hold off frost, and its surface sits 905 feet above sea level, higher and cooler than the big wine lakes.
What are the wineries near Hemlock Lake known for?
West, Deer Run Winery makes a broad, approachable range from dry Riesling to the sweet red Max Black, plus a dry Marquette and Cabernet Franc. East, Naples is contrast itself: Hazlitt Red Cat Cellars pours the sweet Red Cat family beside dry Grüner Veltliner, Arbor Hill Grapery & Winery introduced Traminette and still makes it semi-dry, and Hometown Wine Company pours only dry wines, including traditional-method sparkling, from grapes grown far beyond the region.
When is the best time to visit Hemlock Lake and the wineries nearby?
Late September, if the harvest matters: the grapes come in and the Naples Grape Festival takes over the village on 26 and 27 September 2026. May and June are the quiet months on the lake, the woods at their greenest. Summer brings Thursday concerts at Deer Run Winery and Friday music at 20 Deep Winery. From November several tasting rooms cut back their days, so confirm hours first.
Do I need a reservation to taste near Hemlock Lake?
Mostly not. Arbor Hill Grapery & Winery runs guided tastings Thursday to Sunday by reservation, with a self-guided flight whenever the shop is open; Hometown Wine Company is walk-in only, adults only, for groups of up to eight; Raymor Estate Cellars opens on Saturdays and otherwise by appointment. The smallest producers keep one- or two-day weeks, so the hours matter more than the booking.
Where should I stay for a Hemlock Lake wine trip?
Not on the lake: the shore is protected watershed with no hotels, cottages or campsites. Livonia, Lakeville and Geneseo, nearest Deer Run Winery and I-390, serve the western day; Naples puts you on foot between Inspire Moore Winery & Vineyard and Hometown Wine Company, with inns in the village, and Canandaigua has the larger hotels. Rochester's southern suburbs are 35 minutes up 15A; each winery's page here lists places to stay nearby.
More Finger Lakes wine guides
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Every Finger Lakes winery
The whole region in one directory, lake by lake, with a note on how each listing is checked.
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Planning a Finger Lakes trip
When to go, where to base yourself, how to pace a tasting day, and sample itineraries shore by shore.
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The interactive map
All eleven lakes on one map, with favourites, sharing and suggested nearby stops for building a route.