Napa Valley of the East Coast

It's not very easy to find a long weekend getaway from NYC, that is within 3-4 hours of driving, because you normally end up spending the first day and the last day on the road, and you need a little bit of time to relax before starting your next work week.

This visit to Finger Lakes area was different from our usual weekend getaways.  Our weekend getaways always have been to New England regions, which boasts a lot of charming ocean-side towns.  Being a beach person, I always ended up picking places where I could feel ocean breeze, take a stroll along the beach or enjoy fresh seafood.

I always thought people go to Finger Lakes to enjoy hiking, fishing and camping.  I do enjoy nature, but I'm not so crazy about camping.  So, with 3 days of long weekend, we took off to Finger Lakes region.  My sole intention of this trip was to see this famous Watkins Glen Gorge.

Watkins Glen Gorge - taken with my Rebel T2i

When tourists come to New York State, they all rush to see Niagara Falls.  I doubt most tour agencies are aware of this hidden gem, 30 miles west of Ithaca.  The gorge is beautiful and perfect for those people who do not like to just hike along the mundane and boring trails.  The trail itself is pretty short, being just 1.5 miles.  There are plenty of photo opportunities in the trail.

Since this was a last minute trip, we weren't able to book a hotel in Watkins Glen area.  So, instead of staying at local B&Bs, we decided to stay at Country Inn & Suites in Elmira.  We left NYC after work on Fridays and the hotel happened to be right off I-86. So, there was not a lot of long local drives, after we got off from the high way.   Being able to avoid the local roads is pretty helpful, when you started your drive right after work and you check in at the hotel after midnight. The hotel is about 30 minutes drive from Watkins Glen State Park.  Before I booked the hotel, a lot of reviews focus on its tiny dining area.  We experienced this the next day.  They serve a good breakfast, but given the fact that it's right off the highway and a lot of people stopping by the night on their way to Niagara Fall, the dining room at the breakfast time was like the kid's playground in the Central Park.

There are a lot of wineries along the Seneca Lake.  If you just drive north along 404, you will run across countless wineries.  Some wineries also have restaurants.  If you are a budget travelers and do not want to spend a lot on food, I'd highly recommend Stonecat Cafe.  They have an outdoor seating area facing Seneca Lake.  The menu is pretty simple, but the food is organic and fresh. And the price is reasonable.

We stopped by at Penguin Bay Winery and Hazlitt 1842.  This was my first experience in wine tasting, and for some reasons, I always thought wine tasting is free of charge.  Apparently not...

Another activity that you can do while visiting Finger Lake Region is sailing on the lake.   Unfortunately, we were there in the middle of the day, and had no mood to stay 45 minutes under the sun.

Seneca Lake

I was glad to find out about this little nice getaway location in the state of New York.   A lot of my Californian friends complain about NY not having nice scenic and natural getaways. I think Finger Lake region is comparable to Yosemite and Napa.  I have never been to either.  So to compare Yosemite to Watkins Glen and Napa Valley to Finger Lake might be a little bit far-fetched, but at least, we east coasters have somewhere, which does not break a bank, to take off to.