The wife and I would like to visit the Finger Lakes in New York State in August.
If anyone with experience with the area your thoughts and suggestions would be much appreciated.

I am 65 years old, and the wife a few years younger, so hill climbing and rappelling are out of the question. We are looking for things like visiting the Revolutionary Era forts and landmarks. Possibly fishing (if their out of state fishing licenses are not too outrageous), maybe staying a night or two in a cabin.
Any Bed-and-Breakfasts in good standing in the area?

Thank you in advance for your input.

I was born in New York State and did my higher education in Ithaca, at the southern tip of Lake Cayuga, but I have been gone a long time. I don't think of the Finger Lakes as a Revolutionary War site. It is a beautiful region, of course. Things to see include Letchworth State Park, Watkins Glen, Ithaca (Cornell University), Cooperstown, Glenn Curtiss Aviation Museum in Hammondsport, etc.

When I think of the RW, I think of Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain, far to the east.

While your there, be sure to check out Letchworth State Park. I believe they have cabins for rent there & campsites too. Scenery is something you'd expect to find in a western state.

Some good suggestions by Gary. Letchworth is wonderful.

You say you want to go in August, but my first suggestion would be to put it off until the end of September or October. The weather is much nicer, less humid, and colors will be coming out. It's beautiful that time of year.

About the only real Revolutionary fort close to there would be Ft. Stanwix in Rome (an hour or two east).

If you like wine tours that is the area to do it. There are dozens of them around there.

I haven't done much lake fishing there but creek fishing isn't really anything to write home about, especially in the heat of the summer.

ETA: If you'd like to check out a B-52 close-up, the former Griffiss AFB in Rome still has one on static display (along with a cruise missile) by the old main gate.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Gustofer,

quote:

Originally posted by USMCE4retired:

...We are looking for things like visiting the Revolutionary Era forts and landmarks...

Fort Ontario is in Oswego, slightly north of the Finger Lakes Region.

https://parks.ny.gov/historic-sites/20/details.aspx

Fort Niagara is further west near Niagara Falls, which is/are also impressive.

https://www.oldfortniagara.org/

Up north (near Ft Drum) is Madison Barracks, but it only goes back to the War of 1812:

http://www.madisonbarracks.com/about.html

Close to Madison Barracks is Sacketts Harbor, but that also starts in 1812:

https://parks.ny.gov/historic-sites/7/details.aspx


How about WWII era history? Sampson State Park was built as a Naval Training Center in WWII, then used for USAF basic during Korea. It's just south of Geneva on Seneca Lake.

http://www.sampsonvets.com/

http://sampsonvets.hypermart.net/mushrs.html


How about some Cold War history? Just east of Sampson is the now closed Seneca Army Depot with its rare white deer herd. Tours will resume "sometime" in the fall:

http://senecawhitedeer.org/whi...o-seneca-army-depot/

http://senecawhitedeer.org/mil...-history/the-q-area/

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sigmund,

Go to Herkimer, New York and take a boat ride on the Erie Canal https://www.flickr.com/photos/...s/72157631874218241/

In Cooperstown, New York see both the Baseball Hall of Fame and the Baseball Heroes Wax Museum. I stayed in the Baseball Bed & Breakfast, which was very nice. https://www.flickr.com/photos/...s/72157631868292320/

flashguy

A friend took me to the region a few years ago for a tour of the wineries. I had a really great time and the scenery was awsome. I don't rememeber the exact month, but it was a memorable experience.

If you are willing to travel bit (maybe a couple hours) you will not be far from Saratoga. You can tour the battlefield and make a side trip to the track. Just a little further north is Lake George and I highly recommend a trip to Fort Ticonderoga. Both were vitally important in the Revolution.

Rent a canal boat and cruise the Erie Canal...

http://www.canalcruises.com

Owasco Lake runs out of Auburn, NY at Emerson Park. It's small at 11 miles length. Martins Point is its' deepest at 160 feet. Most all of Owasco is crystal clear and you can see the plant life on the bottom. Skaneateles Lake runs into a beautiful old town of Skaneateles at a small park and they have live music right in town. Its a pretty town filled with small shops and a few rather pricey eateries. There are Indian run Casinos across the NY State thruway, I90.

Another great place to visit is the Curtis wright museum for early aviation history.
Not sure if you are traveling from another state if so keep in mind you can not have possession of a handgun in New York- not just concealed but any possession at all! And you can not have a loaded rifle or shotgun in a vehicle either.

Forgot to mention earlier, a niceplace to stay is the Brae Loch Inn in Cazenovia. Was a nice place to go for a romantic weekend back when I was in central NY.

If you find yourself in the Utica area, there is a great Greek restaraunt in New Hartford named Symeons. Can't say enough about how good the food is except I once drove there from Boston just to get some. Well worth the 10 hours of driving time.

quote:

Originally posted by captain127:
Another great place to visit is the Curtis wright museum for early aviation history.
Not sure if you are traveling from another state if so keep in mind you can not have possession of a handgun in New York- not just concealed but any possession at all! And you can not have a loaded rifle or shotgun in a vehicle either.

I don't know if this is the same museum, but I enjoyed it: https://www.flickr.com/photos/...s/72157647857233955/.

flashguy

If you have any interest in motorsports, you have to drive Watkins Glen.

http://www.theglen.com/Guest-Info/Drive-The-Glen.aspx