My late partner loved the finger lakes, and she often told me that we needed to come up to see them…read moretogether. Unfortunately, we never made it together, so since I was taking care of some business down in the city, I decided to come up and spend a few days exploring the area. Also today is her birthday, so it made not only this trip, but especially today, extra special.... There are 11 lakes in all each with its own charm. You could easily spend a few days, just exploring one lake or two. I took three days to explore as much of the region as possible, so it gave me a little "taste of the whole thing", so I will remember special places that I can come back to. This welcome center is in the town of Geneva, which is at the very top of Seneca Lake. It's pretty much the middle of the entire finger Lakes region. Geneva, or the town of Watkins Glen, about 45 minutes south of here, at the other end of Seneca Lake, are both great "jumping off spots" for the entire region. This welcome center is beautiful. It sits right next to Seneca Lake, and is a great place to stop and get some information, or even stop and relax for a little while. Just outside the back of the center is the Lake, it's peaceful and has gorgeous views. They even have Adirondack chairs where you can just sit and relax for a little while. They have information about the lakes in the visitor center. There is also a "taste NY" store, which features finger Lakes products. You can get breakfast and lunch items, snacks, bakery items, souvenirs, beer, cider, , and wine. Definitely wine. The finger Lakes is a very large wine region, with between 130 to 150 wineries, the majority of which you can visit. They also have several different designated "wine trails", where you can visit wineries close to each other. (with that many wineries to visit, please make sure you have a designated driver...) This is definitely the right place to stop while you are exploring the region. I enjoyed my visit Thank you.

Saw a sign for a visitor center while driving west.on the thruway, so off we went. NOTE: this was…read morenot a rest stop visitor center off the road, but one 6 miles from the thruway....i recommend that the state notate the distance on the highway sign as well as have signage once off the thruway. Why this place doesn't get 5 stars). However, once there it was a beautiful center on gorgeous Seneca Lake. They sell food, drinks, NY state wines, NY state products, etc. There are several brochures ( what I prefer even though I do lots of online research as well), and a tasting counter which is relatively inexpensive ($4). We had a lovely conversation with Don and his wife Marie, who were at an information booth. There is also a cool children's play structure outside. The photos don't do this center justice, but make sure you stop here before you plan anything!!!

Lime Hollow Nature Center is surrounded by so many nice easy to low moderate trails. I'm sure no…read morematter what time of year this is a place to spend some time taking in fresh air, nature and some unique fun artwork. I hiked in winter with my guy on some snow packed trails and found it still easy to navigate without much fear. The trails are very well marked so no worries about losing your way. They have cross country skiing trails which were nice and many small groups/families were enjoying. I would think you could bring your snowshoes too if you wanted to traverse trails that way, but boots worked fine too. There are compost style restrooms outside/inside the center where you can pick up guide map or equipment. That edges an open private lot visible seen from the roadway. Great location to have some go clean fun all year round I'm sure and would highly recommend to all ages.

This is such an excellent place and such a great find. This place is so much bigger than it looks…read morewith lots to see and explore! They have a sculpture trail and loads of other places to check out. The woods are beautiful and the trails are well marked. Unfortunately, due to COVID their nature center and bathrooms are currently closed but the trails are open from sunrise to sunset. The trails let you explore multiple different places including open field, meadows, old woods, hill sides, swamps/marshes, and more! The leaves and animals here were fantastic as well and it was a lovely place to relax and enjoy the serenity of nature. Highly recommended place to visit and enjoy a beautiful day!

After briefly stopping at the [free] overlook to get some photos, we decided it would be nice to do…read morethe walk to the falls too, so we chose the Gorge Trail. It was 1 mile each way (from the parking lot to near the base of the falls). The trail was relatively flat and shaded for parts of it (but not all). There were a few benches along the way to take breaks, and water at the beginning of the trail to fill up your water bottle. It costs $10/car to get into the state park but you can use that ticket to get into other state parks on the same day without paying again, which would be great to visit nearby Buttermilk Falls and other parks.

I visited Taughannock Falls State Park about a week ago when my husband and I were in the Finger…read moreLakes for the 4th of July, and I'm glad we included it in our itinerary for our trip. The highlight of the park - and its namesake - is Taughannock Falls, a 215-foot plunge waterfall. That's what we were there to see, but let me explain more about the park. The park crosses Taughannock Boulevard. On one side of the road, is the park of the park with lots of amenities: the marina, boat launches, a beach, a concession stand, bathrooms, a playground, and more. We were there on the morning of the Fourth of July, so lots of families were setting up for a fun day for the holiday: picnics, beach, boat day, etc. On the other side of Taughannock Boulevard is the waterfall and several trails. There is one parking lot by the trails, which was already full when arrived around 9am on Saturday, which was the Fourth of July, but we parked near the entrance on the other side of the park and walked over to the trail. There is signage requiring cars on Taughannock Boulevard to stop for pedestrians; it felt safe to cross. We took a little walk around the side of the park with the amenities, but we were there for the falls. We walked along the Gorge Trail - a .95 mile trail that is very flat. While not paved, it was a flat, wide dirt path, making it much more of a walk than a hike. Compared to other parks with falls in the area, it really doesn't feel like you're *in* a gorge, but you do walk along Taughannock Creek. But it's not quite as beautiful of a trail as some others in the area. But we were for the waterfall, which is incredible. It's worth a sweaty walk (it was a hot, hot day) to get to. We took a million pictures, watched the hawks flying over the falls, and took in the falls for as long as we could before heading back along the Gorge Trail. (Unlike other parks nearby, the Gorge Trail doesn't connect to the other trails, so you have to return on the same trail.) It might not be my favorite of the state parks we visited during our time in the Finger Lakes, but the waterfall is stunning and well worth a visit. It's also a great option for anyone who wants to visit a waterfall but isn't up for a more challenging hike, as the Gorge Trail is extremely flat and easy!

We enjoyed hiking through Taughannock Falls State Park in Ithaca NY (Jul 2026). There's terrific…read moreviews of the falls from an overhead Taughannock, a small pedestrian bridge, and a spacious viewing courtyard.

Overlook is half way point of North Rim Trail. Since half of the trail was close during winter…read more People just drove and park here (free parking). There is a visitor center and bathroom but it wasn't open when I was there. View is not bad. It is a 2-minute stop. Take some picture and then go back to the car. Gorge trail has better view because you can get close and feel the energy of the waterfall.

There is a lot at this welcome center that you probably won't see at other places. I got excited…read morewhen I saw the I heart NY sign and race car, and the nice little playground for children. I personally just didn't have a great experience at this stop. The inside looks lovely but it had an unpleasant odor that is hard to describe. it's possible my stop was affected by the other people who were there, so take this review with a grain of salt, but the vibes were just off. It looked clean, but felt very dirty. I don't know how else to explain it. All of the people I encountered were rude; not just one person, but multiple people. I wanted to get a photo of the sign before we headed out and there were two different families just letting their kids play and climb on the sign while myself and another person were trying to snap a photo. I had to wait a good 8-10 minutes for them to leave to snap one photo of the sign without random children on it. I have nothing against kids playing and waited patiently, but there was a literal playground for children right across from the sign. It's more just that people didn't seem to be very kind or considerate here. Again, this is a fine stop if you need to get off the road and there are things to see here, I just purse didn't personally feel this welcome center was very welcoming.

I had no idea this scenic rest stop existed. It was very clean, and has the cutest playground!read more

The Cornell Lab does work that helps conserve birds diversity through research, K through adult…read moreeducation, and participatory activities. I first learned of them through a phone app i downloaded to help identify birdsong. We visited on a weekday (Jul 2026), viewing pictures and displays and information about local wildlife. They had a large windowed area looking into wild bird habitats. We walked the trails a little too. It was fun to visit! C'mon out to hike, look, and learn. Join or volunteer or make a donation. It's helping the local birds and birds around the world!

One of the coolest places I've ever been! The outdoor trails are incredible, with beautiful…read morehabitats that attract a wide variety of birds. We saw during our short walk two Osprey and Ruby-crowned Kinglets while exploring. The inside is just as impressive, with one of the best interactive museums I've experienced, full of fascinating specimens and thoughtful learning opportunities in a gorgeous building. The gift shop is well stocked and collaborates with Wild Birds Unlimited. A must see if you're in the area and into conservation or wildlife!