Finger Lakes/Erie Canal NY Recommendations

[camp4528]

I am planning a short 4-5 day trip in early August (eg Aug 7-11). I live very close to the top of the I81 in Brockville Ontario.

I was thinking of exploring places like the Erie Canal, south shore of Lake Ontario, and the Finger Lakes. I've driven through the areas a few times and it's very picturesque.

I would like to hear any suggestions you might have for camping locations (unserviced is fine), walking (easy/moderate short hikes) and things to see such as the canal itself, Corning Museum, vineyards, music.

I know it will be very busy time.

Thank you!!

[Ian and Sue]

Originally Posted by camp4528

I am planning a short 4-5 day trip in early August (eg Aug 7-11). I live very close to the top of the I81 in Brockville Ontario.

I was thinking of exploring places like the Erie Canal, south shore of Lake Ontario, and the Finger Lakes. I've driven through the areas a few times and it's very picturesque.

I would like to hear any suggestions you might have for camping locations (unserviced is fine), walking (easy/moderate short hikes) and things to see such as the canal itself, Corning Museum, vineyards, music.

I know it will be very busy time.

Thank you!!

I have stayed at Green Lakes State Park which is a little east of Syracuse. Nice park and right near some of the old canal...you go by it on your way from NYS Thruway.
Watkins Glen is interesting as is Letchworth State Park. Look up Wine Trails on the I Love NY website, there are many....just choose one nearby and check it out. Harvest Hosts may be helpful to have as you can stay at a Vinyard.

Enjoy!

[camp4528]

Thanks for the suggestion.

We drove down to Little Falls NY a few years ago to see the Viking Longboat that was transiting the Erie Canal. It’s a lovely area and I’ll see if there’s any sites at that State Park and add Chittenango Falls to the list.

Thanks again!

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by camp4528

Thanks for the suggestion.

We drove down to Little Falls NY a few years ago to see the Viking Longboat that was transiting the Erie Canal. It’s a lovely area and I’ll see if there’s any sites at that State Park and add Chittenango Falls to the list.

Thanks again!

While Chittenango Falls is one of my favorite waterfalls, just to let you know there is no campground in the park.

Letchworth had a large campground and 3 beautiful waterfalls.

If you are willing to go a bit south, Rickets Glen State park in PA has a trail that goes along side 21 waterfalls. Dry camping, but bathrooms with showers.

Chittenango Falls

[meekhotglass]

You'll be in my back yard & I work at the Corning Museum of Glass. As far as natural beauty, you can't beat Watkins Glen State Park and Letchworth State Park. Great vineyards around both Keuka and Seneca Lakes. The classics are Bully Hill and Dr. Konstantin Frank & lots of new-comers like Weis which just won NY State winery of the year. Check out Finger Lakes Wine Country for some more ideas https://www.fingerlakeswinecountry.com/. Finding campsites might be a challenge. The state parks are likely booked up - there are some KOA's and private campgrounds around though.

[cpaharley2008]

One of our favorite campgrounds here in Pennsylvania is named Burnt Cabins. Burnt Cabins Grist Mill
but be forewarned, once you taste one of their handmade sandwiches, you will go home with a full refrigerator as you will want to eat their food all day. Been there and it happened to us!! Also their local milled pancake mix is a great souvenir to take home.

[camp4528]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

If you are willing to go a bit south, Rickets Glen State park in PA has a trail that goes along side 21 waterfalls. Dry camping, but bathrooms with showers.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts. Hopefully other readers will see this thread and include NY and PA in their plans.

An IowaDave-like story:
Jon’s 21-falls walk reminds me of a short tent camping trip we took to Higley Flow State Park NY around August 12-15 2003. We walked along the scenic trail beside the 5 falls and power dams and had a lovely time in the campground. We were a little concerned since we were leaving our teenagers at home but figured they would get in touch if there was a problem. And no news was good news. We used our electric appliances, shopped and gassed up at the local convenience store and had a wonderful time. It was only when we got home we realized that most of NorthEast US and Canada had experienced the great power blackout. Our kids had been without power most of our trip but they rose to the challenge. Turns out those dams supplied power the area throughout the blackout.

[2Travelers]

We are just back from that general area, staying at three New York state parks: Watkins Glen, Four Mile Creek, and Letchworth. Our goal was to visit Niagara Falls, and these three made for a nice loop (coming from the south). We stayed four nights at each park.

Our favorites were Four Mile Creek and Watkins Glen.

Four Mile Creek SP because it's right on the shores of Lake Ontario (with the Toronto skyline over the water in the distance) and because it was so near to Niagara Falls and the Niagara River gorge. Sunsets over the lake were quite striking. Nice bike and hiking trails all along and down into the gorge. One of the benefits of NY state parks is if you are camped at one you have free access to them all. This allowed us convenient, easy, and free parking for our visit to the Falls (Niagara Falls state park) and access to the bike and hiking trails along the river (e.g., Devil's Hole SP and Whirlpool SP).

Watkins Glen SP for its proximity and easy access to the Glen and to the town (at the southern end of Seneca Lake). The Glen is a magical, inspiring place and staying at the campground gave us early access before the crowds of mid-day. You can enter the middle of the Glen from the campground or take a short drive down to the visitor center (which camp staff recommended) or into the town if you'd rather start at one end walk in. From there, three highlights were: Corning Museum of Glass, which is just mesmerizing and not to be missed, the National Soaring Museum (if only to watch sailplanes launch and return), and downtown Watkins Glen for access to Seneca Lake and for some great ice cream at the Glen Dairy Bar. (Out of curiosity we went out to the race track and though we could hear cars running and caught glimpses in the distance it was locked up tight and we couldn't get near.)

Letchworth SP (the Grand Canyon of the East) provided a decent campground but we never quite figured out the park. There are three very nice waterfalls towards the north end, which are easily accessed by car or foot. They also launch hot air balloons in that area and one evening we were fortunate to see a small group of them very low over the river, with their baskets nearly touching the water, and one glided "over" the falls with the backet below the upstream lip. I think the park is just bigger and everything is more spread out. Maybe we would have a different impression if we were interested in longer hikes, though we did take a few shorter hikes that were enjoyable. Maybe our expectations were too high given the "Grand Canyon of the East" moniker. It is a large gorge, but not nearly the same scale. While there, on a ranger's recommendation, we paddled Canadice Lake which was very pretty with an undeveloped shoreline.

Hope you have a great trip.

[nepaweb]

Another vote for Letchworth State Park. This is a beautiful park. The waterfalls are accessible by taking a short but steep hike from a nearby parking area. There are also some scenic overlooks to stop at along the park road. The campground is mostly wooded and very pleasant. There are some unmarked trails at the campground that lead to interesting things like the site of a former CCC camp or to a clandestine swimming hole.
Also be sure to check out the Glen Iris Inn while you are there.


In the Finger Lakes region Sampson State Park in Romulus NY will put you in the heart of wine country. This park is located on the east shore of Seneca Lake. you can view beautiful sunsets over the water from this park but the lake front sites are not very level.
Scamp owners used to hold one of their rallys at this state park.


If you venture south from Corning along Routes 99 and 15 you will find Ives Run campground. This is a COE campground located in the Tioga-Hammond Lakes Recreation Area. This park is very popular and for good reason.
There is also a very nice visitor center near the park just off Rt.15.


If you like hiking and waterfalls then Ricketts Glen State Park would be worth the trip. They have recently expanded the campground and now have some sites with electric hookups.
The water may be a little low on the falls trail right now but some of the side trails lead to interesting destinations such as an old fire tower or an abandoned concrete dam.


Note that Rt.487 to the park from the south is rather steep. You may want to avoid this way if your tow vehicle is marginal.


Finally if you are travelling I 81 south into PA, consider stopping at the PA welcome center just below the state line. I work there part time as a travel consultant and always enjoy meeting and helping fellow fiberglass RVers.

[Padre]

Ditto on the Watkins Glenn. Friends of mine from India liked it better than Niagara Falls.
Also ditto on the Corning glass museum.
One of our favorite parks is Robert Treman near Ithaca. Tough to get a reservation though. One of the nicest swimming holes you'll ever see.
Padre

[camp4528]

Well it's almost a year later, and I'm finally about to embark on this trip. Life, eh?

This was a last minute thing, so was lucky to find the last available site at Sampson State Park for this three-day weekend, which I'll get to via a scenic drive through Oswego (I will wave and think of blueberry pie). I plan to explore the wineries, Letchworth perhaps, Corning, and Watkins Glen from here, that you have all recommended.

My next stop is escape artists neck o' the woods at Port Burwell Provincial Park. My dear 85 year old auntie lives near there so I will be visiting and relaxing at this beautiful provincial park. It will be my first time across the Peace Bridge between Buffalo and Fort Erie.

I will report back and thanks again to everyone for their inputs. It has been very useful.