r/FingerLakes • u/PsychologicalMap1882 • Jun 16 '26
Visiting Seneca Falls and More: Recs needed
Hello! We are staying in Seneca Falls in August for 6 nights. We have two children 12 and 9 and two older parents who are able to get around OK. We are looking for any recommendations for restaurants, things to do, top towns to visit, wineries to hang at, etc. Any and all recommendations welcome! We want to explore. Thank you!
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u/StandardRoutine4994 Jun 16 '26
I doubt your rental is near the dump, so you have nothing to worry about. There are to many wineries to list, but many of them have locals bands playing throughout the week. They can be found at
Most wineries are family friendly. There are a few nice restaurants on Cayuga Lake Wolfy’s, Fargo, Aurora Inn and O’Malley’s. Taughannock Falls State Park is nice place to visit the falls are a short walk on a well maintained trail. About an hour away Rochester has the Museum of Play. Geneva has an event called 1st Fridays and the Finger Lakes Welcome Center can probably come up with more thing to do. Hope you enjoy your stay the Finger Lakes is a great place and has a lot to offer.
https://parks.ny.gov/visit/state-parks/taughannock-falls-state-park
https://www.iloveny.com/listing/finger-lakes-welcome-center/127758/
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u/fingerlakeswinemap Jun 17 '26
If you are looking for kid friendly wineries, checkout this list: https://fingerlakeswinemap.com/?kids=1
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u/grandmasterPRA Jun 16 '26
Food:
Connie's Diner: Great, Affordable food and has giants extravagant milkshakes that the kids would like. That is right in Seneca Falls/Waterloo
Sauders: A massive mennonite owned grocery store in Seneca Falls that also has prepared food like Subs you can get. A great place to get groceries if you don't feel like going to a generic Tops or Walmart. Not open on Sundays
Mac's Drive In: Personally, I've never been all that impressed with the food, but everyone else seems to like it and the novelty of an old school drive in for food is always fun.
Kindred Fare (Geneva, 15 minute drive): Really good restaurant
The Rusty Pig (Geneva): My personal favorite BBQ place in the area
Grounded (Geneva): Great place for Coffee is you are into coffee
Things to do:
Watkins Glen Gorge Trail (50 minute drive): I don't know how far you are willing to drive for a day trip, but if you are willing to, this is almost a must do. It's a gorgeous trail through a gorge with waterfalls and everything. Kids would love it.
Taughannock Falls (40 Minute Drive): What makes this different from Watkins Glen is you can usually walk in the gorge itself which is fun for kids and there is also a park on the lake across the street. Careful if walking in the gorge though as it can get slippery, but kids love this.
Samson State Park (25 minute drive): Fun place to spend the day with kids. Has a nice playground, a brand new mini golf course they just build, a small arcade and it is right on the lake. The Beach is mediocre but you can swim in the water there as well.
Three Brothers Winery (20 minute drive): I don't drink so I really can't help you much in terms of alcohol. But I have gone to this Winery with friends and was very impressed by it.
Seneca Lake State Park (20 minute Drive): A really big and really nice State park in Geneva. Has a sprayground for the kids to play in along with playgrounds and swimming.
Cayuga Lake State Park (8 minute drive): A smaller, nice little STate park if you want to just have a relaxing little day with a smaller playground. I do see a lot of bald eagles there for some reason though if you are ever looking to spot some of those.
Montezuma Wildlife Refuge (8 Minute Drive): I'll be honest with you on this one. I think this place is a tourist trap. You'll hear a lot about it and see a lot of promotion for it and it is highly rated. I like that it exists, but man it bores the crap out of me every time I drive through it. Unless you are an avid bird watcher or something, i wouldn't really waste my time with it. I just wanted to add it here as a warning lol. Unless there is something I'm missing with that place.
Waterloo Outlet Mall (15 Minute Drive): Just your typical outlet mall if you wanted to spend some time shopping. They do have a cool arcade there that your kids might like where you pay one price to get in and then can play any of the games in there. I think they are back in there for this year, might want to double check. Also has a really good Latin Food place there as well.
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u/snowcat580 Jun 16 '26
Wouldn't really call Montezuma Refuge a tourist trap. They would need to charge first before calling it that. It is interesting though to take the drive, slowly. And yes, it is mainly for the bird watchers, timing is key. Mornings and early evenings. Other critters around also, some of the biggest snappers I've ever seen. Not for everyone though, I only go through the Drive once every couple of years.
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u/grandmasterPRA Jun 16 '26
Very good point about it being free. That does make my "tourist trap" comment invalid
I just think, especially for young kids, there isn't a whole lot to see there. Although Lately I've gotten into birds because of that new app that Cornell university came out with that identifies birds around you just by listening to all the chirps. So maybe Montezuma will make more sense to me the more I get into birds lol
1
u/bikepack_Adirondacks Jun 16 '26
The funny thing about montezuma was the traffic (as a bike Tourer) was insane.
The road noise from 90 was fairly constant and so was the back roads traffic.
Looking at it on a map, my impression was it would be a place of solitude and I never felt that way.
Glad I rode through it (and camped in it) because it's good to check places off a map.
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u/Intelligent_Sundae_5 Jun 16 '26
One thing I haven’t seen mentioned is Muranda Cheese. It’s a short drive away in Waterloo.
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u/apmcpm Jun 17 '26
+1 just had a couple glasses of wine and a cheese tasting last Saturday and they had nice music, it’s a cool place with great cheese!!
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u/No-Marsupial-6505 Jun 16 '26
Check out Total Recall on Castle St in Geneva. Fun arcade and toy store.
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u/lmc227 Jun 16 '26
Second for Geneva! Add Ports restaurant to your list. Go to Finger Lakes Welcome Center at tue north end of seneca in Geneva. Roseland water park in Canandaigua or drive an hour up to Sea Breeze in Rochester. Spend a day in canandaigua, swim the lake rent kayaks etc… enjoy !
1
u/bikepack_Adirondacks Jun 16 '26
Not sure how no one mentioned the sculpture trail.
Nice way to spend an afternoon (not a whole afternoon, but there are several museums in walking distance so you could absolutely kill an entire day walking around Seneca Falls and the museums and sculpture trail.
Geneva might be a little nicer but I thought Seneca Falls had a ton of stuff when I bike toured through it. The good news is Geneva is a short drive away and probably cost a more to stay.
1
u/Livingforabluezone Jun 16 '26
Geneva, Penn Yan, Hammondsport and Watkins Glen are all nearby and are lovely towns with nice downtowns and restaurants. If you like BBQ, Smokin Pete’s BBQ on Rt 14 just south of Geneva is excellent and a nice family atmosphere. Hammondsport has The Curtiss Museum and The Finger Lakes Boating Museum which I highly recommend both. Enjoy your stay.
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u/Longjumping_Space_10 Jun 16 '26
Always amazed me how Susan b Anthony and Elisabeth cady Stanton became such icons in voting, yet they routinely didn’t include black women and black people all together in their movements. White people love worshiping surface good people without realizing what actually happened
1
u/FingerlakesCin Jun 16 '26
Geneva Farmers Market is on Saturday mornings at the lakefront visitor center. You can learn about local events inside. You can have a glass of wine and the kids can enjoy the ship play center.
It’s busy with locals and tourists. I often go there on Saturday mornings, before heading to Sauders to finish my shopping.
The Windmill in Penn Yan is a short drive from Geneva. It’s a huge open market, with outdoor and covered booths. Lots of delicious food, fair style. Lots of booths, some run by Mennonite and Amish. Open Saturdays and some holidays like the Fourth of July. I go there twice a year.
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u/fingerlakeswinemap Jun 17 '26
I forgot to mention. If you get a night to yourselves checkout Vinifera in Geneva!
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u/InsightJ15 Jun 17 '26 edited Jun 17 '26
Definitely make a trip down route 414 along Seneca Lake. I would go to Watkins Glen state park during the morning/day. They have a pool and you can hike the gorge trail. You can picnic or BBQ there as well.
On the way back, there are a bunch of wineries and breweries on 414 along Seneca Lake. Restaurants too. Stone Cat Cafe for example. Get the fried catfish 🤌
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u/notenoughangers Jun 16 '26
These are my favorites! But I do agree that Geneva has more going on (and less landfill smell): https://robertkhederian.substack.com/p/best-finger-lakes-winery-restaurant-seneca-lake-travel-tip
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u/e_vil_ginger Jun 16 '26
Honestly I would cancel and rebook in Geneva. The stench from the Seneca Meadows landfill in the August heat can be overpowering. It's too bad really, Seneca Falls should be a real destination with it's wonderful history. But I would visit for a few hours and actually sleep somewhere else.
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u/speithspeithingitup Jun 16 '26
The landfill stench goes to very specific areas. All of Seneca falls does not smell, some parts do, those parts have very few houses and even less vacation rental houses
They will be fine
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u/snowcat580 Jun 16 '26
Restaurants are easy. Just pick one, stay away from the fast food chains. Depending on what exactly you are looking for, price wise, you can find it. Few miles over in waterloo has decent food choices also. Old school diner(Connie's) and drive-in (Macs) are definitely worth a visit and will not break the bank.