AND SCHUYLER COUNTY 2019 TRAVEL GUIDE NEW YORK’S FINGER LAKES REGION while you’re here visit Damiani Wine Cellars Tasting Room and Bocce Court Open Daily! On the eastern shore of Seneca lake, just 5 minutes north of Watkins Glen voted #1 Red Wine Producer in the Finger Lakes Rosé 90pts ~ Merlot 91pts ~ Riesling 91pts Wine Enthusiast Magazine 4704 Rte 414, Burdett, NY 14818 • (607) 546-5557 • DAMIANIWINECELLARS.COM while you’re here visit Damiani Wine Cellars Tasting Room and Bocce Court Open Daily! On the eastern shore of Seneca lake, just 5 minutes north of Watkins Glen voted #1 Red Wine Producer in the Finger Lakes Rosé 90pts ~ Merlot 91pts ~ Riesling 91pts Wine Enthusiast Magazine 4704 Rte 414, Burdett, NY 14818 • (607) 546-5557 • DAMIANIWINECELLARS.COM 4 | Watkins Glen and Schuyler County Travel Guide Contents 05 | Welcome 31 | Public Swimming, Boating, and Fishing 06 | 8 REASONS Access We Should Be On Your Bucket List! 32 | Agritourism 08 | Our Villages 34 | Fishing and Hunting 10 | Lodging 35 | Camping 14 | Dining 36 | Art and Culture 18 | Wine, Beer, Cider, 38 | Racing and Spirits 40 | Shopping 22 | Hiking and Outdoor Recreation 42 | Weddings, Meetings, and Retreats 24 | Map 43 | Business Directory 26 | Waterfalls 28 | Events and Festivals WATKINS GLEN AND SCHUYLER COUNTY WATKINS GLEN STATE PARK VISITOR CENTER VISITOR CENTER 214 North Franklin Street 1009 North Franklin Street Watkins Glen, NY 14891 Watkins Glen, NY 14891 1-800-607-4552 • 607-535-4300 1-800-607-4552 • 607-535-4300 www.WatkinsGlenChamber.com www.WatkinsGlenChamber.com Cover Photo: Teresa Schimizzi facebook.com/watkinsglentravelandtourism Design: Steuben Design LLC twitter.com/@tourwatkinsglen Printing: Kappa Printing Management Associates LLC, an FSC certified environmentally friendly printer. instagram.com/visitwatkinsglen All information is current as of press time. Every effort has been made to maintain the accuracy of all information and the Watkins Glen Area Chamber of Commerce and its contributors are not responsible for errors, changes ® I LOVE NEW YORK is a registered trademark and and omissions. The Watkins Glen and Schuyler County service mark of the New York State Department of Visitor’s Guide, copyright 2019. Economic Development; used with permission. Call Toll-Free 1-800-607-4552 WatkinsGlenChamber.com | 5 Welcome atkins Glen and Schuyler County can best If you are looking for visitor information or some W be described as the place where Mother guidance on making the most of your stay, be Nature meets Main Street. The Village of Watkins sure to stop by one of our Visitor Centers. Our Glen in particular is home to some of the most main Visitor Center is located at 214 N. Franklin scenic and iconic sights you could ask for, with Street in downtown Watkins Glen. We also Watkins Glen State Park on one end and Seneca welcome guests at our Satellite Visitor Center Lake on the other. From vineyard-covered at the Main Entrance at Watkins Glen State Park. hillsides to peaceful hiking trails; from bustling You may arrive as a stranger, but you will leave shops to a world-renowned race track. Whether as a friend. We invite you to explore our beautiful you are planning a relaxing vacation, seeking slice of paradise. There is something special at adrenaline pumping excitement, or something in every turn. between, you won’t find a better place to make memories than right here! Come and see for yourself! Photo courtesy Wayne Menzi 6 | Watkins Glen and Schuyler County Travel Guide 8 REASONS We Should Be On Your Bucket List! It’s affordable! A trip to the Finger Lakes is So many waterfalls! You’ll be hard-pressed among the most affordable getaways on to find more waterfalls in one vacation 1the market. Your budget will go far here, so 3spot than we have here in Schuyler instead of worrying about making your money County. With 19 alone on the Gorge Trail at last, you can focus on making memories! Watkins Glen State Park, you will want to have your camera ready during your visit! Outside of the state park, you’ll want to hit the roadside falls including Shequaga Falls, Hector Falls, and Aunt Sarah’s Falls—all easy to find and accessible. A little hiking gets you to Excelsior Glen, Eagle Cliff Falls in Havana Glen Park, Twin Falls in Sugar Hill State Forest, plus a number of other falls throughout the Finger Lakes National Forest. Heart-pumping excitement! Whether you’re a huge race fan or new to the 4 sport, you won’t find a better place to take it in than Watkins Glen International. Pros from NASCAR and IMSA take to the circuit during the season, but don’t let them have all the fun! You can get out there too as part of the Drive the Glen program. For just $25 you can enjoy three Photo courtesy John Erickson paced laps around the famed road course in your personal vehicle—including a stop at the We’re easy to get to! We’re within a five start/finish for a photo! hour drive of 25% of the U.S. population! We’re thirty minutes from Elmira Corning 2 Incredible scenery! From the mist and Regional Airport and an hour and fifteen minutes waterfalls of the Gorge Trail at Watkins southeast of Greater Rochester International Glen State Park to stunning vineyards Airport. Whether you arrive by train, plane, or 5 overlooking Seneca Lake—there are views automobile, your vacation time will go further around every turn here in Watkins Glen and here because you won’t spend Schuyler County. all your time getting here! WatkinsGlenChamber.com | 7 Family-friendly fun! If you’re bringing the family, there is no shortage of activities 6for every age. Head out on a beautiful schooner for a sail on Seneca Lake. Book a fishing excursion with an expert outfitter. Take everyone for a picnic and swimming at Clute Park. Get up close and personal with rescued farm animals at one of the largest farm sanctuaries in the country. Everyone in your family will find a new favorite thing here. Photo courtesy Farm Sanctuary An excuse to do nothing at all! With so many of us feeling frazzled by daily life— 8we could all use the chance to slow down and put our feet up. Cozy up in a local bed and breakfast, sip some wine around a campfire, dangle your toes off the dock, or relax in one of our parks—we have the perfect place for you to forget about the world for a while. Photo courtesy Stu Gallagher A haven for wine and food lovers! It’s no secret that the wines from Seneca Lake 7can stand alongside the best wines in With so many reasons to visit the world. Our Rieslings are renowned, but it doesn’t stop with wine! Craft breweries and the Finger Lakes region, craft distilleries offer samples and sales in their tasting rooms as well, offering a chance it’s easy to see why we should to imbibe for every taste in your crowd. be on your bucket list! 8 | Watkins Glen and Schuyler County Travel Guide Our Villages atkins Glen and Schuyler County can From vineyard-covered hillsides to peaceful hiking W best be described as the place where trails; from bustling shops to a world-renowned Mother Nature meets Main Street. Tourists have race track. Whether you are planning a relaxing flocked to our beautiful area for many, many vacation, seeking adrenaline pumping excitement, years. Watkins Glen State Park has been open to or something in between, you won’t find a better the public as an attraction since the mid-1800s, place to make memories than right here! but it officially became Watkins Glen State Park in 1906. On October 6, 1948, the village became the host of the first post-World War II road race Quite likely the salt in the United States, forever cementing our small village’s place in race history. The Watkins on your table came from the Glen Sports Car Grand Prix, organized by local resident Cameron Argetsinger is heralded as Watkins Glen wells the revival of American road racing. From the Watkins Glen is home to two salt operations— state park and racing, tourism continued to Cargill Salt located at the southern end of grow steadily. The Farm Winery Act was passed Seneca Lake and U.S. Salt located on Salt Point in 1976, opening the door for commercial wine Road. Both refineries have wells and through production and the ability of wineries to sell the introduction of water into the wells, the salt is their wines to the public. The first few wineries turned into brine and then processed into various appeared on Seneca Lake shortly thereafter. In products including granulated salt for food, water the decades since, the wine industry has been conditioning pellets, and agricultural salt. The first booming and there are now nearly 70 wineries salt well drilled in the area was in 1882 to a depth on Seneca Lake alone. of 1,513 feet (461 meters). Today’s operations mine The Village of Watkins Glen in particular is salt from wells that are between 1,750 and 2,600 home to some of the most scenic and iconic feet (533 and 792 meters) in depth. There are no sights you could ask for, with Watkins Glen State tours offered at either plant. Park on one end and Seneca Lake on the other. Photo courtesy Erica Brown Call Toll-Free 1-800-607-4552 WatkinsGlenChamber.com | 9 BURDETT Home to the Finger Lakes National Forest, the only national forest in New York State and one of only three in the northeast! Covering over 16,000 acres this beautifully diverse outdoor haven offers hiking, biking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, horseback riding, and more.