I recently had the opportunity to take a trip to the Finger Lakes in upstate New York and spend my weekend, for the most part, wine tasting and hiking. I ventured up to Seneca Lake on a Friday night with my girlfriend and her family, and we stayed in the wonderful Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel.

The Finger Lakes are known for a large number of vineyards — Seneca Lake alone has 35 on one single trail for visitors to explore. On Saturday morning we kicked off the wine tasting at Ryan William Vineyard, a small, cabin-like building with a friendly staff who explained to us the rich history of the region. From there, we made our way to Hector Wine Company, which was much bigger and had a greater selection. The owner even keeps his dog on the premises during the day, so we all welcomed the greeting from his bearded collie.

We went to a couple more tastings before finishing at Standing Stone Vineyards, a small winery located directly on Lake Seneca. The scenic view and tasty wine provided a nice cap to our day, and we had dinner before heading back to our hotel.

On Sunday, we all woke up early and planned to hike the picturesque Watkins Glen State Park. The trail we took was about 3.5 miles round-trip and included a total of 19 waterfalls along the way. We decided we needed the exercise after wine tasting the day before, so we opted not to take the shuttle on the way down.

Overall, it was a very nice weekend, and I’d recommend the Finger Lakes to anyone who wants to get away and enjoy the quiet outdoors.

— Chris Sager, account executive