9 Most Scenic Communities to Visit in New York's Finger Lakes

Travel publication World Atlas has highlighted nine scenic communities across New York’s Finger Lakes region that offer distinct attractions and historic preservation through every season.

Skaneateles sits at the northern end of its namesake lake in Onondaga County, nearly 900 feet above sea level. The area features a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1984, alongside outdoor sites like Carpenter Falls and the Bahar Nature Preserve.

Auburn anchors the northern end of Owasco Lake as the Cayuga County seat, offering deep ties to the abolitionist movement. The community preserves this history at the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park and the Seward House Museum, while also hosting the annual Crow Cawcus in February.

Seneca Falls bridges Seneca and Cayuga lakes as the birthplace of the American women’s rights movement. Visitors can explore the Women’s Rights National Historical Park and Wesleyan Chapel, alongside the Seneca Meadows Wetlands Preserve.

Finger lakes region in york state in the united states political map with most important cities group of eleven long narrow l

Waterloo, founded in 1807 between Seneca Falls and Geneva, serves as the birthplace of Memorial Day and features the nearly seven-mile Cayuga-Seneca Canal Trail. Geneva sits on the northern shore of Seneca Lake, pairing a lively downtown with Hobart and William Smith Colleges and Belhurst Castle.

Geneseo in Livingston County earned designation as a National Historic Landmark in 1991, anchoring a community defined by its campus of the State University of New York at Geneseo, the National Warplane Museum, and proximity to Letchworth State Park. Penn Yan sits at the northern end of Keuka Lake in Yates County, featuring Birkett Mills, which was established in 1797.

Watkins Glen brings visitors to the southern end of Seneca Lake with its dramatic gorge at Watkins Glen State Park and the Watkins Glen International racetrack. Trumansburg rounds out the list in Tompkins County, sitting just a short distance from Taughannock Falls State Park.