Finger Lakes-Suggestions, Please.

I suggest you look at Offbeat Tourist Attractions found at http://www.poi-factory.com/node/2661 before you go. Put yourself in simulation at Syracuse and see what are the 50 closest to there.

There are a lot of good (and not so good) wineries encircling the Finger Lakes. You oughta to try 'em all. Not a wine drinker? Become one - it's a great pastime.

Phil

I grew up in and around Victor, Canandaigua and the Finger Lakes.

When you get to Syracuse make sure you stop off at (see link below) Destiny USA Carousel Center Mall.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destiny_USA

There you will find a fully functional Carousel - Merry Go Round on the second floor in their food court.

Here's another link about the Carousel that you might be interested in.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roseland_Park

My post here sure has brought back fond memories of what was many, many years ago.

Nuvi1300WTGPS

There's a big outlet mall on rt 96 in the GENEVA area, Genesee Country Village & Museum features costumed interpreters ... in the country located just outside of Rochester, NY, in Mumford, NY and Darien Lake Amusement Park and campgrounds between Rochester and Buffalo

I lived in the area for several years, very pretty.

The Finger Lakes have plenty of wineries and farm stands. Check them out.

Ithaca is home to Cornell, and very pretty scenery. There's also the gorges.

In the Buffalo area, you should stop at the Anchor Bar for famous and delicious Buffalo Wings.

It is a very nice region to tour. Look up the several Finger Lakes websites and see what interests you.

Should be a nice tour, enjoy.

Upstate NY is one of the most geographically diverse areas you can experience in the USA. And it's a vast region. I loved cruising Rt 96 from Ithaca...many fond memories. Letchworth State Pk is another area that's pretty cool. It's considered the Grand Canyon of the east coast.

Another beautiful ride is up towards Sodus Bay, along Lk Ontario. So much to see, so little time!

Enjoy.

Your proposed route from Syracuse to Niagara falls parallels the historic Erie Canal. There are many sites worth seeing without going out of your way. The National Parks Service has an excellent web page on the canalway:
http://www.eriecanalway.org/documents/ECNHC_MapGuide_2012_we...

If you don't mind diverting a few miles East to Rome, NY., the Erie Canal Village is worth a stop. It offers a glimpse of life in a canal town during the late 1800's.
http://www.eriecanalvillage.net/

The Niagara Falls area is pretty nice and has plenty to offer. For example, electrification started there, and there are places to go to see the history of electrification and the man, Tesla.

And where you are crossing from CA to USA, there is the Thousand Islands. Rather interesting to see those itty-bitty islands, with a house just barely bigger than the island, and seeing gigantic ships going by.

But I just looked through several Finger Lakes tourism websites, and I recommend you look through a few yourself and decide what to see.

I went to Corning and the glass works museum/show a very long time ago. Lots of great glass for all sorts of applications came out of there.

If time allows, you may want to consider heading east to the Adirondacks, a very pretty mountainous area. Consider Lake Placid (Olympics) and the High Peaks area.

Since you mentioned Rochester, it must have something to show for the history there with Eastman Kodak.

Keep in mind when you will be doing this tour. Peak foliage season makes regions like this very busy, and lodging rates pretty steep. But then, everything has a price.

Enjoy!

There were many great suggestions, and it will be a great help. Now I wish we had more time.

Thanks for all the help. I haven't figured where we'll route. We can't get to all of these, but we will definitely hit a number of them.

Make a point to stop at the Sherwood Inn at the top of Lake Skaneateles. Great old building and the town of Skinny is beautiful and walking-friendly.
I think this lake is where the wealthy from Syracuse come to build their weekend homes.

This link tells a bit about the area:
http://www.thesherwoodinn.com/about/attractions

Thanks to all who contributed ideas on where to go, in this beautiful part of NY State.

Crossed border at Gananoque, then on to the following:
Watertown: Salmon Run Mall-Wallets hurting a bit
Syracuse: Historic District, and Empire Brewing, that was in the Triple D Plus POI. Also Destiny USA Mall- wallet was spared, because many stores were out of my league. Loved watching the Go Karts
Itahaca: Downloaded the Waterfalls POI and found Ithaca Falls, with a bit of work. Have correction to offer for this file.
Corning: Corning Museum of Glass is a must see. Go anytime, but they open a huge new section in March 2015 That will be even more fantastic. Watched the video on it's design and construction.
Seneca Falls: Beautiful town. Connie's Diner is a must for a meal, on the way to Waterloo. 50s style diner, with great food. Cash only though.
Waterloo: Wallet is really sore. Hit Premium Outlets, thanks to that POI.
Skaneateles: Absolutely charming downtown and you just have to hit the Skaneateles Bakery for their donuts, scones and coffee.
Auburn: Another charming downtown.
Canandaigua: Great town. Simply Crepes a must for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Sonneberg Castle and Gardens a must see.
If you go, be sure to take the roads that run along any of the lakes, especially, if you like wine and great scenery.