Ithaca area Labor Day weekend (Newfield, Glen: motel, houses, university)

[Samrai309]

Not sure if there are any beer/wine connisseurs out there but I may want to plan a little getaway. Ithaca has this Ithaca beerfest that occurred last year and I wanted to go but couldn't get up there. I happened to learn about it while attending a beer and wine festival on Long Island. It is happening again this year and looks like it falls on the labor day weekend. I have never been to the Ithaca area but have heard good things. So I have wanted to go. I have also wanted to take my wife to do the finger lakes wine trails. Since we occasionally hit the wineries on Long Island, we also wanted to experience upstate winery tours. We are by no means wine snobs. We know our fair share so we always wanted to spend a weekend and just drive and relax and stop along the way.

So, aside from wineries and this beer fest, which by the way, anyone got any feedback on? Worth it? Skip it? Anyway, any other suggestions on things to look into for a long weekend getaway around september 4-7, give or take a day? I am concentrating my area to the first lake, Cayuga, but I am willing to drive a bit to see different things. I figure if all goes well, I will be up another time to tour another lake. Right now, I got a few days booked at a Hampton Inn, just on the southern outskirts of Ithaca. That will serve as my base of operations, as I got a good rate, it was rated good, and its around three miles or so (according to google maps) from stewart park where the beer event is....which reminds me to remind all of you again...any feedback on that...?? Thanks for any and all opinions...I am also not opposed to splitting my time at different locations to rest my head. We are not bed and breakfast people though. I never saw the interest to have forced interaction with strangers, or feel obligated to be at breakfast or converse and all that stuff, all in the same inn. Thanks again.

[ckhthankgod]

Do it and Ithaca is a nice area with other things to do: Visitor Info - Visit Ithaca

[warm heatherette]

Yes, do it. Beautiful area. Take a couple of hikes - Robert Treman State Park and Taughanook (sp?) Falls State Park - and see why they say, 'Ithaca's gorges'.
Be sure to eat at least once at the famous Moosewood Restaurant - excellent!

[Samrai309]

Cool. Two people giving the thumbs up is good for me right now. I was reading there are good places to explore the nature and hike. I will look into the state parks.

Thanks CK and Warm Heatherette

[Samrai309]

Warm heatherette--

Do you know if there are fees to get into any of the surrounding nys parks if you are going to hike the trails in the area? I have not been to any state parks in quite some time and if I was, it was down on Long Island at Jones Beach, Robert Moses, or Captree on off hours where you drove right in. Just curious. The few state park websites I went to were very busy with lots of info, but not much if you were going just to hike.

[ki0eh]

There are fees to get into NYS Parks around Ithaca. However if you pay the fee at one park you can use that ticket to get into other State Parks that day.

[warm heatherette]

Yes, there are probably nominal day use fees. We actually camped at Robert Treman, so there were extra fees associated with that. But as ki0eh says, one day pass will get you in to all state parks in the area, and there are several worth checking out. In the Ithaca area alone are Robert Treman, Taughannock Falls (got the spelling right this time) and Buttermilk Falls. A short drive north-east of Ithaca will take you to Fillmore Glen SP and go west to see Watkins Glen. All parks are well worth the visit - we've been to them all - but if you want to narrow it to the 'must sees', hike:

Robert Treman - absolutely beautiful - love it! - slightly strenuous hike, but sooooo worth it. You can do a less strenuous loop starting at the top of the Falls. Starting at the bottom has more up hill climbing. I'm sure they'd advise you at the visitor centre of the route best for you. Take a refreshing swim at the end of your hike at the lower falls;

Taughannock - easy hike (more like a scenic stroll) to the bottom of this fabulous falls; and

Watkins Glen - really unique gorge - amazing rock formations with twisty/turny paths winding around and through them, with the water gurgling beneath you - easy, fascinating hike.

I haven't been to the area in several years, and I'm getting jealous of you as I sit here and reminisce about our trip >sigh<. Have a great time. Don't forget your camera!

[Ladeebug59]

I just returned form a 3 day mini vaca in the Watkins Glen/Ithaca region. I took over 700 photos... thank God for Digital! I liked WG and Montour Falls area to stay in. We got a cute motel that was clean & reasonable. The people there couldn't have been nicer or more helpful. The gorge was beautiful, it's in a world of its own, .... simply awesome. We only ran into one rude restaurant owner in Trumansburg that would rather insult his customers than earn a living I guess. Because we took our business elsewhere....but there are jerks in every town I suppose. The Robert Treman State Park was equally as wonderful & not as many people the evening we went. There are so many natural resources in that region, I wish I had more time to explore. There is a Covered Bridge in Newfield, some lighthouses along Cayuga Lake. I would like to checkout Cornell University also. Letchworth is my next adventure though, maybe in the fall. I wish it wasn't so far away from me or I would visit more frequently.