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We are driving from Philly to Toronto this summer for a relative's wedding. We have two young ones (ages 2 and 4) and would like to break up the trip by stopping somewhere in the middle for 2 days. The Finger Lakes area is just about in the middle of the trip and would be a perfect stopping point.
We are looking for a town by a kid friendly lake, preferably with beaches and possibly an easy hiking trail (we won't be bringing a stroller, but we can wear the 2 year old if necessary). I think we'd like to visit the Corning Museum of Glass as well, so nearby that would be a plus. We don't plan on visiting any wineries. Basically, a low key, couple of days at the lake with a trip to the museum.
Watkins Glen would be my choice. There's a state park smack in the middle of it - Watkins Glen State Park - NYS Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation
Also lots of cool little shops and such, boat marinas, etc. I've never gone there for beaches so not sure if there are any. It's also about a half hour from Corning
If you want to stay right on the lake, finding accommodations for only a 2 night stay in the summer might be challenging. There are a few B&B's, but the finger lakes region has almost no hotels right on the water. If you are willing to stay off-lake, more hotel options are available. Plenty of vacation rentals on-lake, but these often have minimum stay requirements during peak season.
For the record my favorite is Keuka Lake. Excellent swimming in crystal clear, clean water. If you stayed in or around Hammondsport, you'd only be a half hour from the glass museum, and you'd be right near the swimming beach at the southern tip of the lake.
I live in the area, and have a 3 year old. Quite honestly, with a 2 and 4 year old, I don't know if the Corning Glass Museum would be worth the cost of admission. We went with our daughter last summer, so she was about 2.5....barely made it through the hot glass show before she was bored and wanted to run. And in a museum full of glass.....well, you get the idea! Just walking through the gift shop made me cringe, since there was so much gorgeous and expensive stuff at way too tempting a height for her.
I'd recommend Ithaca, personally. The Sciencenter is awesome for kids! There are 2 state parks (Treman and Buttermilk Falls) with beach/swimming areas, lots of hiking trails, and a great pedestrian mall shopping area. The Ithaca Commons is lots of fun, neat shops and eateries. And quite frequently there are local weekend festivals - music, arts, one year we went to the Banana Festival.... LOL
Here is a link to the visitor's bureau - on the right side of the page are other links to some of the things I mentioned. Ithaca, NY - Visitors
As far as hotels go, I know there are several chains in Ithaca. Beyond that, I'd have to check around a bit more, since I live about 45 minutes away I don't usually pay much attention to the hotels!
I would recommend Watkins Glen. It is right on the lake, and the state park is very nice. I haven't been to Hammondsport, but have heard it is a very nice town.
If the Glass Museum wasn't on your agenda, I would recommend Skaneteales. Beautiful little town right on the lake.
Yeah - two routes would work out well - you can cut underneath or above the finger lakes ....... I know much more about the southern towns, but the area on the north is also very nice ..... in fact, I'm probably spending a night or two in skaneateles this summer
On the southern end I'd look into Ithaca, Watkins Glen, Hammondsport
Tough age for kids activities in the area though .... I love CMoG, but I will not be taking my 2 & 3 year old there this summer when I come home - they do have some good exhibits and some interactive stuff, but may not grip the attention at that age
While you could probably get in the water on the southern park of Keuka Lake, I would definitely recommend Keuka State Park on the northern end - not a bad beach for a lake, a bit larger and better organized
Depending on how the water is moving, you could probably even swim in a couple of the stream fed pools with you kiddos - I know when there were budget issues a lot of the smaller parks like this one had some issues as far as staying open, i'd probably give a call before heading over though or committing to the area
If you end up on the other side over by Cayuga Lake then this park could be worth checking out as it also has a stream fed swimming pool (plus in Ithaca you can see a lot of other nice parks that may be more visuals) - it's a little over a half hour from Ithaca
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