Seneca Lake

Seneca Lake, a Native American name meaning “Place of the Stone”, is perhaps the most famous of the Finger Lakes. It is next to the longest at 38 miles, second only to its neighbor to the east, Cayuga Lake. It does, however, have the distinction of being the deepest of the lakes with a depth of 618 feet. With Geneva at the north and Watkins Glen at the south, Seneca Lake is nestled in rolling hills of farmland, vineyards, and wineries. Wine making is big business in this region, and Seneca Lake has more wineries along its shoreline than any of the other lakes.

At Glenora Winery

Farms and vineyards

Fishing pier at Geneva

In our wandering around, we have seen much of the 75 miles of shoreline of this beautiful lake. There are huge farms, several of which are owned by Amish families. Wineries, especially on the western side, are seemingly one right after another—about 40 in all. In the small amount of lakeside land not used for farming or vineyards, are lake houses of every description, from huge mansions to tiny hovels in need of some major repairs. There are also several state parks with lakeside paths for walkers and bicyclists and fishing piers for the angler.

Lake houses

Lakefront park at Geneva

Watkins Glen Marina

Almost anything you want to do is available on Seneca Lake.