One of my favorite things about visiting the Finger Lakes is the small towns. Watkins Glen, with its storied racing history. Corning, the birthplace of American glassblowing. Hammondsport, a less than one stoplight town with a charming town square. Seneca Falls, somehow home to both the women’s suffrage movement & the inspiration behind It’s a Wonderful Life.
Corning
The biggest of the small towns on this list, Corning is home to the world famous Corning Incorporated (more famously known as Glassworks Company) & the Corning Museum of Glass. Named after the railroad executive who invested in the town’s glass industry, this town (city?) of 11,000 boasts a charming main street with shops & restaurants which line the river. Across the Chemung River is the Corning factory & museum. You probably grew up, as I did, eating off of CorningWear & baking in Pyrex. But now the Corning company has moved beyond their domestic roots, making Gorilla Glass for iPhones.
Walking Market Street is both a tribute to small town America – there’s a music store, renting instruments to the neighborhood elementary school kids, & the Market Street Brewing Company, the only micro-brewery in Corning & my favorite summertime lunch place – & a tribute to commercialism, home to a Van Huesen Outlet Store & a Bass Shoe Outlet.
Watkins Glen
At the base of Seneca Lake is the Village of Watkins Glen. If you’re a racing fan, you know Watkins Glen as the home to the Watkins Glen Grand Prix, first held on the city streets in 1948. The event, & a NASCAR race, have since moved to the nearby Watkins Glen International Raceway. On race weekend, the town is packed to the gills & booming, but on every other day, it’s a charming village of 1800 people, a few shops & a really great BBQ restaurant.
Watkins Glen is B’s favorite Finger Lakes town – he loves the location on the lake & the laid back small town feel. It’s so nice to go somewhere that hasn’t been invaded by Starbucks (there’s one little coffee shop in town, which is also the only place open for breakfast), where relaxation takes place on the lake or in the gorge, & the hardest decision to make is which ice cream shop to visit (hint: not Ben & Jerry’s!).
Hammondsport
At the base of Keuka Lake is my favorite of the Finger Lakes small towns, Hammondsport. Idyllic in every sense of the word, this village of 800 people boasts the most charming town square, veterans memorial &, like any good small town, both a tavern & ice cream shop. I love Hammondsport’s small town friendliness & easy access to the chill-est of the Finger Lakes.
Seneca Falls
My best piece of advice on visiting Seneca Falls, which was both the birthplace of the women’s suffrage movement & was the inspiration behind Frank Cappa’s It’s a Wonderful Life, is not to visit on Sunday. When we rolled into town on a rainy Sunday afternoon, it was dead quiet. No cars parked on the street, no shops or restaurants open… nothing. The visitors center was open, so we popped our heads in, learning about how Seneca Falls was a major stop along the canal routes. A little disappointed, we continued on.
We’ll have to give Seneca Falls a try again – maybe on a weekday this time.
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