New York Finger Lakes Bike Tour

Pack your camera, tempt your taste buds, cycle quiet rural roads and relax at scenic lakeside accommodations.

New York’s Finger Lakes region takes its name from the 11 pristine, freshwater lakes placed like a handprint between Lake Ontario and the Pennsylvania Border. The region encompasses 9,000 square miles. Glaciers carved out the Finger Lakes themselves as well as some of the beautiful surrounding landscape. Gorges and waterfalls can be found throughout the Finger Lakes region.

The Finger Lakes is one of the best-known regions in the world for almost 100 top-quality wines. Because of the lake’s great depths, they provide a lake effect to the lush vineyards that flank the shores. While cycling along the ridgelines we’ll enjoy the patchwork of farms, vineyards, and lake front communities.

The Finger Lakes Wine Country has a rich cultural history with ties to glassmaking, winemaking and viticulture, aviation and motorcycle history, literary history, the Underground Railroad, and the Civil War. We’ll visit charming villages with one-of-a-kind museums and unique shopping opportunities, fascinating sites, including the National Women’s Hall of Fame, Cornell University’s stunning campus, It’s a Wonderful Life Museum, and the spell-bounding Watkins Glen State Park. The area is a dream come true for water and outdoor activities. For the bicycling enthusiast, the choices are too many to take in a short 6-day tour.

This tour was designed with the help of long-time local guests of Cycle of Life Adventures. There is not a more perfect source for local knowledge than from local cyclists.

Highlights

• Daily rides along silky smooth roads that follow the shores of Lake Cayuga, Seneca and Keuka Lake.
• Wine tasting at the world-class Glenora Cellars.
• Two-night stay at the Statler Hotel on the campus of Cornell University.
• Two nights of accommodations in Penn Yan on the waterfront.
• Ride across George Bailey’s (It’s a Wonderful Life) bridge.
• Explore Cornell University vibrant stunning campus, the Cornell plantation, and the famous The Lab of Ornithology.
• Visit the Women’s Rights National Historical Park, the Fight for Civil Rights that changed the world.
• Relax in the mill town of Penn Yan with local charm and historic buildings.
• Visit Taughannock Falls, the tallest single-drop waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains.
• Explore Watkins Glen State Park and its 18 cascading waterfalls and breathtaking gorges.
• Historic Registry Village of Aurora on the east shore of Cayuga.
• The beautiful village of Hammondsport and a vintage biker’s dream visit to the Glenn Curtiss Museum, named after the pioneer in aviation and bicycle frame builder.
• Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, a 10,000-acre wildlife preserve home to eagles, heron, snow geese and much more.
• Picnic Lunch on the lush grass of Long Point State Park on the shores of Lake Cayuga.

Rider Requirements: Must maintain a daily average pace of 10-15 mph.