Every Place Has a Story
The Finger Lakes are more than eleven stretches of water on a map. They are small towns waking beneath the morning mist, waterfalls hidden at the end of a trail, vineyards climbing sunlit hillsides, and old roads that still lead somewhere worth discovering.
11 Lakes Stories explores the people, places, history, traditions, and everyday moments that give this region its character.
Some stories will take you to familiar landmarks and show you something you may have never noticed. Others will lead you down a back road, into a small village, around a campfire, or to the edge of a quiet lake just as the sun comes up.
Along the way, we’ll meet the people who call the Finger Lakes home, revisit pieces of local history, follow the changing seasons, and uncover those places that don’t always make the travel brochures.
These aren’t simply stories about visiting the Finger Lakes.
They’re stories about what it feels like to be here.
Welcome to 11 Lakes Stories.
Stay awhile. There’s more to discover.

Finger Lakes Weekend
Finger Lakes Weekend: Wine, Waterfalls, Villages, Trails & Lakes You don’t need a week to fall in love with the
The Amish of the Finger Lakes: A Community Growing Quietly
The Amish of the Finger Lakes: A Community Growing Quietly Part 1 Along the back roads of the Finger Lakes,
Ultimate Moist Chocolate Cake
Ultimate Moist Chocolate Cake Fresh from the oven — a simple, old-fashioned chocolate cake that fills the house with warmth
The Makers of the Finger Lakes
Across the Finger Lakes, there is still a strong belief in making things by hand. You can see it at
When Winter Becomes the Winemaker
The Rare Story of Finger Lakes Ice Wine There comes a point in a Finger Lakes winter when most
11 Lakes Fall Color Trail
The 11 Lakes Fall Color Trail How to plan an autumn journey through the villages, vineyards, farm country and scenic
Churchill Downs Considers Selling del Lago
11 Lakes Magazine illustration Churchill Downs Considers Selling del Lago: What It Could Mean for the Finger Lakes The Seneca
When Big Technology Comes to a Small Town
A proposed data center overlooking Cayuga Lake is forcing the Finger Lakes to confront a difficult question: How much development
When the Mornings Begin to Feel Like Fall
When the Mornings Begin to Feel Like Fall Autumn Watch — Story 3 There is a morning every year in
