Why 11 Lakes? The Waters That Define a Region

Eleven lakes. Hundreds of communities. One landscape shaped by water.

To understand the Finger Lakes, begin with the water.

Across a broad sweep of Upstate New York, 11 long, narrow lakes stretch through rolling farmland, wooded hills, vineyards and small towns. They are remnants of an ancient landscape transformed by enormous glaciers, but their importance today reaches far beyond geology.

The lakes influence where communities developed, what farmers grow, where people spend their summers and, increasingly, how the world recognizes this part of New York.

They are also the reason behind the name 11 Lakes Design.

A Landscape Carved by Ice

Thousands of years ago, massive glaciers moved across what is now New York State, deepening existing river valleys and reshaping the land.

When the ice eventually retreated, water filled those valleys.

The result was a landscape unlike almost anywhere else in the country: a series of remarkably long, narrow lakes running primarily north to south.

Around them grew forests, farms and communities. Roads followed shorelines and valleys. Mills harnessed streams rushing toward the lakes. Later, vineyards took advantage of slopes and the moderating influence of the water.

Over generations, the lakes became inseparable from the identity of the region.

Yet no two are quite alike.

Eleven Lakes, Eleven Personalities

Beginning in the west, Conesus Lake is often considered the western gateway to the Finger Lakes. Summer cottages, boating and generations of family traditions have made it a lake defined as much by community as geography.

Nearby, Hemlock Lake offers a dramatically different experience. Protected as part of Rochester’s drinking-water supply, much of its shoreline remains undeveloped. The result is a glimpse of what portions of the Finger Lakes may have looked like before cottages and communities spread along the water.

Neighboring Canadice Lake is even smaller and quieter, surrounded largely by forest. Together, Hemlock and Canadice provide a wild counterpoint to the region’s busier recreational lakes.

Honeoye Lake may be relatively small, but it has long been a destination for fishing, boating and lakeside living.

Then comes Canandaigua Lake, whose name is commonly associated with the Seneca phrase translated as “the chosen spot.” Today its shoreline combines agriculture, recreation, communities and vineyards with one of the region’s most recognizable lake landscapes.

Keuka: The Lake That Splits

Few Finger Lakes are as immediately recognizable on a map as Keuka Lake.

Its unusual Y shape distinguishes it from its neighbors, with two northern branches joining before the lake continues south toward Hammondsport.

The surrounding hills became important to the development of the Finger Lakes wine industry, creating a relationship between agriculture and water that remains central to Keuka’s identity.

Here, as elsewhere in the region, the lake does more than provide scenery.

It helps shape the land around it.

Seneca and Cayuga: The Giants

At the center of the region are its two largest lakes.

Seneca Lake is the deepest of the Finger Lakes and one of the defining centers of New York wine country. Vineyards, wineries, farms and communities line its hillsides, while Geneva and Watkins Glen anchor its northern and southern ends.

Just to the east lies Cayuga Lake, the longest of the Finger Lakes.

Its southern end reaches Ithaca, where waterfalls, gorges, higher education and a vibrant downtown create one of the region’s most distinctive communities. Farther north, farms, wineries and smaller villages return the landscape to a decidedly rural character.

Together, Cayuga and Seneca form something of a geographic heart for the Finger Lakes.

But they don’t tell the entire story.

Owasco: The Lake Close to Home

Owasco Lake sits between Cayuga and Skaneateles, stretching south from Auburn toward the hills of southern Cayuga County.

For 11 Lakes Design, Owasco carries particular significance.

This is our corner of the Finger Lakes.

The countryside surrounding Moravia lies just south of the lake, where streams, hills, farmland and places such as Fillmore Glen State Park connect village life with the larger Finger Lakes landscape.

Owasco doesn’t have the international wine reputation of Seneca or the resort identity associated with some neighboring lakes.

Its appeal is quieter.

People fish it, boat it, live beside it and return to it year after year.

Sometimes the lake that matters most isn’t the most famous one.

It’s the one closest to home.

Skaneateles and Otisco: The Eastern Lakes

Farther east, Skaneateles Lake has earned a reputation for remarkably clear water and an elegant village at its northern end.

Historic homes, shops and parks meet the shoreline in Skaneateles, creating one of the region’s most recognizable village-and-lake settings.

Beyond it lies Otisco Lake, the easternmost of the 11.

Smaller and less internationally known than its neighbors, Otisco represents another side of the Finger Lakes: quiet roads, fishing, recreation and communities that remain closely connected to the surrounding countryside.

And with Otisco, the journey across the 11 lakes reaches its eastern edge.

More Than a Map

It would be easy to define the Finger Lakes simply by geography.

Conesus. Hemlock. Canadice. Honeoye. Canandaigua. Keuka. Seneca. Cayuga. Owasco. Skaneateles. Otisco.

But a list of names doesn’t explain what these lakes mean.

They are summer mornings when the water is perfectly still.

They are docks pulled from the water before winter.

They are vineyards climbing hillsides and waterfalls cutting through stone.

They are fishing boats before sunrise, kayaks disappearing around a point, cottages filled with generations of memories and Main Streets just a few miles from shore.

They are also working landscapes—sources of drinking water, recreation, agriculture, tourism and economic activity.

Most importantly, they connect communities that might otherwise seem very different from one another.

Why 11 Lakes?

That is why the number 11 became more than a name for us.

11 Lakes Design grew from the idea that the Finger Lakes deserves to be celebrated not simply as a destination, but as a place people call home.

Our designs draw inspiration from its lakes and villages, waterfalls and vineyards, wildlife and farms, changing seasons and local traditions.

The same idea now extends into the stories we tell.

Because behind every lake is another story.

A village.

A family business.

An old road.

A hidden waterfall.

A vineyard planted generations ago.

A quiet morning when mist rises from the water before anyone else seems awake.

Together, those stories create something larger than any single lake.

They create the Finger Lakes.

Eleven lakes. One region. Countless stories.