Keuka Lake and the 2nd Coolest Small Town in America

We've just spent four heavenly days at a campground near Keuka Lake, in the Finger Lakes region of New York.  The weather wasn't ideal -- it rained all but one day -- but there was lots to do, even on a rainy day.



I'd always heard of the Finger Lakes but didn't know much about them.  The main reason we went there was that last year Budget Travel magazine had a contest for the "Coolest Small Town in America".  They picked 10 nominees and the public got to vote on their website for the winner.  One of the towns was Beaufort, NC, our hometown (ok, we don't actually live there any more but it's only over the bridge and we visit a lot).  As the contest came to it's final day, Beaufort and Hammondsport, NY were neck and neck for first place and on the last night, the voting was so fierce that the server crashed and they had to declare it a tie.  We decided we had to see Hammondsport and decide for ourselves which was cooler.  A totally unbiased opinion.

The campground we stayed at was small but very clean and well kept.  It had a pond and we were able to take Poppy out in the canoe exploring and then let her chase the ball in the water on our one nice day.  There were also several families of geese living on the pond, much to the owners' chagrin but we really enjoyed them.  It was a great base for exploring the area -- the drive from our campground to Hammondsport afforded some excellent views of the lake from the high hills surrounding it.

Hammondsport is located at the south end of Lake Keuka.  It's a really small town (someone told me only 660 permanent residents) but has a lovely town square with really neat stores all around it and beautiful homes on the side streets.  The lakefront is also really nice with public access to launch boats or swim.

And....(I'm saving the best for last) there are wineries EVERYWHERE!  Vineyards line the roads and there are wine tastings available at all the wineries.  We tried some really good wines and purchased a few bottles. 

We didn't see any sailboats in Hammondsport.  We only ate out once and the meal was very good but I doubt if the restaurants can compare with those in Beaufort.  And, there wasn't any bar you could take your dog into like Backstreet Pub in Beaufort.  So we have to say that Hammondsport is a very cool town but we will stick with Beaufort as the coolest small town in America!

Today's adventure will be the topic of my next blogpost -- Letchworth State Park in NY -- a well kept secret!