A Finger Lakes Weekend in Skaneateles, NY

UPDATED: 1/22/2023

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There are a lot of places on my list of where I want to travel. A LOT. One area I’ve always wanted to check out is Upstate New York, particularly the Finger Lakes region.

So, when my sister contacted me earlier in the summer hoping to entice me to join her as a babysitter for my nieces while she and her husband attended a wedding in Skaneateles, she was surprised when I agreed. My older niece is 2 1/2 and the younger one was a mere 6 weeks, and I hadn’t had a chance to meet her yet since she was born while I was in Iceland. (Read more about that trip here.)

We stayed in a suite at Arbor House Inn. I got to share a bedroom with my 2 1/2 year old niece, who was quite an interesting roommate, and which led to some funny stories. My sister and I now jokingly refer to her as my “roomie”. Getting to spend an entire weekend with her, when my visits are usually much shorter, was a fun experience. I was able to confirm that she is in fact undefeated at Candy Land, in spite of it being a game of chance. I’m pretty sure the game is rigged with some sort of special knowledge that only toddlers possess.

Skaneateles (literally pronounced “skinny atlas”) is an absolutely adorable little town, right on the north tip of Skaneateles Lake.

This weekend adventure required about a ten hour drive (accounting for quick stops for gas, food, and bathrooms). I’m not going to lie: it was a long, painful drive to make alone. Luckily, I downloaded two audio books, which I timed perfectly to cover both directions of the drive, so at least I accomplished something during the drive.

I arrived on Thursday evening in time for dinner. With departure planned for Sunday morning, and babysitting duties both Friday and Saturday evenings, I didn’t have time to explore beyond the town, nor did I take many photos.

Here are some of the highlights of things we did do, of course limited by the amount of time, as well as a young child and infant:

Boat tour of Skaneateles Lake. We took the 50-minute Sightseeing Tour from Mid-Lakes Navigation . We were able to easily purchase tickets the morning of via phone (they also offer online booking).
Walk the town. Skaneateles is very walkable. We were able to walk to the grocery store, restaurants, the main street, and the waterfront all from the hotel where we stayed. I learned that walking is a good way to tire out kids :-)
Relax with a picnic blanket and a book (or a game of tag) at a town park. We spent time at Cliff Park (also where we caught the boat) as well as Thayer Park , just a short walk away.

As you might expect, we also ate while there. What we found to be challenging, though is how crowded the restaurants were with long wait times, even when we tried getting there on the early side.

On our first night, tired after long drives and faced with long wait times at restaurants, we asked Gilda’s Restaurant if we could order some of their pizza to go and found that to be the best option. The pizza was really very delicious, and they offer great, fresh options for toppings. We got the Mushroom, Margherita, and Indelicato’s Pepperoni.

For lunch one day, we stopped by Doug’s Fish Fry (luckily before a long line formed out the door!) and had delicious Lobster Roll and Po Boy sandwiches. For ambiance, there was a model train running along near the ceiling as well as local scenes painted on the walls. Most of the characters painted on seemed to have the same face: Doug's. This restaurant definitely has some personality!

For an afternoon treat, stop by Skaneateles Skoops because ice cream is always a good idea.

Another evening when we were again faced with long waits, we found a place that was less crowded and were able to get a quick bite to eat at Lake House Pub , which had fairly standard pub fare and more than sated our appetites.

But I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the bakeries. Each morning we made breakfast and one or the other of us would walk to a bakery to pick up some treats to accompany the meal. There is something I absolutely love about being able to wake up, walk to a bakery, and walk home to eat. Our favorite was Patisserie , which was a small, more traditional bakery. Also tasty but more of a cafe/deli with more doughnuts than pastries was Skaneateles Bakery . But really, you can’t go wrong with either!

Skaneateles was a perfect spot for a weekend and would probably make a good home base or be a good stop along the way on a longer trip of the Finger Lakes vicinity.

But I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the bakeries. Each morning we made breakfast and one or the other of us would walk to a bakery to pick up some treats to accompany the meal. There is something I absolutely love about being able to wake up, walk to a bakery, and walk home to eat. Our favorite was Patisserie , which was a small, more traditional bakery. Also tasty but more of a cafe/deli with more doughnuts than pastries was Skaneateles Bakery . But really, you can’t go wrong with either!

Skaneateles was a perfect spot for a weekend and would probably make a good home base or be a good stop along the way on a longer trip of the Finger Lakes vicinity.