Places I Remember with Lea Lane
On this monthly award-winning travel podcast, host Lea Lane shares travel memories and travel tips with passionate travelers, travel experts, and savvy locals around the world. Lea has traveled to over 100 countries, is the author of nine books, a blogger at forbes.com, and a contributor to dozens of guidebooks. Smart. Fun! Over 100 episodes!
Places I Remember with Lea Lane
Refreshing Waterways, Waterfalls, Wineries Of New York's Finger Lakes
There's so much more to New York than Manhattan. In this episode we'll discover the "hidden gems" of upstate and western New York's waterways: the serene beauty of the historic Erie Canal, the charm of villages nestled along the way, and the natural delights of the Finger Lakes, with its surrounding farms, vineyards and waterfalls.
Chris Jennings, the General Manager of the Lake House on Canandaigua, helps us touch on downtown waterfalls of the city of Rochester, with a history of notable figures like Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony. We'll uncover the lesser-known natural wonders of western New York beyond famed Niagara Falls, including Letchworth State Park, often referred to as the Grand Canyon of the East.
The Finger Lakes, 11 glacier-formed bodies of water, are celebrated for their wine scene and cultural tapestry, including Amish and Mennonite influences. And Chris ends the episode sharing a heartwarming story on Lake Canandaigua.
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Chris Jennings is the General Manager of the Lake House on Canandaigua, and lives in the Finger Lakes area.
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Podcast host Lea Lane has traveled to over 100 countries, and has written nine books, including the award-winning Places I Remember (Kirkus Reviews star rating, and 'one of the top 100 Indie books of the year'). She has contributed to many guidebooks and has written thousands of travel articles.
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Our award-winning travel podcast, Places I Remember with Lea Lane, has dropped over 100 travel episodes! New podcast episodes drop on the first Tuesday of the month, on Apple, Spotify, and wherever you listen.
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I've spent several summers in a beautiful area of New York State that I especially wanted to share with you because, even if you're a sophisticated traveler, you may not realize how special it is.
Lea Lane:I've spent several summers in a beautiful area of New York State that I especially wanted to share with you because, even if you're a sophisticated traveler, you may not realize how special it is. So in this episode, we'll be focusing on water, specifically the quite amazing lakes, rivers and canals, the waterways and waterfalls of upstate and western New York. We'll be talking mainly about the historic Erie Canal, with its charming villages and quiet pleasures, and the Finger Lakes 11 glacial lakes, most of them an hour or so south of Lake Ontario. The region is filled with rural towns, gorges, vineyards, hiking trails. It's a peaceful, unspoiled, laid-back part of the world. Our guest is Chris Jennings, general Manager of the Lake House on Canandaigua, voted by Travel and Leisure number one resort hotel in New York State and number two resort hotel in the continental US. Welcome, Chris, to Places I Remember.
Chris Jennings:Thank you Very glad to be a part of the podcast. Thank you very much for inviting me.
Lea Lane:Well, let's start by talking about upstate New York, with a man-made waterway, the famous Erie Canal, which runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. It's 339 miles long from Albany to Buffalo. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, and it vastly reduced the costs of transporting people and goods across the Appalachians for about a century, until the railroads and the highways took over. The capital district where the canal begins is in and around Albany, New York. Besides the impressive government buildings, the area still has many architectural and historical reminders that it was first settled by the Dutch in the early 17th century and came under English control in 1664.
Lea Lane:Here's an interesting fact Almost every major city in New York falls along the trade route established by the Hudson River and along the Erie Canal from New York City to Albany, to Schenectady, Utica and Syracuse, to Rochester and Buffalo, and nearly 80% of upstate New York's population lives within 25 miles of the Erie Canal. You can find out more about the canal in Syracuse. There's a building called the Waylock Building, dating from 1850, and there's lots of information there to give you a real heads up on this wonderful American creation, Chris. let's talk about a few of the charming Erie Canal towns we both visited. They are no longer used for commercial transport. What's special about them now, would you say.
Chris Jennings:What I think is special is the tours that they do on them. Now you can get on a boat n during the afternoon evening and you can go and they do dinners and they'll have a band. Sometimes it's just for adults, sometimes it's for kids. So the parents can have fun sometimes and they also can bring the kids and my kids have done it before and they absolutely love it. They also can bring the kids and my kids have done it before and they absolutely love it. And I mean, playing music on the canal is just it's nothing you're ever going to experience and you just go through it and the kids are just like wow. And then sometimes you get away with the kids and you rock out a little harder and it's amazing.
Lea Lane:So how wide is the canal? When we're talking about a a acanal, how do you visualize it?
Chris Jennings:You know, there's certain areas that are probably 20, 30 feet, but then I've seen it as wide as like 50, 60 feet sometimes, but most of the time it's a little more skinnier. So it's very. Most of the time it's smaller, but you get your little passes that it's a little bit more wider.
Lea Lane:So it's quite interesting. Well, you can bike along it, you can walk and hike and stroll. There are beautiful areas of natural beauty on many of these canal paths.
Chris Jennings:There are restaurants, which is great A lot of times not to interrupt. But there's also a lot of restaurants along them too, which is super nice.
Lea Lane:Yes, and Pittsford, there's a lovely area. Tell us about that.
Chris Jennings:That's a suburb of of Rochester. honestly. honestly, it's our favorite place to go to Pittsford. Honestly, we live in Victor, New York right now, but Pittsford is our favorite place to go to There's so many restaurants along the canal that will we'll our kids there and literally there's ducks there. They want to go fishing there. We've even sat some of the restaurants and They practice their t rowing the like you They're Olympics they they go past it and then they come back and they're like what is this? Like?
Lea Lane:h scene from the 18th or 19th century very peaceful and pastoral.
Lea Lane:Yes, ice cream at Pittsburgh Dairy. They've got terrific ice cream there. I've had that. I think these villages retain their Erie Canal character, but many of them are still considered suburbs of bigger cities such as Pittsford, which you mentioned. Near Rochester, which is on Lake Ontario, Rochester itself has quite a history. It's become a boomtown after the canal was built. It was home in the 1800s to Frederick Douglass, the African-American social reformer who escaped from slavery in Maryland and became a renowned abolitionist orator, writer and statesman, and also Susan B Anthony, who also lived in Rochester, an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. Today Rochester is a mid-sized city. It has lots to offer. Where would you bring visitors for a day in Rochester? What are a couple of the things you like in that city?
Chris Jennings:I would recommend coming to some of the festivals, like the Lilac Festival or even the Greek Festival is probably my favorite. To be honest with you, the museum is a great place. We also have the Science Museum. We're members of the science museum, we're members of the u ochester museum down there and also t we've done something like at the at the uh city center. We've done some things where we they've had some dinosaurs down there. We brought the kids down there, which was super cool and super fun. I've also done the hockey. We have amateur hockey team down there, which is super, which is fun as well. U, t's just a cool little quaint town. When you bring the kids down there, they're like because we live in the suburbs and you bring them there like, wow, daddy, we're back into the big city and the restaurant scene down there is very good. There's a place called Red's that I really love.
Lea Lane:Yeah, it's a nice city. I think it's a real midsize city. It had a great history. It had some hard times. It's coming back.
Lea Lane:There's a wonderful, Strong National Museum of Play, which is something world-class. If you have children, it's wonderful. It's just expanded and it's a great museum. Then there's the George Eastman Museum. He was the founder of Kodak and has great exhibits and it's an early 1900s estate with gardens. It's really beautiful. So there's lots to see and do in Rochester.
Lea Lane:But, as I said, many of the canal towns are only about 20 minutes from downtown. We mentioned Pittsford. There's also Fairport, which is filled with festivals and restaurants and bars and all kinds of fun things. And there's Brockport, which has nine public parks. It's about 20 miles west of Rochester. It's also a lot of fun. And then there's Lockport, which is a suburb of Buffalo and it has the widest bridge in North America. It spans the canal to the southwest of the locks. There are locks on these canals and many of them are still usable. There's a Lockport Cave and Underground Boat Ride in Lockport where you can go and have fun with the locks. So I think that's another good thing for families. By the way, Buffalo itself you know, we know it for the Buffalo Bills and chicken wings and all that.
Lea Lane:But, it's been developing. It's downtown. Have you been to Buffalo lately, Chris?
Chris Jennings:I have actually, and my wife works, for I mean she gets to visit more than I do. But yeah, I mean it's a great city. I mean the people there are amazing and there's so many cool things that are going on with that city as well.
Lea Lane:Yeah, there's something called Canal Side, which is a terrific development of their waterfront, and they have beautiful parks designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed Central Park and who also designed some parks in Rochester. So there's some beautiful old things and they develop their old buildings beautifully. I know they're repurposing them. So Buffalo's on the rise, just like Rochester, and it's fun to watch that.
Lea Lane:Now the Erie Canal is a man-made water wonder, but this area of Western New York is filled with natural water wonders, a lot of water rivers, lakes, waterfalls, gorges, carved from the Ice Age. We all know the Niagara River that connects between two great lakes, the Erie and Ontario, and it culminates with the world-famous drop of Niagara Falls near Buffalo, maybe the fastest moving waterfalls in the world. It straddles the Canadian border and you can walk along the falls or go see the plunging waters from below by boat and you will get wet, but it's a lot of fun. But we're focusing on watery things you probably didn't know much about, so we're going to pass a little on that. I'm going to tell you about waterfalls in the center of Rochester. Tell us about that waterfall, chris. If you can't, I will, because we're editing. You're off, you're mute, you're mute.
Chris Jennings:I don't know that one, so I apologize.
Lea Lane:But we're focusing on watery things that you probably didn't know much about. So I'm going to tell you that there are three major waterfalls in the center of Rochester, where the Genesee River drops and that area is now being developed into a state park. And you know it's a surprise. You come to a downtown with a big waterfall it's not as big as Niagara, but it's big. And then there's Letchworth State Park, between Rochester and Buffalo. Have you been there, chris?
Chris Jennings:I have not. No, I have not.
Lea Lane:It follows the course of the Genesee River. Locals call it the Grand Canyon of the East. It has three or four waterfalls, two lookouts which are easily accessible from the road. It's really something else. There are hot air balloons sometimes. Over there there's an inn where you can eat overlooking the falls. Very special and not many people know about it out of New York State. Let's talk about your area, Chris the Finger Lakes. It's maybe an hour or so south of Rochester, a group of 11 long, narrow, roughly north-south lakes located south of Lake Ontario. How were these lakes created?
Chris Jennings:What's great, what most people probably don't know is by glaciers, which I don't think people would ever think there's any glaciers up here in the u or in the Finger Lakes, but they're all created by glaciers u and they're all right correct, but you and I, 100% honestly, right before I moved up there, I didn't really hear a lot about these.
Chris Jennings:And when you tell people they're created by glaciers, they're mind blown because they think they're man-made.
Lea Lane:Which is, I know, because they're very narrow. Some of them are very deep too, like fjords.
Chris Jennings:Seneca lake, I know, is special ours is almost 200 and at the deepest points is almost 252 feet deep.
Lea Lane:That's c yeah yes, yes, ma'am yeah, I mean it's, it's.
Chris Jennings:You look at them and you're like, wow, these are just man-made lakes. And they're not. And I'm someone who's from Texas I come from a lot of man-made lakes and they look like it and, uh, the way that they're formed. And when you tell people how they are with glaciers, then you actually take a boat ride and you see the hills and the mountains and just like, okay, I understand how these actually weren't man-made. It's magical.
Lea Lane:The fact that there are 11 of them like fingers sticking down. You know from the Great Lakes. It's really eerie. And you're right, many people do not know about this at all and it is a secret A lot of people don't like that. People will be talking about it because they like to keep it a little uncrowded.
Chris Jennings:But I'm talking about it. I'm glad we're talking about it, because I would love for more people to come visit us.
Lea Lane:Yeah, I want other people to see it too. That's why we're doing this wonderful segment. There are vineyards let's talk about the vineyards. Hundreds and hundreds of vineyards and wonderful wine. It's become an excellent, excellent wine. It was known for white wine, but now all the wines are very good, right?
Chris Jennings:The red wines are coming through and it's amazing. We have the second most and we also have the second most breweries in the country than anybody else now too, but the wines up here just becoming so amazing. Um, when you first moved up, when I first moved up here, you know you, you try some different wines, different areas, and now everybody's just evolving how, even over a year or two, they've just evolved and they're trying different grapes and different things, because most of their white wines and their Rieslings and non-sweet Rieslings but now they're getting the red wines and they're even doing some rosés too.
Lea Lane:Right now I know some really very picky people who thought they wouldn't like t h and they just are ordering the wine.
Chris Jennings:It's flowing now. It's awesome.
Lea Lane:Right. There's a lot of music around their places, their venues in vineyards. Many of them have music on weekends, especially in the summer and fall. It's just a great, great place for that. If you like dark skies, where you can see the stars, and farm to table cuisine and birds and wildlife, it's great. There's also a lot of Amish and Mennonite culture around. Tell us why? Do you know why?
Chris Jennings:I don't necessarily know why. They settled here lately, I know that they build their Adirondack chairs all the time.
Lea Lane:Yeah, but they were settled in other areas and came here later and it's a wonderful addition. There are wonderful markets and quilts and so forth to buy, so it adds to the beauty of the area. Canandaigua Lake especially has some nice things to note. The Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion is a 50 acre state park at the north end of the lake. I like the pier with the old boathouses. There's a whole row of beautifully painted boathouses, right, yes, and they're beautiful. Concerts in the summer, and can you swim in the lake?
Chris Jennings:Yes, yes, you can swim in the lake a as long as you don't mind it being a little cold and uh, (how cold are you talking? So I'm from Texas, right, so I like my water like 90 degrees, but p people come.
Chris Jennings:It's like it's up to 70 to 72 and people love it. You know it's refreshing, especially on 9 92 degree day. You jump in. It's actually is refreshing The Lake House. e're putting in weed mats, creating a swim area so you can actually jump in and swim with stairs and make it quite comfortable cool.
Lea Lane:Well, there are beautiful areas around Canandaigua Lake. Naples is a charming little town in the highlands. It's the highest area of the region and it specializes in great hikes and something called grape pie. Have you had grape pie?
Chris Jennings:I have.
Lea Lane:Now you either love it or you don't. Are you a lover of it?
Chris Jennings:No, I could lie and say yes, no no, So you should try it, but my son absolutely loves it, and so does my daughter.
Lea Lane:It can be gummy.
Chris Jennings:You never know. Everybody's taste buds are different.
Lea Lane:That's what's fun about a region like this. There's local foods and wonderful traditions, so you want to try them. Bristol Mountain is the highest peak in the region. It's about 1,200 vertical, which isn't that high, but for this area it is snow made in the winter and you can do Nordic trails. For this area, it is snow made in the winter and you can do Nordic trails. You could do a zip line in the summer and that's close to Canandaigua Lake. There's one hike I really like at Grimes Glen. There's two stunning 60 foot waterfalls and you have to walk through a stream. Have you done it?
Chris Jennings:My team does tours there and it's amazing.
Lea Lane:Yeah, very nice. Go early in the morning before it gets crowded. That's my tip usually for things to try to go off peak. Now, another lake besides Canandaigua that I especially love is Keuka Lake. It's a Y-shaped lake and both banks covered in vineyards. This is an area where, if you like wine, if you just take these tours, you can go to five or six wineries in a day and just enjoy it's a wonderful day it looks like in Italy or something it really does actually. Yeah, very beautiful.
Chris Jennings:It's an amazing area. It looks like it's in.
Lea Lane:Italy or something it really does actually. Yeah, very beautiful. There's a town called Hammondsport at the south end, where there's Glenn Curtis Museum, which is focusing on planes and so forth. At the top, at the north, a town called Penn Yan is very charming as well. Now, Seneca Lake is the deepest of the lakes. I think we mentioned that. I think they did submarine training there. It was so deep. There's a town called Geneva at the north end, which has wonderful 19th century architecture. Do you like Geneva?
Chris Jennings:Every time she takes me, it's always like a special thing for us but, the best food in the Finger Lakes.
Lea Lane:Yeah, I know there are many, many good restaurants. It's farm to table. It's all fresh farmland all around and that's one of the beauties of it, both the beauty and the food. You've got these fields of fresh vegetables and fruits all summer and fall. There's one place in Geneva that I like. It's called Belhurst Castle, built about, I think, 1885. You can have high tea there. It's very elegant. I like high tea. Now, Watkins Glen is at the southern end of Seneca.
Chris Jennings:Lake. It's known for its race car driving right, but it's also known for the waterfalls that they have in the gorges there.
Lea Lane:The last lake that I love. The place, as they say, Ithaca, is gorgeous, meaning with the gorges, it has the tallest waterfall east of the Rockies. Very beautiful. It's a kind of laid back area with hidden beauty, natural scenery, good food, place to relax, see the stars. This is the place.
Lea Lane:Th name of the podcast is Places I Remember. So, Chris, would you please share one special memory of this beautiful area of New York.
Chris Jennings:So my most special moment to me and it makes me emotional is when I moved my family up here last year, right, so we went on our second pontoon boat ride in Lake Canandaigua and I took my wife and my son and my daughter and my son caught his first fish on Lake Canandaigua. As a proud dad, he caught it himself. It just brings tears to my eyes because you don't get to experience those things but only once. Right, you only get your first fish one time and it was magical and it was great. My wife's like wow, we actually live here. This is amazing.
Lea Lane:Oh, that's wonderful. It's that kind of place.
Chris Jennings:But I've lived all around the country and all around the world and this is absolutely my favorite.
Lea Lane:Yeah, I know I've traveled obviously a lot all over the world and I find something about the atmosphere up here. I don't know what it is quite. It's a combination, right, and we need people to come up here.
Lea Lane:They will because it's a great place. They tell others, so anyway, for the moment it's perfect. So, through all four seasons, upstate New York, from east to west, is a special American region worthy of a visit, especially if you get on or even near the water. I love New York, especially this area of New York, and I think Chris does too, obviously.
Chris Jennings:I love it.
Lea Lane:So I thank you, Chris Jennings, General Manager of the Lake House in Canandaigua, for joining us. Here's to the Finger Lakes, the Erie Canal and all the beautiful waters.
Chris Jennings:I want to thank you, Lea. Thank you for inviting me. It was a great time. No-transcript.
