With the outside temps in the low 20’s and a couple inches of snow on the ground I thought it would be a good time to work on a summer road trip. We will probably leave early or late July as I will officiate at the wedding of my step-son in mid-July. There will be 4-5 bikes making the trip from Baltimore, MD to the Finger Lakes region of NY. I’m looking for suggestions on places to see, must roads to ride, places we must stop to eat, tours we should take like a dinner cruise, and maybe a central location for a home base to spend 2-3 nights. I don’t like wine so I have no desire to visit wineries. After spending several days around the Finger Lakes area we will travel on to the Canadian side of Nigeria Falls for maybe 2 days then head home. It’s been about 17 years since I have been to Nigeria Falls, once on the bike and the last time in my vette.

Places I have already decided I may want to see are: Watkins Glen State Park, Taughannock State Park, White Face Mountain, Glen Curtiss Museum, Kinzua Bridge State Park, PA, Little Grand Canyon, PA, etc.

 

stop at the Corning museum of glass its around the curtiss museum and when you go to Niagara area you should consider the maid of the mist boat ride and the jet boat ride at whirlpool state park. if you venture to Toronto go to the hockey hall of fame and the CN tower. do not go to the Anchor bar in Buffalo, its a greasy tourist trap and evn though it is the birthplace of the hot wing it is overated. good luck on your trip !!!

 

The sights that you have listed already are all must see stops. Honestly I would stay around the Geneva area near Seneca Lake. This would make for a centralized "home base". A ride around any of the Fingerlakes is a nice ride. Some days when the mood hits I take a loop around two or three at a time. You really can't go wrong. IMO the south side of the FL is much more scenic due to being a bit more rural. Seneca lake has the best wineries. Laffeyette has huge Apple orchards and the 1911 distillery.
If I can be of any help tou you feel free to PM me.

 

I'm with zeke --- the sights you listed are all good ones. I might add Letchworth State Park to the list. If you go to Watkins Glen, I like the ride up 14 from Watkins Glen, all the way up to Sodus Point. Kind of an artsy-type little village with places to eat right on Lake Ontario. Then backtrack on 14 for a few miles, and take 96 south to 414, and back to Watkins Glen on the east side of Seneca Lake. I live 10 miles from the PA Grand Canyon, and it's an easy day trip to do Watkins Glen Park, up to Sodus Point, back down to Watkins, and back home.


Check out the Sherwood Motel in Wellsboro PA. It's a biker friendly place, and lots of bikes there in the summer. It's right in Wellsboro, which is a beautiful little New England-type town with restaurants, etc. Lots of people just walking around town in the evening. Do Balto to Wellsboro, and PA Grand Canyon on day 1. Do Kinzua Bridge, and Letchworth on Day 2. Stay at the Sherwood again. Do Taughannock, Watkins, and Sodus Point on day 3, but rather than the trip back down to Watkins, work your way over toward 81 (via 104), and up to Watertown NY after Sodus Point, to get route 3 over to Whiteface & the Lake Placid area. Stay up there somewhere on the 3rd night. There are little independent Mom & Pop motels along route 3. Whiteface is 300 miles from Watkins area so it would be a LONG day trip to go up there from Watkins Glen, and then back. Just some suggestions. Hope it helps.

 

I did the Kinzua Bridge, Little Grand Canyon, Watkins Glen, Laconia, Maine, and Adirondack mountains last year in June... great ride, love upper NY

 

A lot of great suggestions already. Whiteface is a far ride depending on where you stay if staying in one place. If you were to head that way Lake Placid and some of the Olympic sites are worth seeing. But that is farther away from the finger lakes than Niagara Falls in the opposite direction.

 

If you are going to the PA Grand Canyon and Kinzua, rte.6 is a beautiful and well maintained route across northern PA. Maybe hit that first then head up into NY? Lots of possibilities.

 

Three great eats. In Canandagua you can get Tom Whals amazing burgers fries and homemade root beer and also in Canandagua you can find an Abbots custard. If you go up to Rochester don't miss Nick Tahoes for a garbage plate.

 

Thanks for all the tips. Spreading this trip the week between two weekends (9 days) should give us plenty of time. Still looking for some more places to tie on the feed bag though.

 

Too bad you're not going just a little further west on the way up. Denny's Beer Barrel Pub in Clearfield PA. Home of the World's Biggest Burger Challenges. Man vs Food was there. Also 1 of The Travel Channel's Top 100 Places To Chow Down.


Also, Dinosaur BBQ in Syracuse.