We won't have the opportunity to see all eleven of the Finger Lakes on this visit. After a couple of outings a few days ago, we will have seen at least six of them. I guess that means we'll have to come back sometime. Hopefully our return visit will be soon. This is an amazing area to explore!
Friday we did a short thirty-minute drive to the village of Penn Yan, which is located on the north end of Keuka Lake. Keuka Lake is the third largest of the eleven Finger Lakes (Seneca and Cayuga are the largest). Like the other Finger Lakes, it is long and narrow. However, it is unique in that it splits near the middle, giving it a "Y" shape with two north points and one south point. Because of its unique shape, it is sometimes referred to as "Crooked Lake".
Penn Yan, which is located on the northeastern tip of the lake has a population of just over 5,000 people. Like the other towns and villages we have visited in the Finger Lakes, it is well maintained with large older homes on tree lined streets. As we travel about, we're always looking for unusual roadside attractions and Penn Yan certainly has one. In downtown Penn Yan, proudly on display on the side of Birkett Mills, is the griddle used to make the world's largest pancake. The griddle was made for the 1987 Buckwheat Harvest Festival and measures 28 feet and 1 inch in diameter. Yes, they actually cooked the pancake on it! Hot coals were the heat source, the batter was mixed in a cement mixer and a crane was used to flip the pancake! I'm not sure if the monster pancake was actually consumed, but eating a pancake whose batter was mixed in a cement mixer probably isn't a good idea. I've heard "records are made to be broken", but this one has withstood the test of time! Certainly, no trip through Penn Yan would be complete without stopping by and admiring this culinary and engineering marvel proudly on display.
Also in Penn Yan is the Keuka Lake Outlet Trail. This seven mile trail follows along a stream that takes water from Keuka Lake to Seneca Lake. The trail is one of the nations many "rails to trails" conversions where old railroad lines have been converted into biking and hiking trails. We didn't hike the entire length, but we did enjoy hiking a part of the middle section between Seneca Falls and Cascade Falls.
After marveling at the engineering feat of the World's Largest Pancake Griddle, and the natural beauty of the Keuka Lake Outlet Trail it was getting late in the day. We finished our time in Penn Yan enjoying the cool temperature of the late afternoon in Red Jacket Park, which overlooks the Keuka Lake, while visions of pancakes danced in our heads.
Saturday we went to the town of Skaneateles, which is located on the northern end of Skaneateles Lake. First things first.........how do you pronounce Skaneateles? After conferring with several locals and google, I can assure you it's not pronounced anything close to how it's spelled. The pronunciation is "skinny-atlas". The very quaint and scenic downtown was buzzing with Labor Day weekend activity. As mentioned previously, we've really enjoyed our visits to all the villages and towns along the various lakes. America flags lined the main street which runs along the lakefront. Waterfront parks with huge trees sat at both ends of the historic downtown area. It truly resembled a scene right out of a Norman Rockwell painting.
Skaneateles Lake has the highest altitude of any of the Finger Lakes and is sometimes referred to as the "Roof Garden of the Finger Lakes". It also has the distinction of being known as the clearest of all the Finger Lakes. Since they're all very clear, that makes it the "clearest of the clear". But it goes even further, it has been judged to be the second clearest lake in the country, trailing only Oregon's Crater Lake.
Tough to pronounce, but easy on the eyes. Skaneateles is a wonderful place to visit in this amazing region of New York State!
