Things to Do in Skaneateles, New York

Mid-Lakes Navigation runs its fleet of antique boats from a dock in Clift Park, in the middle of the village. The basic trip is a 50-minute narrated sightseeing cruise. There are also 2-hour lunch cruises, 2.5-hour dinner cruises and a cocktail cruise pouring local beer, wine and spirits.

★ Good to know The office and dock are both on West Genesee Street; book ahead for meal cruises, since they run on a set schedule.

The downtown sits right on the water, and three public parks line the lakefront. Clift Park has the gazebo, the pier and the cruise dock, and it hosts the Antique and Classic Boat Show each July. Thayer Park, a few steps away, is the quieter spot for a bench and a view.

★ Good to know The town’s lifeguarded swim area at Clift Park doesn’t open every season, so check the Town of Skaneateles parks page before you pack a swimsuit.

About 11 miles south of the village, Bear Swamp Creek drops 90 feet at Carpenter Falls inside a 100-foot-deep gorge. A roughly 600-foot boardwalk leads from the parking lot to a viewing platform, and it’s wheelchair accessible. The Finger Lakes Land Trust’s Bahar Preserve next door adds a 1.6-mile trail system through old-growth hemlock and oak, down to a strip of lakeshore.

★ Good to know The paved lot on Appletree Point Road holds about 20 cars and roadside parking is prohibited, so go early on summer weekends. Swimming isn’t allowed.

Painter John D. Barrow designed and built this gallery himself, and it opened in 1900. It holds more than 400 of his oil paintings, many of them views of Skaneateles Lake in the Hudson River School style. It’s the brick annex attached to the Skaneateles Library on East Genesee Street.

★ Good to know It’s open daily in season, roughly mid-May to just before Christmas, and closed January through April; children under 16 get in free.

The local history museum fills an 1899 creamery building where farmers once sold their milk. The society took it over in 1989 and opened it as a museum in 1992. A newly renovated historical wing covers the people and places that shaped the village and town.

★ Good to know It keeps short hours, Friday and Saturday afternoons, so plan around them; the society also runs historical walking tours.

This family winery sits on a hillside above West Lake Road, with a patio and garden looking out over the lake. You can pick from the tasting menu or share a bottle outside. There’s live music on weekends and a trivia night on Thursdays.

★ Good to know It’s open year-round, but the patio is the reason to go, so aim for a warm afternoon.

This easy trail runs just over a mile along Skaneateles Creek on the bed of the old Skaneateles Short Line Railroad. It crosses the creek on three wooden bridges and passes old dams and the remains of mills that ran on the creek’s water power. There’s a creekside picnic spot and a playground at the Mottville end.

★ Good to know Park at either end: on Mill Road just north of Old Seneca Turnpike, or at Crow Hill Road and Frost Street in Mottville. Dogs must be leashed.

Isaac Sherwood, who ran a stagecoach line through Skaneateles on the old Seneca Turnpike, founded this inn. It still faces Clift Park on West Genesee Street, with rooms and a dining room. The same group runs the Bluewater Grill and a patisserie in the village.

★ Good to know A table with a lake view is the draw, so reserve for dinner in summer.