Need help planning trip to Finger Lakes

My husband and I and 2 kids ages 9 and 11 will be in the Finger Lakes Region for 2 full days in July. I had wanted to stay in a cabin in a state park but they require a week%26#39;s stay. Any suggestions for simple, inexpensive lodging in the area? Also, in my research I%26#39;ve discovered there are so many state parks. Robert H. Treman, Cayuga Lake and Taughannock Falls state parks have caught my attention-which parks are must sees since we can%26#39;t possibly hit all of them?

Need help planning trip to Finger Lakes

I would suggest you use Watkins Glen as your base for a stay. The Seneca Lodge which is at the entrance to Watkins Glen State Park is ideal for your situation. www.senecalodge.com They have cabins for 45.00 per night that are rustic and clean. The whole Seneca Lodge complex has an odd charm that most people love. The restaurant and bar are excellent. Watkins Glen is the one must see state park in the region. The gorge is a wonderful hike and extremely beautiful and unique. You can walk into the park from the lodge. Great pool and picnic facilites. This will put you in the postion to hit both Keuka (20 minute drive) and Seneca Lake (5 minute drive) wineries easily. Consider a cruise on either lake. Take one early-evening and drive to Ithaca to see Cornell%26#39;s campus and catch dinner on the commons area downtown or up in college town area. Skip the other state parks unless you have time for Buttermilk Falls State Park in Ithaca. Great diving board into swimming hole at the base of a beautiful waterfalls. Stop at Ithaca Brewing just before the park for a beer tasting. I saw your other posts. Dont skip Toronto. You will love it.

Need help planning trip to Finger Lakes

Watkins Glen is a nice village and would probably make a good base. It can%26#39;t hurt to check out Geneva also - the town has a bad rep but has cleaned up a lot lately and is very central to the area attractions. As for the parks Taughannock Falls is can%26#39;t miss. Absolutely beautiful. Also Keuka Lake is in my opinion the most unique of the lakes because of the branch shape. If you will be there on a Saturday check out the Windmill in Penn Yan - a great farmer%26#39;s market that the kids will like. They will probably also like the glass museum in Corning. I tend to think of wine when I think of the Finger Lakes, and that isn%26#39;t exactly kid appropriate, so I%26#39;m sorry but I can%26#39;t think of much else to reccommend. But definately don%26#39;t miss Taughannock Falls. I%26#39;ll think more about this and see if anything else comes to mind as far as must sees.

Thank you both for the info. I had done some research before checking in here and was also leaning towards Watkins Glen as well as the Seneca Lodge. It seems like there are lots of bed and breakfasts in the area which really aren%26#39;t our speed and lots of the smaller motels don%26#39;t have much info on their websites. We definitely don%26#39;t need fancy but no roach motels either! Thanks also for the info on the parks-the area looks absolutely beautiful.