Hello & Welcome to Corning & the Finger Lakes

In Corning & the Finger Lakes, you'll find quaint towns, fertile farmland, lush vineyards, rolling tree-covered hills, and lakes in an assortment of shapes and sizes. The pace is relaxed and the views, like those overlooking scenic Keuka Lake, are simply stunning. This is a place where you can get away from those hectic everyday responsibilities for awhile and recharge. It's also a place where you can reconnect with the people who mean the most.

Ours is a story about glass, but it's also a story about aviation and wine, a story about innovation and art and breathtaking scenery. It's a story about fun.

It's no accident we're known as America's Crystal City. At one time there were about two dozen glass companies in town, the first of which was a company that moved from Brooklyn to Corning nearly 150 years ago. Over the years, that company has changed the way the world uses glass from its involvement in making the first glass light bulbs for Edison to its role in creating the first optical fiber to its revolutionizing everything from cookware to space exploration. At The Corning Museum of Glass, you can learn about Corning's role in the world of glass as well as the importance of glass in many world cultures over the past 3500 years.

But glass is just one of the things that make the area so special. About a century ago, in the lakeside village of Hammondsport, Glenn Curtiss held the first public air show in the country. He would go on to receive America's first pilot's license, to design and to fly the world's fastest airplane, to hold the first long distance flight in the U.S., and to invent the flying boat which paved the way for naval aviation. Each year the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum hosts a seaplane homecoming on Keuka Lake. People come from all over the world to see the assortment of seaplanes and to take rides over the lake.

One of the most influential people from the area moved here from the Ukraine with his family about fifty years ago. Although he spoke five languages, English wasn't one of them, so it took a little while for people to realize he knew a lot about wine. The fertile land around the Finger Lakes makes an ideal setting for vineyards and Dr. Frank gave winemakers in the region the techniques and know-how to grow the best grapes and to make the best wines.

Located halfway between New York City and Niagara Falls, Corning & the Finger Lakes offers the best of both worlds: museums with exquisite art from around the globe and some of the most spectacular views to be found.

Hike alongside waterfalls at Stony Brook State Park. Fly fish for trout in one of the four rivers that make up the Chemung River Basin. Paddle a kayak and experience parts of beautiful Keuka Lake others might miss or open up the throttle on your motorboat and do some tubing. Explore nearly 900 miles of footpaths that make up the Finger Lakes Trail or visit scenic nature centers like Spencer Crest. And for an intimate glimpse at the beauty of the area, take a bike ride through the heart of the countryside.

Of course, Corning & the Finger Lakes isn't just about the diverse selection of fun things to do or of exciting things to see. The people here also make it one of those places you feel part of the moment you arrive and one of those places you can't wait to get back to when it's time to leave.