Guide · Keuka Lake
Keuka Lake State Park and a Winery Afternoon
Keuka Lake State Park sits on the bluff, the piece of land that splits the lake into its two arms. Stand at the water's edge there and you can see both branches at once. It is the clearest way to understand the shape of this lake, and it makes a good anchor for a whole day.
Guests ask us about the park often, usually on the terrace, usually while looking at the water. They came for wine and discovered there is a swimming and camping park a short drive up the road. So here is what we tell them, and how we would put a day together around it.
Where is Keuka Lake State Park, and what is there?
Keuka Lake State Park is at 3560 Pepper Road, Bluff Point, NY 14478, on the bluff between the two arms of Keuka Lake. The park is open year round from dawn to dusk and has hiking trails, boat launches and docking, a picnic shelter, two pavilions, a playground and showers.
Bluff Point is the high ground that divides Keuka into its Y. The park runs down the western side of it to the shore, so you get the water on one hand and the slope rising behind you on the other. Most of the vineyards you can see from there are planted on that same kind of ground. It is the reason grapes do well here, and it is nice to stand in it before you taste anything.
Entry is eight dollars per car, collected May through October. Camping is a separate matter: there are 150 tent and trailer sites, 53 of them with electric hookups, and the season runs from May 16 to October 12 in 2026. Sites are twenty-four to thirty-six dollars a night, with five dollars added for out-of-state visitors. If you want a weekend in July, book early. Word got out a long time ago.
How do you build a day around the park?
Start at the park in the morning while the water is still and the lot is empty. Have lunch in Hammondsport at the southern tip of the lake. Then take the west side road in the afternoon for a seated tasting. Morning on the water, afternoon above it. That order works better than the reverse.
There is a practical reason for that order. The park is at its best early: the lake is flat, the light is low, and you can hear the water. By two in the afternoon the parking area is full and the shoreline is busy. Wineries run the other way. Mornings are quiet, and the terrace is at its best when the sun comes around in the late afternoon.
Hammondsport, at the southern tip, is the natural place to break the day. It is a small village square with places to eat and a few blocks worth walking. We wrote a separate guide to where to eat around Keuka Lake if you want somewhere specific, and one on things to do in Hammondsport for the rest of it.
- Morning: the park, while the water is flat and the lot is empty.
- Midday: lunch in Hammondsport, and a walk around the village.
- Afternoon: the west side road, and a seated tasting above the lake.
- Evening: back down to the water for the last of the light.
When is the best time of year to go?
July and August are warmest and busiest. September and early October are the quieter choice: the lake is still warm, the crowds have thinned, harvest is under way in the vineyards, and the hillsides begin to turn. The park stays open year round, dawn to dusk, though camping closes after October 12.
We are biased toward September. It is the month when everything here happens at once. The fruit comes in, the presses run, and the lake finally has some room on it. If you are choosing a weekend, that is the one we would pick. Our guide to the best time to visit the Finger Lakes goes through the rest of the calendar month by month.
Worth knowing before you drive up
- Eight dollars per car, collected May through October.
- Open year round, dawn to dusk. Camping May 16 to October 12 in 2026.
- 150 sites, 53 with electric hookups. Weekends in summer book out.
- Boat launches and docking on site.
- Bring layers. The wind comes across the water even in August.
Where do we fit into the day?
We are Céline and Sébastien LeSeurre, and we make wine on the western hills above Keuka, just outside Hammondsport. Sébastien is the sixth generation of a winemaking family from Champagne; Céline grew up in a family vineyard in the foothills of the Pyrenees. We came here in 2012, and we have made wine on this slope ever since. French roots, Finger Lakes soul.
People arrive from the park with the lake still on them — sun, wind, a little tired. That is the right state to sit down in.
A seated tasting takes about forty-five minutes and there is no rush in it. We will tell you where the grapes grew, and you can usually see the block from the table. Dogs are welcome, inside and on the terrace, and if you are travelling with children there is Le Petit Gourmand, a tasting of their own that our daughters put together.
End the day above the water with us.
Common questions about Keuka Lake State Park
How much does it cost to enter Keuka Lake State Park?
Entry is eight dollars per vehicle, collected May through October. Camping is charged separately at twenty-four to thirty-six dollars per night, with an additional five dollars per night for out-of-state visitors.
Is Keuka Lake State Park open in winter?
Yes. The park is open year round, dawn to dusk. Camping runs seasonally from May 16 to October 12 in 2026, and entry fees are collected May through October, so a winter walk costs nothing.
Can you camp at Keuka Lake State Park?
Yes. There are 150 tent and trailer sites, 53 of them with electric hookups, along with showers, a playground, a picnic shelter and two pavilions. Summer weekends fill early, so reserve well ahead.
Are there wineries near Keuka Lake State Park?
Yes. Around a dozen wineries sit along Keuka Lake, most of them on the Keuka Lake Wine Trail, with several on the west side road between the park and Hammondsport. Our guide to Keuka Lake wineries covers how to plan the route.
Written by
The Domaine LeSeurre Team
Céline & Sébastien LeSeurre and the team at Domaine LeSeurre — a family winery on Keuka Lake, in Hammondsport, New York. French roots, Finger Lakes soul.
