Around the lake
Things to Do in Penn Yan, at the North End of Keuka Lake
Keuka has two ends and they could not be less alike. Hammondsport, where we are, sits at the southern tip against the hills. Penn Yan holds the north-east arm, flatter, wider, with a working main street that was never built for visitors. Most people driving the lake pass through it. It rewards stopping.
Where is Penn Yan?
Penn Yan sits at the north-east tip of Keuka Lake, in Yates County. It is about thirty minutes from Hammondsport if you follow the eastern shore, a little longer if you take the west side and come around Bluff Point. Both drives are worth doing at least once.
The name comes from its first settlers, Pennsylvanians and Yankees, shortened and stuck together. That tells you something about the place. It was built by people who came to work the land, and the village still reads that way: a main street of ordinary shops, a working waterfront, farms starting the moment the houses stop.
For anyone planning a day around the lake, Penn Yan is the natural northern anchor. Our first-timer's guide to Keuka Lake wineries lays out how the whole loop fits together.
What is there to do in the village?
Walk the main street, sit by the outlet where it leaves the lake, and visit the farm stands on the roads heading out of town. Penn Yan is the commercial centre of Yates County, so it has the shops, groceries and services that the smaller lake hamlets do not.
The Keuka Lake Outlet begins here and runs east toward Seneca Lake. It powered mills for most of the nineteenth century, and the towpath along it is now a trail. We wrote about that walk separately in our guide to the Keuka Lake Outlet Trail.
The country around Penn Yan is farmed by a large Mennonite community, and you will pass horse-drawn buggies on the back roads. Give them room and pass slowly. Roadside stands sell produce, baked goods and furniture, often on an honesty box.
How does Penn Yan fit into a day on the lake?
Well, if you treat the lake as a loop rather than a line. Keuka is Y-shaped, so driving all the way around takes roughly two hours without stops. Penn Yan makes a good turning point: reach it by late morning, eat there, then come back down the other branch.
The mistake is trying to see both branches and every winery in an afternoon. Pick one arm of the lake per day. Our two-day plan around Keuka sets out how we would use a weekend here.
Getting the drive right
- Penn Yan to Hammondsport is about thirty minutes each way along the east shore.
- The west shore route runs around Bluff Point and takes longer, with better views.
- Back roads carry farm traffic and horse-drawn buggies. Slow down and give room.
- Sunday is quiet in the village. Plan around it rather than being surprised by it.
When is the best time to come?
Late spring through October. Autumn is the fullest stretch, with harvest running and the colour on the slopes. Winter is beautiful and very quiet, and many seasonal businesses close. We go through what each season brings in a separate guide.
If you are timing a visit around the vines rather than the weather, the best time to visit the Finger Lakes covers it month by month.
People think of the lake as one place. It is really two valleys that happen to meet, and they feel different all the way down.
Where do we fit in?
We are at the other end, on the east side of Keuka Lake outside Hammondsport, about thirty minutes south of Penn Yan. Céline and Sébastien LeSeurre are French winemakers; Sébastien is the sixth generation of a winemaking family from Champagne. Open daily, ten to six.
Our first harvest here was in 2012. Before it, Sébastien tasted grapes from more than two hundred vineyard sites across the region before deciding where to plant. French roots, Finger Lakes soul. Our sparkling follows the méthode champenoise his family has used for six generations.
A standard tasting needs no appointment. For a seated experience on a busy weekend, reserving ahead is worth it. See what we pour on our experiences page, or plan the practical side on our visit page. Dogs are welcome.
What should you know about the farm country?
That it is worked, not decorative. Yates County has a large Mennonite farming community, and the back roads carry horse-drawn buggies alongside tractors. Roadside stands sell produce, baked goods and furniture, often unattended with a box for payment.
Pass buggies slowly and give them width. They are slower than they look and the horses are working animals, not part of the scenery. Photographs of people are not welcome, and it costs nothing to respect that.
The stands are worth stopping at. Prices are low, the honesty box system works, and what is on the table in September is what was picked that morning.
Thirty minutes south of Penn Yan, on the west side of the lake. Open daily, ten to six.
How far is Penn Yan from Hammondsport?
About thirty minutes along the eastern shore. Going around by the west side and Bluff Point takes longer and gives you more of the lake.
Is Penn Yan worth visiting?
If you want a working Finger Lakes village rather than a resort, yes. It has the shops and services the smaller hamlets lack, and it anchors the northern end of the lake.
What is Penn Yan known for?
The Keuka Lake Outlet, which powered mills through the nineteenth century, and the farm country around it. The village name comes from its first settlers, Pennsylvanians and Yankees.
Can you drive all the way around Keuka Lake?
Yes. The full loop takes roughly two hours without stops, because the lake is Y-shaped and you have to go around Bluff Point between the two branches.
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.
