Steuben: Art, Keuka Lake, and Nature

Steuben offers different ways to shape a vacation: American art and glass art, a distinctive lake landscape, trails for active days, and insights into railroad history. What you want to focus on can also guide your search for a vacation rental. Experiences range from museums and creative activities to hiking and biking trails, a drive along the lakeshore, and a wine tasting.

Art and Glass as Different Discoveries

The Rockwell Museum presents American art from the 19th century to the present and is a Smithsonian Affiliate. The Corning Museum of Glass offers a different perspective: it presents more than 35 centuries of glass art and houses over 50,000 glass objects. The collection offers a glimpse into more than 3,500 years of human ingenuity. Together, the two museums provide a varied reason to make art and its long history the focus of a day on vacation.

For families in Corning, the KIDS ROCKWELL Art Lab is an interactive family studio inspired by the art and themes of the Rockwell Museum. Activities, games, and hands-on projects draw on American artworks. This makes creating as well as viewing art a central part of the experience. If you’re traveling with children, you can take this creative option into account when choosing activities.

Keuka Lake: Landscape from the Trails and the Road

Keuka Lake is one of the few Y-shaped lakes in the world. Hiking and biking are among the options around the lake; routes follow forest trails, paved side roads with vineyard views, and rural gravel roads. These different surfaces and surroundings give active days their own distinct character. When planning your outings, consider whether you’d rather be on forest trails or see vineyards along the way.

Route 54A offers another way to take in the landscape: it follows the shore of Keuka Lake and passes vineyards on the slopes around the lake. The Finger Lakes Trail is also worth considering for hiking; it runs through Birdseye Hollow Park. At Stony Brook State Park, a rugged gorge shapes the hill country of western New York. Trail conditions can change seasonally, so check them before heading out.

Wine Tasting and Boating Tradition

The tasting room at Point of the Bluff Vineyards is housed in a restored 19th-century schoolhouse. Guided wine tastings are designed for up to seven guests. Reservation details can change, so check them in advance. The tasting area also has regulation-size bocce courts. Alongside wine, the venue offers opportunities for a shared activity.

The Finger Lakes Boating Museum is home to a dragon boat club. Its members train, compete, and encourage new paddlers. The club represents another facet of water sports in the region.

Railroad History in Hornell

The Hornell Erie Depot Museum displays more than 700 railroad-related artifacts in the former Erie Railroad Depot. It is open Fridays from 4 to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 12 to 4 p.m. Group tours are available by prior arrangement only. Check the schedule before your visit, especially if you’re planning a group tour. The combination of its collection and former depot makes it an interesting place for anyone interested in railroad history.

When choosing a vacation rental, you can start with the experiences you want to shape your vacation: art and glass, trails and scenery, wine, or railroad history. This lets you tailor your search to the kind of trip you have in mind, without requiring every vacation day to follow the same theme.

Explore more destinations: Painted Post, Corning, Hornell, Hammondsport, Cohocton, Wayland, Rensselaer, Otsego.

For the main travel overview: New York.