Everything worth doing.Within 20 minutes.

The only Cayuga winery where the tasting room sits at water level — dock, lawn, west-shore sunset side. Riesling and a dry rosé that travels. Tie up at the dock or drive in off NY-89.

Estate vineyard planted in 1972 and still family-run. The dry Cabernet Franc surprises people who arrive expecting sweet Finger Lakes white. Riesling program is a benchmark. Sustainable-certified since 2013.

Oldest winery on Cayuga, family-run since 1980. The Tug Boat labels are the calling card — approachable pours, no lecture, generous tasting fees. First stop for a group who wants to warm up before Hosmer or Sheldrake.

The east-shore Chardonnay specialist. Tasting room sits high above NY-90 with a long view across to the west ridge. Food trucks on weekends, live music on the lawn, and enough space for the group that outgrew Long Point.

The closest winery to Aurora village and unusual on Cayuga for its red program — Pinot Noir, Lemberger, Meritage. Boat-accessible via the Long Point State Park ramp a mile south. The east-shore stop that isn't Treleaven.

One of the few Cayuga wineries with a full sit-down restaurant on-site — the lunch move on a wine day when a food truck won't cut it. Distillery too, with a pot-still grappa worth trying before you leave.

Founded 1973 as a worker-owned cooperative, still going, and holding a James Beard Classics award. The cookbook is more famous than the restaurant, which is the joke Ithacans make and then go anyway. Vegetarian-forward, global.

Wood-fired oven and a Finger Lakes wine list that runs deeper than the tequila menu, which is saying something at a Mexican-forward kitchen. Cayuga Heights, up the hill from downtown. Book Friday and Saturday.

Built on Cayuga Inlet — tie up a boat and walk to the host stand. The lake's most-named patio for sunset, which means reservations after 6 in July. Ask for the far end of the deck if you want to hear each other talk.

Cash only. The Pinesburger. Lakefront view from a 1940s tavern above the inlet — Cornell sweatshirts and townies in the same booth. Friday fish fry runs a line by 5. One of the honest holdouts.

Nearly twenty years on Main Street in Trumansburg — the village's best kitchen, chef-driven, sources almost entirely from Cayuga-side farms. Small dining room. Book a week ahead for a Saturday, longer during GrassRoots week in July.

Bluff-top dining room and a 180-degree lakefront patio at the foot of the falls park. The west-shore equivalent of 1833 Kitchen. Cuisine du terroir, tasting menus on Fridays, and the view that sells the room.

The Finger Lakes' flagship craft brewery since 1998 — Flower Power IPA is the household beer of the region. Wood-fired pizzas, vegetables from the brewery's own farm field, picnic seating outside in summer. Half a mile off Route 13.

Industrial-chic taproom in downtown Ithaca's brewery district. Mixed-culture sours that aren't an afterthought and a Belgian program the other two Ithaca brewers don't touch. Best of the three for a sour-nerd stop.

The village brewery on the east shore — open six days a week for lunch and dinner, food from an on-site kitchen or partner truck, lake view from the beer garden. The Fargo-adjacent alternative when you want beer over pub food.

215-foot waterfall — taller than Niagara. The gorge trail walks you straight to the base in 0.75 mi flat; the north-rim trail is the overlook. Marina and lakefront beach on the water side. Park by 10 AM in summer or use the overflow lot.

Twelve waterfalls along Enfield Glen. The Lower Park swimming hole at the base of Lucifer Falls is open in summer — lifeguarded, cold, and worth the walk. The Gorge Trail is closed in winter; the Rim Trail stays open.

Ten cascades stacked over a half-mile gorge. The natural pool at the base of the first falls is the in-town swim — walking distance from south Ithaca. Rim Trail on one side, Gorge Trail on the other; loop it.

At the head of Cayuga — public beach, carousel, sprawling playground, and one of the great Finger Lakes vantage points. Where the Cayuga Lake Triathlon swim starts every August. Free, year-round, and the sunset picnic spot on the south end.

Small, quiet east-shore state park with a four-lane boat launch, sandy swim area, and 4.5 miles of trail. The sunset side of the day-use parks — Aurora village a mile north for dinner after.

Oldest commercial goat dairy in the Northeast — the Cayuga Blue is in restaurants from New York to Chicago. The cheese-shop pour flight is the better visit than the wine; Cave-aged Cayuga Blue is the marquee.

Wood-fired sourdough from a 1930s brick oven in Trumansburg — delivered by bike-and-truck route rather than a storefront. Find the loaves at the Ithaca Farmers Market on Saturdays and at Greenstar during the week.

At Steamboat Landing on the inlet — Saturdays year-round, Sundays April through October. The pavilion over the water is the destination as much as the produce. Arrive by boat if you can. Wide Awake Bakery, Stick and Stone, and Cayuga Pure all set up here.

Largest inland marina in New York State — 386 slips, three paved ramps, fuel dock. Home dock of the MV Teal and departure point for Discover Cayuga Lake cruises. The cheapest public launch on the south end.

Public and private cruises departing Allan H. Treman State Marine Park — narrated history sails, sunset cruises, and the education boat that gets Cornell classes on the water. The mid-tourist-track boat you should still take once.

Pontoons, fishing boats, deck boats, kayaks, and paddleboards — family-run and pet-friendly. Stages at Dean's Cove for the west-shore drop and delivers to other launches on request. Book pontoons two weeks out in July.

I.M. Pei-designed on Cornell's campus with rooftop views of Ithaca and the lake — free admission, Rockefeller Asian collection, and the fifth-floor viewing platform that is the best free view of Cayuga you can get without hiking.

The 87-mile loop around the lake — NY-89 west, NY-90 east, connectors at both ends. Viewpoints, wineries, roadside farmstands, and the reason a Cayuga trip should include one full afternoon of just driving. Six hours if you stop for lunch and a winery.

The 1848 convention site in Seneca Falls — Wesleyan Chapel, the Elizabeth Cady Stanton house, and the visitor center that anchors a real half-day of history. The reason Cayuga's north end isn't just a launching point.