ooking out from the plush leather seats of a pontoon boat onto miles of deep, sparkling blue water set against towering cliffs dotted with white pine, hemlock trees, and waterfront homes, you might guess you’re in Northern Italy, Switzerland, or maybe Western Canada. The pristine nature and charming towns that exist south and east of Buffalo and Rochester in New York State, a couple of hours north and west of the area known as Upstate New York, is still largely under the radar. Which isn’t to say that this region is hidden—the Finger Lakes are comprised of 11 lakes across 9,000 square miles, 10 of which bear a name associated with the area’s original Indigenous settlers. “I’m sure there are places like this all over the world,” says Lauren Sands, who splits her time between summers in the Finger Lakes and the
