Start from 16 curated places around Watkins Glen, NY, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
Nickel's Pit BBQ
A beloved downtown BBQ spot ranked consistently among the best restaurants in Watkins Glen, with pulled pork and smoked wings that draw repeat visits even from gorge day-trippers. The picnic-table vibe and generous portions make it the natural first stop after a morning hike. Local meats, real smoke — not a tourist operation.
Jerlando's Ristorante & Pizza
The town's Italian anchor since the late 1990s, Jerlando's sits on North Franklin and does the things the Finger Lakes do best: wood-fired pizza, house-made pasta, and a wine list that draws heavily from the surrounding Seneca and Cayuga trails. Ranked in Watkins Glen's top three restaurants consistently, this is where locals send their visiting relatives.
Trails & outdoors
Glen Creek Gorge Trail
The signature 2-mile gorge trail inside Watkins Glen State Park, passing 19 waterfalls along a continuous stone staircase path. It climbs approximately 500 feet through a narrow canyon where the light changes dramatically throughout the day. This is the one hike visitors come to Watkins Glen specifically to do — and it earns the attention.
Catherine Valley Trail
A flat, multi-use rail-trail that runs 12 miles south from Watkins Glen along an abandoned railroad corridor through the Catharine Creek valley. It's the anti-gorge trail — wide, shaded, accessible — and runs through farmland and wooded bottomland that looks completely different from the dramatic gorge landscape above town. Perfect for cyclists, families with young kids, or anyone who wants miles without elevation.
Things to do
Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards
A family-operated winery north of Watkins Glen on Route 414 with a tasting room full of antique decor, a casual lakeside atmosphere, and a track record of being voted one of the top tasting rooms in the country by Wine Enthusiast. Known for accessible Rieslings and their red cat wine that nobody admits to loving but everyone orders. The staff here talk about the vines the way mechanics talk about engines.
Glenora Wine Cellars
The first winery established on Seneca Lake and still one of the most visited, Glenora sits on a bluff with a panoramic view of the lake from its tasting room and the attached inn. The Veraisons restaurant makes it possible to spend the whole day here — tasting, eating, then watching the light change over the water. More polished than most Finger Lakes wineries, with consistent quality across their estate whites.
Landmarks & sights
Watkins Glen State Park
A 778-acre gorge park where a 2-mile trail threads through 19 waterfalls and 200-foot canyon walls carved by Glen Creek. The Gorge Trail is entirely stone-stepped and lit by mist from Rainbow Falls — you can walk directly behind it. One of the most dramatic short hikes in the Northeast without requiring any technical ability.
Seneca Lake
The deepest of the Finger Lakes at over 600 feet, Seneca stretches 38 miles north with the clearest water in the region. The public pier at the bottom of Franklin Street puts you at eye level with sailboats and the open water, and the marina is the departure point for boat tours. The agricultural terraces on both shores are what make Riesling grow so well here.