The best thing about Skaneateles is that it is right on a beautiful lake. This town is like a time capsule. It has greens by the lake, rocking chairs on front porches, and a parade of small businesses along a pretty main street. As for things to do? You can easily spend a week boating, hiking, shopping for antiques, and trying riesling and cabernet franc from local vineyards. The Charlie Major Nature Trail is an old rail bed that you can walk on and stop at Last Shot, a small-batch distillery, in between.

Chatham is a typical small town in upstate New York. It is right in the middle of the Hudson River and the Berkshires. There are heritage sites, craft breweries and cideries, and some of the best American food among the rolling farmland and nature preserves (Old Chatham Country Store Cafe has been a mainstay for ages). Go to Ghent, which is close by, and spend the afternoon at Art Omi, a sculpture park that stretches across a field and a forest. It's like Storm King's little sister.

Trumansburg has beautiful Gothic and Greek Revival buildings, is close to the sapphire-blue Cayuga Lake, and has a cool, laid-back vibe. In the village, there is a dordle nice Main Street with farm-to-table cafes, vintage shops, BBs, and pubs. Looking for fun in the great outdoors? At Taughannock Falls State Park, you can hike the gorge or rim trails to see a 215-foot-tall waterfall drop over a cliff. Finger Lakes National Forest is the only national forest in New York. It is a great place to hike, bike, or ride a horse to see the famous gorges and ravines in the area. If you've had enough of the local wine, try a cider at Black Diamond Farm or a home-brewed ale at Garrett's in town.

Need to chill out? Spend the weekend in sweet Pine Plains hiking, tasting wine, and grilling dinner in the woods. From the top of the 90-foot fire tower on Stissing Mountain, brave hikers who don't have a fear of heights can look out over the land. At Hammertown Barn, antique shoppers can look through the old items for sale. Birders can see bald eagles, great blue herons, and even hummingbirds from the six miles of nature trails at Buttercup Farm Audubon Sanctuary. These trails go through woods and marshes.

Penn Yan is located at the top of the eastern arm of Keuka Lake. Its main street looks like it came straight out of a storybook (save for all the trucks tugging speedboats in the summer). The Keuka Outlet Trail starts in Penn Yan and winds its way to Seneca Lake. Along the way, it passes waterfalls that used to power the area's many mills in the 1800s. Check out the Windmill Farm Craft Market for an experience like a county fair where you can buy local goods like freshly dug creamer potatoes and a four-pound jug of honey.

This gem on the Delaware River is right on the border between New York and Pennsylvania. It's a great place to go on a weekend trip. Even the drive there is beautiful. Hawk's Nest Drive, part of the NY-97 route, winds high above the Delaware River. Once you get to town, all you can do is raft, tube, fish, and do other river-related things. Also, a husband-and-wife team from Foster Supply just opened a 27-room boutique hotel in Beach Lake, Pennsylvania, which is right next door.