Skaneateles Lakeside Living

Have you ever been to a place where you feel instantly at home? Enter Lake Skaneateles.

Nostalgia hit me like the waves that were lapping up along the shore.

One of the many Finger Lakes located in central New York state, it was named by the Iroquois Native Americans. Skaneateles means ‘long lake’ in the Iroquoian language. Who knew? Now good luck saying it seven times fast.

The lake is beautiful, the town simply historical, and the homes built along the water? Majestic.

Skaneateles has an absolutely relaxed, calm feeling. Main street stores are all uniquely designed, from vintage thrifts filled with eclectic finds to real estate agents. But the surprising thing is that no one is rushing about trying to complete their manic workday. Instead people can be found strolling in the sunshine sipping on local coffee with smiles on their sun soaked faces.

And this was on a Monday afternoon.

So after our leisurely wine tasting at Anyela’s we went to the town of Skaneateles and joined the locals before settling into our hotel for the evening, the Sherwood Inn.

Along main street, a small dock is set up for homeowners to store their boats while they go into town on errands or out to lunch. Of course, there’s also a viewing area for the poor boatless souls to feel a bit more out to sea. Essentially, us.

It all feels very Gatsby green light at the end of the bay, doesn’t it?

Luckily we ran into a few others touring, from Toronto actually, and we took turns snapping photos.

After the group left, we had some laughs taking photographs.

And dramatic moments…

But never for too long.

Eventually though, we decided to head back to land.

And take a walk through the town… still staying as close as possible to the water.

Okay, okay. I promise I’ll take you to the Sherwood Inn now so we can get settled in.

The Sherwood Inn is located directly across from the lake, and the inn is painted a gorgeously inviting shade of blue. I’d been inside this beautiful inn before, and was eager to reunite.

Inside is a hodgepodge of unique decor. The place is chock full of history and you could spend hours wandering around observing. It feels rustic, memorable, loved. While the Sherwood Inn is stunning in the summer, I have a feeling that during the winter with the snow falling through the sky, that this little inn turns into a cozy wonderland.

However, daydreaming about the winter days is silly when these were the last days of summer to take advantage of. To get a feeling of the place, I snapped a few poorly photographs for you lot from the first floor down to the lobby.

A lovely thing about the Sherwood is that they leave all of the rooms open. This is essentially my dream come true as I’m beyond the nosiest. When I see a lovely home, naturally, I want a tour of the inside too. And while you can’t always get what you want… you can at the Sherwood.

You simply walk into any room that isn’t occupied. We luckily got there before many had checked in and were able to have a wander through, and again the next morning after guests had checked out.

I quickly snapped up a handful of photos of one of the fancier rooms before we scurried off.

These are the hallways in the Sherwood. It’s as if this has been your family home for ages. You could easily pick out a book from the bookshelf, or rummage through the drawers. I should have taken a cheeky look in!

Another thing that I loved was our old fashioned room key. I legitimately wanted to take this home as a souvenir, but felt like that would have been highly frowned upon.

We freshened up a bit and then headed down to dinner. The dining room was boisterous and lively. Couples out for a romantic evening, families roaring with laughter over animated stories and the servers keeping glasses full.

I kept my camera stowed away safely during dinner. I couldn’t catch anything properly in the dimly lit dining room. The Sherwood has a stunningly beautiful ambiance that deserved my full attention. Not to mention the food. Oh my goodness, all kinds of amazing.

After dinner, we really needed to walk it off, so we took the boys down by the docks.

At night, it certainly has a complete Gatsby bay-esque vibe.

We stayed out for a bit until we started to shiver so we returned to the bar at the Sherwood. After a few drinks, we noticed the place had completely emptied itself and we were the only ones left. Again, I keep fast forwarding. Thinking of holidays where people are bustling in with warm jackets and cozy furs, coming in for a bit of relief from the wild weather and a relaxing pint.

The next morning bright and early my mom and I went for a quick walk around town.

We somehow wandered down into a residential area and at the end of the road, we popped out to see this beauty of a view!

Homes all along the water have access to these docks, so we took a quick walk out. Certainly a little less sturdy than the one along main street!

After walking, we’d worked up our appetites so we headed back to enjoy our breakfast at the Sherwood. It’s complimentary with your stay, which is a nice inclusion.

But of course after breakfast, we still had to fulfill our sweet tooth.

There is a bakery located directly behind the inn, simply called the Pâtisserie.

If you ever go here, you must absolutely stop and get a loaf of fresh bread and a bag filled with giant cookies. We proceeded to order the chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin (my favorite), and they were brilliant… and I might have eaten most of the bread and oatmeal raisin cookies on the car ride home.

It’s okay, it was “vacation eating.”

We had such a lovely time for our quick night away at the Sherwood Inn. I have the longing to come back again and visit someday during the holidays. There’s something about that time that is seriously drawing me in.

Someday.

Have you ever visited Skaneateles? Or any region along the Finger Lakes? 

xoxo Kelly 

Information on the Sherwood Inn:
The Sherwood Inn
26 West Genesse Street
Skaneateles, NY 13152