Watkins Glen NY- Meet & Scenic Drive -June 15th w/ Racetrack /Winery/Brewpub Visit
05-12-2013, 05:41 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Watkins Glen NY- Meet & Scenic Drive -June 15th w/ Racetrack /Winery/Brewpub Visit
I wanted to post up the schedule to give everyone an idea of times and places that we plan to visit for this event. The schedule does seem a bit busy with the amount of driving but it works out very well with lots of rest time throughout the day and the driving is very enjoyable.
Here we go:
For Ontario members we will plan to meet at the Petro Canada Gas station and food center located at the Casablanca Road exit along the QEW Niagara, the official address for GPS is 424 South Service Road, Grimsby, On. . We need to leave this meeting spot by 8:00 am, I expect to arrive around 7:30 to 7:45 am. This is a gas station and food spot, so give yourself some extra time to gas up and get food/coffee if you like. This is a good place to gas up before hitting the border so you won't need fuel prior to getting to the NY meeting spot. I'm leaving from London, On. so I will have to be on the road at 6:00 - 6:15 am, everyone will be slightly different depending on their starting point. The key detail is that we must leave this spot by 8:00 am, if you are late arriving to this meeting spot just try to catch up and get to the next meeting spot which will be in the Finger Lakes NY region. We will be gone from this spot at 8:00 am or later.
The main meeting spot for all attendees is in the Finger Lakes region which will be Knapp Winery, located at 2770 County Road 128 (Ernsberger Road) , Romulus, NY, 14541. U.S members can meet up with us at this location to start the event. I expect to arrive around 11:30 am, and we will stop here for lunch, and a short winery visit, for about 1 hour and 15 minutes approx. Knapp Winery has an on-site restaurant, you can find their menu on their website. If you were late leaving Ontario and missed us at the first meeting spot you will have time catch up with us at this point. We will depart here at 12:45 - 12:50 pm for the start of the scenic drive.
We will drive along the west shore of Cayuga Lake down to Ithaca. From Ithaca we will head west along some local roads. In the region of Montour Falls we will pass by two scenic waterfalls. At this point the drive time is about 1.5 hours from our fist meeting location at Knapp Winery. After leaving the Montour Falls area we will drive to Two Goats Brewing (brewpub) on the east side of Seneca lake where we can relax, enjoy a cold brew or alternate drink. After relaxing at the brew pub we will drive the historic road course of the original Watkins Glen track - which is now all local roads- but it is a cool historic drive to experience. The historic road course ends in the village of Watkins Glen.
After the historic road course we will head over to Watkins Glen International Raceway located at 2790 County Route 16, Watkins Glen, NY. We should arrive at Watkins Glen Raceway at 4:15pm. where you can purchase your parade lap ticket - $25.00 . Three laps on the big track following a pace car, speeds limited to 55mph or so. Staging begins at Gate #2 at 4:30 pm, the parade laps start at 5:00 pm. They will have us do 2 initial laps and then everyone stops at the finish line where you can exit the vehicle and walk the track and take some pictures. The final lap begins after the stopping break, and then everyone exits the track after the third lap. I expect we will be done by 5:30 pm. Everyone heads home from there. For most of us that is a scenic drive North along Seneca Lake to Interstate 90. For more info on the parade laps see the link for Thunder Road Tours at http://www.theglen.com/plan-your-vis...oad-tours.aspx .
It is about 5 hours home from the track for the average person in Ontario, I would expect people to probably be hitting home by 10:30 pm. We will play the gas station stops by ear along the way. There are some toll roads along Interstate 90, so bring some small bills, as well as the toll at the border. We will be crossing the border at Fort Erie/Buffalo. I have planned for a border crossing time of about 30 minutes wait time - approx. Total drive can be about 1,000 kms during the day. Some people may choose to stay the night in the region and head home on Sunday which is optional, lodging can be found in various areas and anyone staying the night can choose their own lodging. If you have any questions feel free to hit me up at any time.
Once again the rain date in case Saturday June 15th has a chance of significant rain will be Saturday June 22nd. We will monitor the forecast up to 48 hours before June 15th to determine to if the event goes off on the 15th. If there is a chance of rain - 50% or more we will scrub the first date and try for the second date. With the weather monitoring we will be focused on the weather forecast for Watkins Glen, as the weather can be vastly different from Ontario to Watkins Glen. As most of the important driving will be in NY we will use that area's weather forecast. Thanks for reading. Feel free to PM me with any questions. It would be great to have a final count as the date approaches so I can print off maps for everyone, and we can give the winery and brewpub an estimate of people for reservations. If you plan to attend please let me know when you can.
Just a couple of small notes. The New York Turnpike does have some small toll charges, so bring some small bills , it isn't much but they get you coming and going. Once we are in the Finger Lakes there are no toll roads, just heading there and back you will hit some on the Interstate.
When you are on the Turnpike part of the Interstate they basically have you locked into the toll route and the gas\food plazas can be a bit over-priced in terms of fuel and food. I use them for washroom purposes and maybe a light drink/coffee or snack, but I try not to gas up there. If you gas up in Ontario prior to heading over the border you will have plenty of fuel to get to the NY meeting spot. You can fuel up in the finger lakes region along the way for a bit less money as compared to the Interstate plazas. There is a gas station along State Route 89 between Seneca Falls and Romulus, I would suggest stopping there for fuel , just before arriving at Knapp Winery if you are going South on 89 towards the winery. That should get you fueled up for the day.
Update: I now have the final route mapped out using Microsoft Streets and Trips, if anyone wants a copy of the route and you have Microsoft Streets and Trips I can email you the file. I will bring hardcopies of the map for everyone on the day of the event at the meeting spots.
Some people have expressed interest in dinner Saturday night at Glenora Winery, I have enough reservations for 8 people at 6:00 pm. The first 6 people to contact me about dinner can join in (along with myself and my wife). it was hard to get any more spots than that.
Track Time Photos will take high-res pictures of every vehicle that is on the Watkins Glen International Racetrack, they take awesome pics that you can purchase on-line from them after the event.
Here we go:
For Ontario members we will plan to meet at the Petro Canada Gas station and food center located at the Casablanca Road exit along the QEW Niagara, the official address for GPS is 424 South Service Road, Grimsby, On. . We need to leave this meeting spot by 8:00 am, I expect to arrive around 7:30 to 7:45 am. This is a gas station and food spot, so give yourself some extra time to gas up and get food/coffee if you like. This is a good place to gas up before hitting the border so you won't need fuel prior to getting to the NY meeting spot. I'm leaving from London, On. so I will have to be on the road at 6:00 - 6:15 am, everyone will be slightly different depending on their starting point. The key detail is that we must leave this spot by 8:00 am, if you are late arriving to this meeting spot just try to catch up and get to the next meeting spot which will be in the Finger Lakes NY region. We will be gone from this spot at 8:00 am or later.
The main meeting spot for all attendees is in the Finger Lakes region which will be Knapp Winery, located at 2770 County Road 128 (Ernsberger Road) , Romulus, NY, 14541. U.S members can meet up with us at this location to start the event. I expect to arrive around 11:30 am, and we will stop here for lunch, and a short winery visit, for about 1 hour and 15 minutes approx. Knapp Winery has an on-site restaurant, you can find their menu on their website. If you were late leaving Ontario and missed us at the first meeting spot you will have time catch up with us at this point. We will depart here at 12:45 - 12:50 pm for the start of the scenic drive.
We will drive along the west shore of Cayuga Lake down to Ithaca. From Ithaca we will head west along some local roads. In the region of Montour Falls we will pass by two scenic waterfalls. At this point the drive time is about 1.5 hours from our fist meeting location at Knapp Winery. After leaving the Montour Falls area we will drive to Two Goats Brewing (brewpub) on the east side of Seneca lake where we can relax, enjoy a cold brew or alternate drink. After relaxing at the brew pub we will drive the historic road course of the original Watkins Glen track - which is now all local roads- but it is a cool historic drive to experience. The historic road course ends in the village of Watkins Glen.
After the historic road course we will head over to Watkins Glen International Raceway located at 2790 County Route 16, Watkins Glen, NY. We should arrive at Watkins Glen Raceway at 4:15pm. where you can purchase your parade lap ticket - $25.00 . Three laps on the big track following a pace car, speeds limited to 55mph or so. Staging begins at Gate #2 at 4:30 pm, the parade laps start at 5:00 pm. They will have us do 2 initial laps and then everyone stops at the finish line where you can exit the vehicle and walk the track and take some pictures. The final lap begins after the stopping break, and then everyone exits the track after the third lap. I expect we will be done by 5:30 pm. Everyone heads home from there. For most of us that is a scenic drive North along Seneca Lake to Interstate 90. For more info on the parade laps see the link for Thunder Road Tours at http://www.theglen.com/plan-your-vis...oad-tours.aspx .
It is about 5 hours home from the track for the average person in Ontario, I would expect people to probably be hitting home by 10:30 pm. We will play the gas station stops by ear along the way. There are some toll roads along Interstate 90, so bring some small bills, as well as the toll at the border. We will be crossing the border at Fort Erie/Buffalo. I have planned for a border crossing time of about 30 minutes wait time - approx. Total drive can be about 1,000 kms during the day. Some people may choose to stay the night in the region and head home on Sunday which is optional, lodging can be found in various areas and anyone staying the night can choose their own lodging. If you have any questions feel free to hit me up at any time.
Once again the rain date in case Saturday June 15th has a chance of significant rain will be Saturday June 22nd. We will monitor the forecast up to 48 hours before June 15th to determine to if the event goes off on the 15th. If there is a chance of rain - 50% or more we will scrub the first date and try for the second date. With the weather monitoring we will be focused on the weather forecast for Watkins Glen, as the weather can be vastly different from Ontario to Watkins Glen. As most of the important driving will be in NY we will use that area's weather forecast. Thanks for reading. Feel free to PM me with any questions. It would be great to have a final count as the date approaches so I can print off maps for everyone, and we can give the winery and brewpub an estimate of people for reservations. If you plan to attend please let me know when you can.
Just a couple of small notes. The New York Turnpike does have some small toll charges, so bring some small bills , it isn't much but they get you coming and going. Once we are in the Finger Lakes there are no toll roads, just heading there and back you will hit some on the Interstate.
When you are on the Turnpike part of the Interstate they basically have you locked into the toll route and the gas\food plazas can be a bit over-priced in terms of fuel and food. I use them for washroom purposes and maybe a light drink/coffee or snack, but I try not to gas up there. If you gas up in Ontario prior to heading over the border you will have plenty of fuel to get to the NY meeting spot. You can fuel up in the finger lakes region along the way for a bit less money as compared to the Interstate plazas. There is a gas station along State Route 89 between Seneca Falls and Romulus, I would suggest stopping there for fuel , just before arriving at Knapp Winery if you are going South on 89 towards the winery. That should get you fueled up for the day.
Update: I now have the final route mapped out using Microsoft Streets and Trips, if anyone wants a copy of the route and you have Microsoft Streets and Trips I can email you the file. I will bring hardcopies of the map for everyone on the day of the event at the meeting spots.
Some people have expressed interest in dinner Saturday night at Glenora Winery, I have enough reservations for 8 people at 6:00 pm. The first 6 people to contact me about dinner can join in (along with myself and my wife). it was hard to get any more spots than that.
Track Time Photos will take high-res pictures of every vehicle that is on the Watkins Glen International Racetrack, they take awesome pics that you can purchase on-line from them after the event.
05-13-2013, 09:25 AM
#4
Thread Starter
Sure that would be great. I know we will have a couple US members (from SKCa.com) joining us, similar to the last event.
I've posted up in the Upper New York State forum on S2ki, and the Great Lakes forum on S2kca.com .
The U.S meeting spot is Knapp Winery as listed in the original post.
I've posted up in the Upper New York State forum on S2ki, and the Great Lakes forum on S2kca.com .
The U.S meeting spot is Knapp Winery as listed in the original post.
05-16-2013, 07:41 PM
#5
Thread Starter
Keeping this current, I made a minor change to add a Brew pub stop in the afternoon - Two Goats Brewery in Burdett, NY. I think this will now be the final iteration of the drive details. The only thing to watch now is the weather forecast. Thanks for reading !
05-20-2013, 04:53 AM
#6
Thread Starter
One month bump for the June 15th date. As we approach closer to the date I would like to give some of our meeting stops advance notice so they can expect us. Please let me know as we get close to the June 15th date. I would like to contact Knapp Winery and Two Goats Brew Pub so they can expect us in certain numbers. That will benefit us by making for a smooth day. Thanks.
05-26-2013, 06:29 AM
#7
Thread Starter
Three weeks to go, bumping this up. If anyone has any questions hit me up at any time. This is a wife/girlfriend friendly event , there is lots to see in the region and it's worth staying the night to sight-see.
If the weather cooperates for one of the Saturday dates I am considering staying the night and then doing a hike of Watkins Glen State Park on Sunday morning. The park is a really cool place to visit.
Check out the links
http://www.gowaterfalling.com/waterfalls/watkins.shtml
http://www.nysparks.com/parks/142/details.aspx
If the weather cooperates for one of the Saturday dates I am considering staying the night and then doing a hike of Watkins Glen State Park on Sunday morning. The park is a really cool place to visit.
Check out the links
http://www.gowaterfalling.com/waterfalls/watkins.shtml
http://www.nysparks.com/parks/142/details.aspx
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06-01-2013, 11:54 AM
#8
Thread Starter
I have the colour maps finalized for the drive route. As the date approaches I will pm everyone that expressed interest in the event so I know how many copies of the maps to produce in advance of the event. If people don't reply to my pm I will assume that they are not doing the event and I won't print off the maps that they would have normally received. Thanks
06-02-2013, 06:42 PM
#9
Thread Starter
I'm starting to get added interest in this event, if you are on the fence about attending feel free to shoot me any questions you may have. This event is easily done in one day, as we did it before, so don't let that scare you.
06-04-2013, 05:59 AM
#10
Thread Starter
Two Goats Brewing has just approved our group for their facility on June 15th, 2013 arriving around 3:00 pm. They have a quaint little setup over-looking lake Seneca, so we need advance reservations for the visit.
Check them out at http://www.twogoatsbrewing.com/
Check them out at http://www.twogoatsbrewing.com/