Finger Lakes Sweet Treat Trail Invites Visitors to
Celebrate America 250 with Local Flavor
Noah Howard: PR Manager, Tour Cayuga
For many people, exploring Cayuga County starts with a familiar question: where should we stop next? This year, the Finger Lakes Sweet Treat Trail offers 26 possible answers, each one connected to a local business, a community, and something sweet to enjoy along the way.
The 2026 Finger Lakes Sweet Treat Trail is now live, inviting residents and visitors to enjoy a self-guided tour of sweet stops across Cayuga County from May through October. Now in its 13th year, the trail has become one of the county’s signature seasonal experiences, connecting visitors with local food makers, farm markets, bakeries, cafés, ice cream stands, maple producers, specialty shops, and other small businesses that help tell the story of Cayuga County through flavor.
🍦Trail has been Nationally Recognized
The trail has also received national and statewide recognition. It was named one of the Top 10 Best Food Trails in the country by the USA Today 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards and earned the New York State Tourism Industry Association Trails & Itineraries Award for Excellence. The honors reflect the trail’s success as a themed travel experience that connects visitors with local businesses, communities, and destinations throughout Cayuga County.
🍦Self-Guided Family Fun
That kind of travel experience continues to be especially popular with today’s visitors. Self-guided trails give people a simple, flexible way to explore a destination without requiring a rigid schedule. Instead of planning a trip around a single stop, travelers can follow a theme, build their own route, choose their own pace, and turn a drive through the countryside or a walk through a main street or downtown into a fuller experience.
For families, a trail itinerary can become a weekend outing. For couples or friends, it can become a casual day trip. For returning visitors, it can offer a fresh reason to revisit familiar places. For locals, it can reveal businesses and communities they may not have discovered yet. In each case, the trail gives people a starting point while leaving plenty of room for spontaneity.
That community connection is part of what makes the trail meaningful for participating businesses as well.
“The Finger Lakes Sweet Treat Trail isn’t just a way to experience all the deliciously diverse, hand-crafted sweets our wonderful part of the world has to offer, It’s also a way to experience the uniqueness of our communities.
Auburn Bagel Company is proud to be part of this collaboration of community partners, and we are proud to be part of that community.”
-Tony Daddabbo, Owner of Auburn Bagel Company.
🍦This year’s theme is: ⭐️Stars, Stripes & Sweet Treats!
This year’s theme, “Stars, Stripes & Sweet Treats,” connects the trail to America 250, the nationwide commemoration of the United States Semiquincentennial. The theme gives the 2026 trail a playful patriotic spirit, with a nod to classic American desserts, apple pies, hometown traditions, and even a little red, white, and blue(berry) fun.
Trail Highlights Agriculture
At the same time, the Sweet Treat Trail remains distinctly rooted in Cayuga County. As New York’s top agricultural county, Cayuga County has a deep connection to farms, fields, orchards, dairy, maple, honey, and locally made food products. The trail highlights that connection in a way that is accessible and enjoyable for visitors of all ages.
Agritourism is an important part of the county’s tourism story. Travelers are increasingly interested in understanding where their food comes from, meeting local makers, visiting farm-based businesses, and experiencing rural landscapes as part of their trip. The Sweet Treat Trail brings those interests together in an approachable way. A stop for a dessert, coffee, baked good, or frozen treat can also become an introduction to a local farm family, a small business owner, a village main street, or a scenic stretch of countryside.
26 Partners in 2026!
The 2026 trail features 26 participating Sweet Treat Trail partners across Cayuga County, including 20 returning locations and six new stops. Together, they represent a wide range of sweet experiences, from traditional favorites to creative confections and locally inspired treats. A full list of participating partners is available through the trail map and online guide.
The trail is designed to be enjoyed at any pace. Visitors can choose one or two stops at a time, plan a full day around the route, or return throughout the season to explore different areas of the county. Because the trail runs from May through October, it also pairs naturally with summer drives, farmers markets, lakeside visits, fall foliage, harvest season, and other warm-weather and early autumn activities throughout the Finger Lakes.
Sweet Treat Basket Giveaway
This year’s Sweet Treat Trail also includes a photo-based prize giveaway! Trail-goers can enter by visiting participating Sweet Treat Trail partners, enjoying a sweet treat, taking photos, and submitting them through the trail’s online photo form. Visitors can also look for Sweet Treat Trail signs with QR codes at participating locations. Two prize baskets filled with treats from trail partners will be drawn on September 2.
Visit our Table at the Owasco Farmer’s Market
The Cayuga County Office of Tourism will also be sharing the trail in person throughout the summer. Tour Cayuga will host a Sweet Treat Trail table on Wednesdays at the Owasco Farmers Market, giving market visitors a chance to learn more about the trail, pick up information, and connect with the countywide experience.
Learn more…
For visitors, the Sweet Treat Trail offers a simple invitation: enjoy this self-guided tour at your own pace from May through October. For Cayuga County, it is also a celebration of local makers, agricultural heritage, small businesses, and the communities that make the county such a rewarding place to explore.
To view the full list of participating Sweet Treat Trail partners, explore the trail map, sign up for trail updates, and learn more about this year’s giveaway, click below: