Im in Rochester. If you break down around here, you want your car towed to Eckstens Autoworks.
https://www.ekstens.com/. Message me for assistance if needed.
EZ-Pass will help on 90 - if you dont have it, you will have a ticket waiting for you at home for the tolls…there are no more toll booths here. I do not recall 81 having any tolls
When we were in Niagara Falls last year, if I remember right, the EZ-Pass helped going over the bridges into and out of Canada. You definitely want to go to the Canadian side….didnt need passport but if I recall, we needed Enhanced License…check the regs before you go for getting into Canada….and as I noted on another thread, we would never usually go to a Hard Rock Cafe and expect decent food but our lunch was excellent and both agreed it was one of the best burgers ever….maybe we were just starving from all the walking. Also, do not skimp out on the boat ride to the falls…it’s a few bucks, a short line and it’s over in about 30 minutes but worth it. All the times I have been there, I never did it until last year and Im glad I did. Do not talk yourself out of this…..you came a loooong way! My wife forced me to go on that giant Ferris wheel…I hated that. Nice views but it felt like it was going to fall apart….I will leave this up to you.
As for getting off 90 and onto 5/20 to pass along the Finger Lakes….I think it’s best to have a definite plan well in advance. The Finger Lakes are beautiful but this is a very large area and you are not just going to putt around the Finger Lakes because it will takes days and days….. 5/20 is a nice road for a drive thats for sure but I am not sure how much of the Finger Lakes you will see (not much) but you will pass through a few of the typical rural NYS small towns which I do love….you can see on the map below that on route 5/20 you are just skimming the north end of the lakes…there will be traffic lights and this will slow you down…not sure how worth it is to add the extra time rather than just staying on 90 at 65 MPH and no lights on 90.
What I would do is stay on 90, past Rochester towards Syracuse and head north towards Watertown on 81 like stated above. Get to your destination asap.
Then on the way home, take your time and drive down either side of Seneca Lake (I prefer the West side) down to Watkins Glen and see the falls at Watkins Glen, maybe see the race track if there is an event, take in the views of the lake and head west back home out of Watkins Glen…many places to stay in Watkins Glen places to eat….
OR, instead of Seneca, head South down the West Side of Cayuga Lake and stop at Taughannock Falls and then onward to Ithaca to either get food and supplies or stay the night before heading back West….Ithaca is a nice little city.
https://parks.ny.gov/visit/state-parks/taughannock-falls-state-park
We have basically 4 attractions in NY state (not including NYC)….Lake Ontario, the Finger Lakes, Adirondack Mountains, Catskills Mountains. Trying to fully experience more than 1 of these things in just a couple days is challenging.
I will put in a vote for the thousand Islands….been many times and its a beautiful area to stay a few days…do a boat tour and relax.
See that little town right below VVVV this sentence on the edge of Lake Ontario called Webster? Thats were I grew up. I currently am a couple miles West, still on the edge of Lake Ontario…the town called Fairport on the East Side of Rochester is where world famous Rick Beato is from
