Auburn is the largest city in the central Finger Lakes and one of the most historically significant. Home to the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park and the Seward House Museum, it sits at the north end of Owasco Lake with a depth of story that few Finger Lakes towns can match.

Owasco Lake stretches 11 miles through Cayuga County with the city of Auburn at its north end — but finding a way to the water takes planning, because public access here is among the most limited of any Finger Lake.