Late September and October are arguably the best months — the lake is still warm enough for the brave swimmer, the surrounding maples blaze red and orange, and the village empties of summer crowds. Wine harvest fills the back-road vineyards with activity.
Summer (late June through August) is the high season: lake swimming, the Skaneateles Festival, mailboat cruises, packed restaurants and parking that can be a problem on Saturday afternoons. December weekends bring the Dickens Christmas crowds. Winter outside of the Christmas weekends is genuinely quiet — cold, often snowy, and a different kind of pretty.