The Wright House, a historic home rental in Upstate New York

A Timeless Retreat on the Finger Lakes

Located on the northern end of Owasco Lake in Upstate New York’s scenic Finger Lakes region, this historic home has been transformed for modern holidaymakers, designed to comfortably sleep 16 guests, with contemporary amenities like a pool, hot tub, fire pit and pier creating a place for family fun and connection.

The property is one in the For the Love of Upstate portfolio, a hospitality brand by Madi Johnson and Skyler Vaught dedicated to turning Upstate New York’s forgotten homes into unforgettable stays celebrating the region’s architecture and breathing new life into often forgotten historic, small-town properties.

The Wright House offers country tranquility and a cheery ambiance of family vacations gone by. The house’s beautifully simple renovation boasts flowering wallpapers, wood floors, pastel hues, and crisp linens. There’s a picnic-table topped terrace with a barbecue on the terrace, a pool in the shadow of a red country barn, a bubbling hot tub on a deck, and eight double beds across six sun-speckled bedrooms, sharing three modernized bathrooms. A simple wooden pier drops you into Lake Owasco, and furry friends are welcomed.

Around

Situated in Auburn, New York, an Upstate community in the picturesque Finger Lakes region, the house sits on the shores of Owasco Lake. Grand historic homes line Auburn’s streets, including the Seward House and the Harriet Tubman Home. Originally home to the Iroquois League’s Tuscarora tribe, the area was settled by Europeans in the late 1700s. By 1810, the Auburn area was home to more than a dozen mills, producing linseed and sunflower oils. Harriet Tubman was one of hundreds of slaves who came through Auburn on the Underground Railroad, and Tubman ultimately opened a home for the elderly in town in addition to residing there.

Today, downtown Auburn offers a wealth of public art for a small community, and the town is home to several museums and cultural centers including the NY Equal Rights Center, the Seward House Museum, The Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center and the Cayuga Museum of History and Art. And the greater Finger Lakes area is home to anticipated seasonal concerts and events throughout the warmer months and into the spectacularly colorful Upstate autumn.

Owasco Lake spans some 11 miles, with a width of just over a mile in uCayuga County. It’s the smallest (and warmest) of the beautiful Finger Lakes, with shallower waters making it popular for water sports enthusiasts. The lake has four boat launch sites and two marinas, and the house is equipped with a small pier. Canoe, kayak, and SUP board rentals are available in the area's marinas, and fishing is best on the lake’s south end. Anglers pull northern pike, trout, and smallmouth bass from the chilly water, and ice fishermen fish the area around Ensenore Point for panfish and pike in winter. Fillmore Glen State Park offers a swimming area with lifeguards on duty, and walkers and trail runners will appreciate the Inlet Trail and Lake Trail that circle the water. Road cyclists love the Finger Lakes region for its scenic, moderate-to-easy terrain, and there’s a mapped regional route that takes you around parts of Owasco Lake.