[itinerary | lodging] It used to be when the refrigerator started to look bare, you dreaded the chore of going back to the supermarket. Time to make your wallet bare instead. But ever since you discovered local farm stand tours — like in Conesus and Avon or the 15/15A loop — grocery time is a fun and exciting time. An excuse for a quick yet beautiful road trip right around your backyard, a chance to fill your fridge and your bellies with delicious, organic food, and a way to support your local economy. So this week when you run out of fruits, veggies, meats, and cheeses, you set your sights once again on a fresh crop of farm stands nearby.

You drive east from Livonia, climbing up Stone Hill Road toward the county line and an area known as Allens Hill — a crossroads of Livonia and Lima on the Livingston side and Richmond and Bloomfield on the Ontario side. Stone Hill is a winding roller coaster of a road, gliding up and down over hill and dale and hugging tight turns through dense forest, so much so that you almost miss the turn-off for your first destination: Stoney Hill Farm.

Stoney Hill Farm

Stoney Hill sneaks up on you at the top of a blind hill on Stone Hill Road, so the first time you notice it you may have already missed it. That’s exactly what happened to you the first time you passed by it, and why your travel companion insisted on slowing down and trying it out the next time driving down that way. You make it a point to stop there first on your latest farm stand tour, pulling in at the friendly green farm sign laid against a white fence surrounded by ceramic sunflowers.

^{Stoney Hill Farm welcomes you from Stone Hill Road in Livonia, NY}

Your instant first impression of Stoney Hill Farm is how intimately you feel acquainted with the farm itself. The stand is set up immediately in front of a horse barn, and down the driveway you see a farmhouse with a couple curious but friendly shepherd dogs. In many cases, farm stands are placed at the foot of a long driveway, with the fields and farm mostly hidden from view. Here you feel more immersed in farm life: appreciating the care with which the farmer placed a fan to provide breeze for the horses; acknowledging the authority of the sleepy calico cat guarding the stand’s cash box. You also dig the sunflower and star theme of the stand itself. It’s a cute stand, but of course it’s the inventory that counts.

^{Stoney Hill’s horses, decorative stand, and calico cash box guardian}

Stoney Hill provides a solid variety of produce, dairy products, breads, and jams. The peaches are so fresh you can practically taste their sweet nectar. Bags of bulk green beans inspire your travel companion with a savory veggie dish for dinner. Orange tomatoes — two for a dollar — provide an interesting alternative to the usual red variety. The fresh-picked blueberries are so plentiful, you can grab two pints for five bucks. You almost question whether the stand is a mirage or illusion — will it disappear as soon as you turn around, leaving only the calico cat guardian in its place, cackling like an evil wizard?

^{In which our presence activated the calico cash box guardian}

Satisfied with a large haul of local produce, you pack up the family Jeep and continue on your journey. Stone Hill Road moves through several name-changes after crossing the county line, yet it’s all a long and winding road through towering woods and fields. After a quick pivot onto Belcher Road, you climb the namesake hill of Allens Hill on your way through Richmond and ultimately to Bloomfield, where you reach your next farm destination: Duvall Farms.

Duvall Farms

Duvall Farms seems like a much bigger production than the stands you’ve been used to, as evidenced by its many satellite stands supporting the large central brick-and-mortar farm market at the corner of 20A and 20 in Bloomfield. You can’t help but notice it on your many drives to Canandaigua. In particular, you wonder about their meat selection — advertised by the sign outside saying “We have MEAT” — as well as dairy selections. You gather your traveling family up and head through the tall red barn doors.

^{The entrance to Duvall Farms’ farm market in Bloomfield, NY}

The farm market is very neatly organized into various stands, tables, shelves, and coolers, while a friendly market employee covers the register. She asks if you need help with anything.

“I’m just here for the meats and cheeses,” you say.

“Honestly, same,” she replies, and directs you to the far wall of coolers. You spot a couple fresh steaks and a block of local sharp cheddar. Another excellent addition to your dinner plans. Meanwhile, your travel companion peruses the produce and jarred offerings, remembering to grab a half gallon of whole milk for the little companion. She’s going to get thirsty on the drive, especially after all her help carrying the steaks.

^{Duvall’s pricing beneath an old-timey radio; rows of pickle jars; little companion helps carry the meat}

Before ringing everything up, you explore the rear of the grocery store. A perfect photo-op for Instagram and beyond has been carefully staged against a grass wall backdrop, complete with a red velvet sofa, fresh flower bouquets, and a neon Duvall Farms sign. It’s only fitting to sit the little travel companion down for a pose or two. A poster child for healthy, farm-fresh foods.

Speaking of healthy food, your evening dinner plans start to materialize: some homemade bread from Conesus Lake Bakery, a glass of pinot noir from Victorianbourg Wine Estates’ Corn Fest booth, sauteed green beans from Stoney Hill Farm, and a couple of Duvall Farms steaks on the grill. This gives you an idea for another stop on the tour, because any good homemade steak sauce requires a little something sweet. You need some local honey.

Rengert Honey Stand

Coming back by way of Gauss Road, you take a quick turn onto Bailey. There’s another type of farm stand you haven’t discussed yet: the niche honey stand.

While many farm stands sell honey, often times these are sourced from local beekeepers who specialize in the commodity. And lucky for you, you live in the land of raw, local honey. You tried a few honey stands, but your old standby has always been Tom Rengert’s honey stand on Bailey Road. No need for the exact address: you’ll see the sign and the stand easily from the road.

^{The sign for Tom Rengert’s honey stand on Bailey Road in Bloomfield, NY}

A few years ago you watched a documentary series about the honey market in America. Like so many other lies told to your generation — recycling, D.A.R.E., the perils of Y2K — Big Honey fed you a spoonful of BS, or rather CS, otherwise known as Corn Syrup. The little honey bears you loved to squeeze onto a piece of toast? Nothing but sugar sauce. Maybe it’s the Mandela Effect, but somewhere between the Honey Nut Cheerios Bee changing his voice and Mrs. Butterworth getting “canceled,” you lost all trust in the dry goods aisle of the supermarket. You hadn’t bought honey from a store in years.

Moving to Conesus Lake changed all that. With a wealth of farm stands around, you never have to question where your food comes from. And you can count on your raw, local honey to be the genuine article — the bee’s knees, so to speak. Rengert’s stand is a quaint little shed with a confident sign hanging down from the eaves. Inside, the owners have arranged pints and half-pints of fresh wildflower honey, ranging in color and flavor from darker, intense harvests to lighter, sweeter honeys. Your travel companion grabs a pint — an ingredient to use for her fresh baked bread business.

^{Honey holds the honey; outside and inside of Tom Rengert’s honey stand}

You pull off from the honey stand back to the main county highway. One of the greatest pleasures of living and commuting around Conesus Lake and its environs is the view of the land itself. On a perfect day in Upstate NY’s late summers, you can pull off to the side of a country lane and snap a picture of paradise. Call it utopia, call it Xanadu, call it God’s country — whatever it is, it’s home now.

^{God’s land}

The 1812 Store

Returning to the Lake by way of Big Tree Road, you cross paths with the 1812 Store just outside the hamlet of Hemlock NY. You have been meaning to try it out for some time, curious about the sign out front advertising old-time penny candies. It reminds you of the corner store where you grew up. You admire the vintage Coke machine parked out front, a precursor to the time travel you experience when entering the store itself. Everything is antique, from handmade wooden furniture to fur coats to flatware. A veritable cornucopia of sundries and staples for your country living needs, down to the penny candy, of which you scoop about a pound’s worth.

^{Vintage antiques, like this Coke machine, plus bulk penny candy at the 1812 Store in Livonia, NY}

You can’t help but pop a Mary Jane in your mouth on the drive back to Conesus Lake. The little companion gives the side eye from the rear-view mirror, so you hand back a small piece. A classic chewy blend of peanut and molasses that’s over a century old: the taste of grandfather’s, father’s, and your childhoods combined. Now it’s the taste of your daughter’s.

Dinner on East Lake Road

Everything’s set up and ready for grilling on East Lake Road. For the Duvall Farms steaks, you mix together a quick dry rub of brown sugar, onion and garlic powder, cumin, cayenne, and a dash of turmeric. Separately you whip up a barbecue sauce using ketchup, apple cider vinegar, onion and garlic powder, and the local honey from Rengert Stand.

^{Local honey to mix into a sauce; dry rubbed steaks are ready for the grill}

While the steaks cook on the Weber, you pour a glass of pinot noir. Your travel companion brings a plate of fresh Italian-style bread. The little companion plucks ripe tomatoes from the vegetable garden. The sounds of laughter echo across the Lake as the last sunset of the summer drapes the Western New York sky in deep red and orange hues. It’s been a whirlwind season of farm tours and corn fests, trash plates and tree spirits, burgers and brewers. Time to stop the ride and get off for a minute.

For you, Conesus Lake doesn’t stop being Conesus Lake at the end of August. The fall season is just beginning, and there are plenty more treats — and perhaps some tricks — in store. It’s time for foliage, festivals, and football. From hay bales to haunted hayrides, Conesus Lake metamorphosizes into its new, and arguably better, form. Break out the jean jackets and pumpkin spice lattes: it’s Autumn on the Lake.

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