The Windmill Farm and Craft Market

The Windmill began as an effort to give local farmers and craftspeople a place to sell directly to the public, a country market where producers could bring their goods rather than shipping them off to distant middlemen. It grew steadily over the years from a modest gathering into one of the larger farm and craft markets in the region.

Its name and its landmark come from the windmill raised on the grounds, a fitting symbol for a market rooted in the agricultural life of the Finger Lakes. Over the decades it has become a regional institution, a place families return to season after season for the food, the crafts, and the sociable, small-town feel of a day at the market.

The land around Penn Yan and the Finger Lakes is home to a substantial community of Mennonite and Amish families, whose farms dot the surrounding hills and whose horse-drawn buggies are a common sight on the country roads. Their farming, baking, and craftsmanship are woven into the region's rural life.

That heritage shows all through the market. Mennonite and Amish bakers bring breads, pies, doughnuts, and preserves made in home kitchens, and their farms supply produce, cheese, and meats. Handmade furniture, quilts, and other crafts reflect the same tradition of skilled, unhurried handwork, giving the market a genuine connection to the working farm country around it.

The heart of the market is local food. Depending on the season, the stalls fill with fresh vegetables and fruit, sweet corn and berries in summer, apples and squash in fall, along with local cheeses, meats, honey, maple products, jams, and the region's famous baked goods. Much of it comes straight from the farms and kitchens of the surrounding countryside.

Alongside the food are the crafts. Regional artisans sell handmade furniture, woodwork, quilts, pottery, and all manner of country goods, so a walk through the market mixes a farmers market and a craft fair. The result is a place to shop, snack, and browse, with the flavor of Finger Lakes farm life on full display.

The market runs on set days through its season, and it is fullest and liveliest in the warm months, when the farms are in harvest and the produce is at its peak. Late summer and fall are especially bountiful, with sweet corn, tomatoes, apples, and the trappings of autumn filling the stalls.

Because it operates on particular market days rather than daily, it is worth checking the schedule before making the trip. A visit fits neatly into a Finger Lakes day, easily combined with tastings at the wineries around Keuka and Seneca Lakes and a stop in the village of Penn Yan itself.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.