Route 90 Garage Sale 2026: The 50-Mile Finger Lakes Route Guide

For one weekend at the end of July, the east shore of Cayuga Lake turns into one long garage sale. The Route 90 Garage Sale follows New York State Route 90 for about 54 miles — usually rounded to the friendlier 50 — from Montezuma at the north end down through the lakeside villages to Homer at the south, pulling in two Finger Lakes counties of farm-country sale territory. Yards, barns, churches, and roadside pull-offs open up, and the 2026 edition runs Saturday, July 25 and Sunday, July 26, the last full weekend of the month.

It has been going since 1987, and it has grown from a handful of farm families clearing out their barns into a regional draw that brings shoppers in from across the Northeast — some of them planning a whole Finger Lakes weekend around it. Fifty-odd miles across two days is short enough to actually finish, but the sales spread across nine towns and two counties with no central organizer, so the difference between a good haul and a long lakeside drive comes down to knowing the route. Here is how to plan it.

How it started

In the mid-1980s, two Route 90 locals, Connie Reilly and Barbara Noden, noticed that their quiet stretch on the east side of Cayuga Lake did not see the summer visitors that other parts of the county did. These were old farm towns — King Ferry, Union Springs, Genoa — worked by the same families for generations, and the barns were full of the kind of antiques that make a picker's heart jump. A single sale on a rural road with little traffic was tough to make work, though. So the two women, who had formed the Route 90 Association to promote the road's communities, floated the idea of one weekend where everyone set up at the same time.

The community embraced it, and the very first year in 1987 it clicked — visitors booked rooms, the fire departments and churches and scout troops ran food booths, the diners filled up. A mention in Country Living magazine and years of word of mouth turned it into a destination. Nearly four decades on, people still plan their Finger Lakes vacations around it, and some drive in from as far as California and Canada. When the founders once worried the barns would finally run dry, the towns simply found more to sell — and never looked back.

The route, north to south

Route 90 runs down the east side of Cayuga Lake, the longest of the Finger Lakes, through farm country and a string of small lakeside villages. The sale follows it for roughly 54 miles across two counties, and it is best understood as nine towns along one scenic highway, from Montezuma in the north to Homer in the south. (Purists will tell you it is technically 54 miles from Homer to Montezuma; the founders rounded down to 50 because it was easier to remember.)

• Montezuma (north end) — the northern anchor, right by the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge and the Thruway. Where the route begins if you are coming in from the west.
• Cayuga & Union Springs — the north-lake villages, sitting right on the water where NY-90 hugs the shoreline. Easy early stops on a southbound run.
• Aurora — the prettiest stretch of the whole route: a tidy historic village on the lake, a natural place to stop, stretch, and eat. A good midpoint base.
• King Ferry & Genoa — back into working farm country, and the heart of where the sale started. This is old barn-and-outbuilding territory, the stretch the founders had in mind.
• Locke & Summerhill — the rolling hill towns as the route climbs away from the lake toward Cortland County. Smaller and more spread out; watch for sales between the farmland.
• Homer (south end) — the southern anchor, a handsome village with a classic green, just off I-81 near Cortland. Where the route ends — or begins, if you are coming up from the south.

The named anchors north to south — the towns most shoppers use to break the route into sections — run Montezuma → Cayuga → Union Springs → Aurora → King Ferry → Genoa → Locke → Summerhill → Homer, all on or beside NY-90. Those are the natural points to plan around.

One-day strategy — a corridor you can actually finish

Fifty-odd miles across two days is a rare, workable length on the named-highway circuit. Most of the big routes run 100 to 700 miles and force you to choose what to skip. Route 90 lets you drive the whole thing and still have time to poke through a barn. The middle of the lake around Aurora is your hinge.

• Base near Aurora and radiate. Park in the lakeside middle, work north toward Union Springs, Cayuga, and Montezuma in the morning, then swing back south through King Ferry, Genoa, and Locke toward Homer in the afternoon. You are never far from the water or the car.
• Run it end to end in a line. Start at Montezuma in the north Saturday morning and work straight down to Homer, then reverse it Sunday to catch what set up late or sold out the first day. Good if you are basing at one end of the lake.
• Chase the farm stretch first. The King Ferry–Genoa middle is the historic heart of the sale and the classic barn-antique country. If your time is tight, give that stretch your fresh morning and let the village ends fill in later.

Because there is no organizer posting numbers, density genuinely varies year to year and town to town — some stretches will be nearly continuous, others quiet for a mile or two. Keep driving; the founders' own advice was that there is always another stand just ahead.

Getting there

Route 90 is easy to reach from either end of the New York State Thruway (I-90) or from I-81 in the south.

• From the west (Thruway): take Exit 41 toward Waterloo, head north, then east on Route 31 to meet NY-90 near the north end. If you don't mind a little backtracking, Route 318 runs you east through the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge to the top of the route.
• From the east (Thruway): take Exit 40 for Weedsport and pick up Route 31 south to meet NY-90 near Montezuma and Cayuga.
• From the south: I-81 has an easy exit for Homer, the southern anchor — the simplest way in if you are coming up from the Binghamton or Syracuse side and want to work the route northbound.

What you'll find

Route 90 runs through old lakeside and farm communities where families have summered and worked the same land for generations, and the barns, sheds, and farmhouses get cleared out for the weekend. That means uncurated, honestly-priced inventory rather than dealer-booth markups.

Antique furniture and tools are the backbone of this corridor. The King Ferry and Genoa farm stretch in particular turns out genuine used hand tools and farm gear, plus the solid old furniture that comes out of a barn cleanout.

Glassware and kitchenware show up throughout — the Finger Lakes estate-sale staples like vintage Pyrex, Anchor Hocking, and CorningWare that surface again and again in this part of New York. Know the patterns that matter and you will out-shop the casual browsers.

Lake-cottage and everyday Americana round it out: the odds and ends of summer places and working farms — signage, linens, books and records, kids' toys, and the church and community fundraiser tables that are half the fun of a Finger Lakes sale day.

Pro tips

• Base in the middle. Aurora and Union Springs sit roughly halfway, right on the water, with food and parking, so you can run either direction of the corridor without a long backtrack.
• Bring cash. These are front-yard and roadside sales along rural highways; many individual sellers do not take cards. Hit an ATM in a larger town before you get out onto the route.
• Work the farm stretch early. The King Ferry–Genoa middle is the historic barn-antique country and the reason the sale exists. Give it your fresh morning.
• Don't give up on the quiet miles. With no organizer, some stretches thin out — but there is almost always another stand just over the next rise. Keep driving.
• Make a Finger Lakes weekend of it. The route threads the east shore of Cayuga Lake past wineries, the Montezuma refuge, and lakeside villages — easy to build a whole weekend around the two days of shopping.

FAQ

When is the Route 90 Garage Sale 2026?

Saturday, July 25 and Sunday, July 26, 2026. The sale runs the last full weekend of July every year, with official hours generally cited as 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days, rain or shine. A few families set up Friday evening for early birds.

Where does the Route 90 Garage Sale take place?

Along New York State Route 90 down the east side of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes, from Montezuma at the north end to the village of Homer at the south — about 54 miles (commonly rounded to 50) through Cayuga and Cortland counties, passing through nine towns: Montezuma, Cayuga, Union Springs, Aurora, King Ferry, Genoa, Locke, Summerhill, and Homer.

Is there a map or list of the Route 90 Garage Sale sellers?

No. There is no central organizer and no published seller list — participation is up to individual property owners and the towns along the route, so the sales are not registered in one place, and density varies year to year and town to town. The MapMySales event map pins the corridor's nine anchor towns so you can see the whole route and plan how to drive it.

How did the Route 90 Garage Sale start?

It launched in 1987, when Connie Reilly and Barbara Noden — who had formed the Route 90 Association to promote the road's communities — realized the quiet farm stretch east of Cayuga Lake was full of barns packed with antiques. They floated the idea of one shared weekend, the community embraced it, and it grew into a regional draw that pulls shoppers from as far as California and Canada.

Where should I base for the Route 90 Garage Sale?

The middle of the route around Aurora and Union Springs makes a good base — lakeside villages with food and parking, roughly halfway between the Montezuma and Homer ends. From there you can work north toward Cayuga and Montezuma or south toward King Ferry, Genoa, and Homer, and at about 54 miles the whole corridor is short enough to cover in a day.

We'll see you on the lake road.