Cooperstown/DreamsPark NY - info needed please

[cajunmommy]

Looks like we might be making a trip to Cooperstown next summer with my DS's baseball team. Anyone have advice to share? I'm starting from scratch on this one.

I know it's not a major WDW alternative destination, but I'm hoping there are more than a few of you in the DIS's vast community with some experience.

Best airport to fly into? Hotel vs. VRBO homes? Restaurants? Side trips within reasonable travel distance? Any & all advice is welcome! Thanks!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

It is pretty rural there. Look into Jellystone campground to stay.

You can do house rentals but there are very strict rules. (And some look kind of run down.) Hotels are an option, too.

I think Jellystone is nice if you have other kids that need things to do while the other is playing ball.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Looks like we might be making a trip to Cooperstown next summer with my DS's baseball team. Anyone have advice to share? I'm starting from scratch on this one.

I know it's not a major WDW alternative destination, but I'm hoping there are more than a few of you in the DIS's vast community with some experience.

Best airport to fly into? Hotel vs. VRBO homes? Restaurants? Side trips within reasonable travel distance? Any & all advice is welcome! Thanks!

The fields are really nice. The area is very small town. A few restaurants, the Hall of Fame, ice cream, souvenier (sp) shops. I think I remember a few places geared towards the players (aka ice cream and a few restaurants).

I would not recommend staying in a B&B with children. Look a little outside of the area for lodging. The ride to and from is very beautiful.

We combined our trip with the Soccer Hall of Fame (but it was in trouble and may have been closed now, google if your kids are interested).

They have a BBQ place that Rachel Ray went to in the area, but remember everything is a drive, so google her name and Cooperstown.

If the boys are playing during the day, then eating and team bonding - maybe an ice cream or a trip to the Hall of Fame, driving back to the hotel, taking a swim will most likely be a full day. They will be tired and hot from the games. When we went it was REALLY warm.

Have a nice trip.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

BTW, it is a bit of a hike, but Niagara Falls is within driving distance. If you haven't been there, it might be worth a side trip. People will tell you you must go to the Canadian side, but we stayed on the American side (during a baseball trip, combined with a Cooperstown visit), and we had a great time for little money, and didn't have to get passports. FYI.

 

[disneyfans95]

We stayed at the KOA up there..

Smaller site, but very nice and wonderful view. It is 20-30 min drive away though.

We went to http://www.flycreekcidermill.com/ for a few hours and that was fun.

Picture from our cabin.

Cooperstown 2010 024 by ec1014, on Flickr

 

[heartsy77]

My kids love Yogi! And the Cooperstown diner has great burgers and sweet potato fries!

 

[penn19]

I will be interested in this thread also. My ds team "might" go there (crossing my fingers!). We just had friends get back from there and they loved it! They said if your child plays baseball if you can swing it in any way its a must do experience.

 

[disneyfans95]

Parking is really limited, so get there early or park and use the tram from a nearby park and ride. If you are not there early, you wont get any of the limited spots in the one town lot

 

[ColoradoMom!!]

OK - heading out the door, but will come back and post.

Been 3 times - twice with boys playing at the Dreams Park. Be sure to note that the Dreams park is about 3 miles south of Cooperstown proper and the Hall of Fame.

Had a great time - could type for hours. Will come back to this thread soon.

 

[Jennasis]

My cousin is one of the umps for the event. He says there isn't much to do...said there's a decent pizza place in town.

 

[cybrkitn]

I would not recommend staying in a B&B with children. Look a little outside of the area for lodging. The ride to and from is very beautiful.

OP, while most B&B's have a no children policy or an age limit, The Inn at Cooperstown is family friendly. The web site is: http://www.innatcooperstown.com/. DH and I stayed there a few years ago (without DS since we were attending a wedding) and found that they are one of the very few that do accept children. We enjoyed our stay even though it was only one night and during a snowstorm.

And the Cooperstown diner has great burgers and sweet potato fries!

I second that! DH and I loved the diner.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

OP, while most B&B's have a no children policy or an age limit, The Inn at Cooperstown is family friendly. The web site is: http://www.innatcooperstown.com/. DH and I stayed there a few years ago (without DS since we were attending a wedding) and found that they are one of the very few that do accept children. We enjoyed our stay even though it was only one night and during a snowstorm.

We visited here. It is beautiful, but with my family we would have had to have two rooms. Plus no pool. That was a big consideration with our kids, also they tend to stay with the team.

I would recommend having the team manager ask for group rates at the Best Western or Holiday Inns near by.

Some of the hotels will also allow a pizza pool party for you to set up for the team.

If we were going for a family vacation I would consider and even pay for the two rooms at the Inn. It is beautiful. I have a new love of B&B's.

 

[cntrygal]

Ask away i work in cooperstown!

 

[cntrygal]

Looks like we might be making a trip to Cooperstown next summer with my DS's baseball team. Anyone have advice to share? I'm starting from scratch on this one.

I know it's not a major WDW alternative destination, but I'm hoping there are more than a few of you in the DIS's vast community with some experience.

Best airport to fly into? Hotel vs. VRBO homes? Restaurants? Side trips within reasonable travel distance? Any & all advice is welcome! Thanks!

Theres tons to doso dont worry about that. Best airport Albany its an 1 1/2 away

The fields are really nice. The area is very small town. A few restaurants, the Hall of Fame, ice cream, souvenier (sp) shops. I think I remember a few places geared towards the players (aka ice cream and a few restaurants). Kp


I would not recommend staying in a B&B with children. Look a little outside of the area for lodging. The ride to and from is very beautiful.

We combined our trip with the Soccer Hall of Fame (but it was in trouble and may have been closed now, google if your kids are interested).

They have a BBQ place that Rachel Ray went to in the area, but remember everything is a drive, so google her name and Cooperstown.

Brooks bbq in oneonta great place

If the boys are playing during the day, then eating and team bonding - maybe an ice cream or a trip to the Hall of Fame, driving back to the hotel, taking a swim will most likely be a full day. They will be tired and hot from the games. When we went it was REALLY warm.

Have a nice trip.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I used to go to a family reunion in Cherry Valley with my parents and uncle, and many of those years we spent a day in Cooperstown.

Besides the obvious (Baseball Hall of Fame), I remember there being a lot of small locally owned shops. Also:

The Farmer's Museum
Fenimore Art Museum
Brewery Ommegang (not sure if they give tours)
The New York State Historical Association library
Glimmerglass Opera House (which has shows in the summer season, run by the Glimmerglass Festival).
Lake Otsego (aka Glimmerglass Lake) Boat Tours

On the north side of the lake (opposite from the town) is Glimmerglass State Park.

It's about an hour from Howe Caverns & 90 minutes from Schenectady and Albany.

 

[SideshowBob]

My DS played in Field of Dreams tournament a couple of years back so the whole family was up there. It was a very nice time and they manage the week well. The barracks that the kids stay in (used to be a base, I believe) did not have air conditioning, just brought fans to try to keep cool.

We rented a house for the week (very limited hotel options) and there were many options to chose from, with all price ranges and distance to downtown and/or Dreams Park. We took side trips to other nearby towns for wineries, mini-golf, and farms. Really a neat part of the country.

If you plan to visit the Hall of Fame on own and/or with team later I would say to buy a family pass/membership for the year. I remember it not being that expensive and I think we got pretty good value out of it and had a year of benefits for mailings and such.

Hope that you have a GREAT time that the team does very well!

 

[DISshopkeeper]

I used to go to a family reunion in Cherry Valley with my parents and uncle, and many of those years we spent a day in Cooperstown.

Besides the obvious (Baseball Hall of Fame), I remember there being a lot of small locally owned shops. Also:

The Farmer's Museum
Fenimore Art Museum
Brewery Ommegang (not sure if they give tours)
The New York State Historical Association library
Glimmerglass Opera House (which has shows in the summer season, run by the Glimmerglass Festival).
Lake Otsego (aka Glimmerglass Lake) Boat Tours

On the north side of the lake (opposite from the town) is Glimmerglass State Park.

It's about an hour from Howe Caverns & 90 minutes from Schenectady and Albany.

We had a really fun afternoon on the Ommegang tour!

 

[JVL1018]

I haven't been, but am planning on it(maybe next summer) and my plan was to do Cooperstown and Howe Caverns, which isn't too far away(mapquest says under an hour).

Here's some nearby attractions to Howe Caverns, so I would mapquest those and see if they are closer to Cooperstown as well:



http://howecaverns.com/above-ground/nearby-attractions

 

[njmom47]

We went in 08. Between all the families on our team, we rented about 6 or so different houses, not all near each other though. One house was on a lake, and we spent some down time there, fishing, swimming, BBQing and boating. We did go into town and to the Hall of Fame. There was a "downtown" area but I felt it was mostly geared towards tourists other than baseball families due to prices on some of the things that were being sold. The boys stayed at Dreams Park, so we really didn't get to see them all that much, but we did bring them home to shower and feed them or take them out to dinner. The teams traded pins and we thought that was very cool as well. Any other questions, feel free to PM me.
There was an outlet mall where "the girls" went shopping but it was probably 1/2 hour or more away.
That trip definitely was memorable as we made a family vacation out of it.

 

[cntrygal]

We went in 08. Between all the families on our team, we rented about 6 or so different houses, not all near each other though. One house was on a lake, and we spent some down time there, fishing, swimming, BBQing and boating. We did go into town and to the Hall of Fame. There was a "downtown" area but I felt it was mostly geared towards tourists other than baseball families due to prices on some of the things that were being sold. The boys stayed at Dreams Park, so we really didn't get to see them all that much, but we did bring them home to shower and feed them or take them out to dinner. The teams traded pins and we thought that was very cool as well. Any other questions, feel free to PM me.
There was an outlet mall where "the girls" went shopping but it was probably 1/2 hour or more away.
That trip definitely was memorable as we made a family vacation out of it.

There is no outlet mall anywhere near cooperstown the closest is over two hours away in lee mass