Cooperstown

(Thank you Go Cooperstown for hosting NY Foodie Family!  As always, all opinions are our own.)

Cooperstown is a small village in central New York, most well-known for the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  After a recent visit to Cooperstown, we can tell you that there’s a lot more to see and do after visiting the iconic museum.

Stay:

Lake ‘N Pines Motel kindly hosted our two night stay in Cooperstown.  This motel offers a variety of accommodations from rooms with one double bed to rooms with two queen beds and even 2 bedroom mini suites.  We stayed in Cottage 120, a 2 bedroom suite that is adjacent to the game room.  The decor is cozy with a look and feel reminiscent of our college apartments.

With a full kitchen and living room, there was plenty of space for the four of us.  For those staying in Cooperstown for more than a day or two, this suite is great to cook some meals, as dining out when traveling can get expensive.  The Motel has an indoor and an outdoor pool, sauna, hot tub, as well as a game room.  A complimentary Continental breakfast is served here.

On nice days, you can eat outside with beautiful views of Lake Otsego.  The village of Cooperstown is a short, approximately, ten-minute drive.

Visit:

The National Baseball Hall of Fame – People flock to Cooperstown from all over the world to visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  Even non-baseball fans will enjoy a visit to this museum.  Read about our visit to the Baseball Hall of Fame!

Fenimore Art Museum –  The Fenimore Art Museum is well-known for its collection of folk art and the Thaw Collection of American Indian Art.  Read more about our visit to this museum.

The Farmer’s Museum – Across from the Fenimore Art Museum is The Farmer’s Museum.  Step back in time to 19th century rural life where you can visit historic buildings, see demonstrations and speak with interpreters.  Taking a ride on the Empire State Carousel is a must! Read about our visit to this fun and educational family experience.

Fly Creek Cider Mill – Fly Creek Cider Mill is a short drive from Cooperstown.  Enjoy lots of tasty food and cider samples, eat a delicious meal at the Snack Barn and watch apple cider being made. That’s just some of the fun you can have here.  Read about our tasty visit!

Cooperstown Beverage Exchange – Down the street from the National Baseball Hall of Fame is the Cooperstown Beverage Exchange.  This space, owned and operated by the Cooperstown Distillery, is both a tasting room and retail space.  You can sample and purchase their spirits, including vodka, bourbon, whiskey and gin.  You can purchase full drinks or cocktails to enjoy in the sitting area that they have.  In the evening, the space turns into a bar/cocktail lounge, with live music on many nights.

Eat: 

Doubleday Cafe – We asked an employee at the National Baseball Hall of Fame where he recommended we get lunch.  For a sit-down lunch, he recommended the Doubleday Cafe.  This cafe is a short walk from the Hall of Fame.  It was packed during our visit and rightly so.  The cafe offers a variety of soups, burgers, sandwiches and more.  They also have daily lunch specials – two of which we ordered including the Grilled Pastrami, Bacon & Provolone on Rye (pictured above) and the “Cafe” Burger with caramelized onions, blue cheese and bacon.

My husband was even able to enjoy “A Taste of Cooperstown Beer Flight” with his lunch here!

Fly Creek Cider Mill – If you plan to visit Fly Creek Cider Mill, which I recommend, make sure you eat lunch or an early dinner at the Snack Barn Restaurant.  They have a variety of value combo meals that include chips, beverage and a slice of pie.  Everything we ate here was delicious!

New York Pizzeria – We have plenty of amazing pizza places near us in Westchester County and all of the ones in NYC.  So, we had high expectations going into a place called New York Pizzeria.  We weren’t wowed by the pizza but it was decent.  The restaurant has plenty of seating, including an upstairs dining area.  They serve a variety of Italian dishes including different kinds of pasta, chicken and eggplant parmigiana, appetizers, salads and more.

As you can see, there’s lots to see, do, and eat in Cooperstown!  The village is about a 3 hour drive from Northern Westchester County, making it a perfect weekend getaway!

When you are visiting Cooperstown, NY, you must take the short 15-minute drive to the Fly Creek Cider Mill.  The mill was established in 1856 and is currently owned and run by the Michaels family.

I recommend arriving to Fly Creek Cider Mill early, especially in the autumn peak season.  You might want to first visit the Mill Store Marketplace.  Depending on the time of day and season of your visit, you may be waiting on line to enter the store.  There’s a good reason for this: they want your in-store experience to be a good one and limiting the number of guests inside minimizes crowding. Rest assured, though, the line moves quickly and cider samples and fun facts entertain you while you wait.

The Marketplace is a foodie’s dream.  There are over 40 different samples that you can try from salsas and dips to doughnuts and cheese.  The apple room is stocked with up to 12 different varieties of apples that you can sample.

The kids especially loved sampling the many different types of fudge they make including Rocky Road, Carrot Cake, Toll House Cookie and more.

Fly Creek Cider Mill is a licensed New York State Farm Winery and bottles apple wines and hard ciders.  Samples of their wines and ciders are available in the marketplace.  I am a big fan of hard ciders and enjoyed both their Original and Apple-Raspberry varieties.

As you make your way through the Cider Mill you get to see the apple cider production up close on the second floor.  Apple pressing only takes place on weekends and the frequency of pressing is based on apple cider sales.  Over 20,000 gallons of cider are made each fall!  While we were visiting, the apples were in the process of being pressed and the juice collected. A gift shop that sells all kinds of items from mugs and decorative items to soaps, dishes and more is also on the top floor of the marketplace.  They have a large Christmas ornament selection as well.  If you run out of your favorite Fly Creek Cider Mill snacks and condiments after you return home, they have an online store where you can purchase more.

Make sure you leave room after all that sampling for lunch or an early dinner at the Snack Barn.  There are so many tasty meal and treat options available.  Our family enjoyed a late lunch and split the Pot Roast Sandwich ($13.99) and BBQ Pork Sandwich ($12.99) Value Combo Meal.  Both of these sandwiches were delicious and I highly recommend.

Each value meal comes with kettle-cooked chips, a beverage and a full-sized slice of pie.  We opted for the Apple Caramel Nut and Fruits of the Farm pie.  I’m not a big pie eater and I was devouring these!

We opted to upgrade our soft drink to a cider slush with one of our meals.  I had never seen or heard of a cider slush until our visit.  It was so good and I highly recommend.  It was sweet and refreshing, a perfect fall treat!

We enjoyed some live music while eating our lunch then we walked around the rest of the property.  Behind the mill is Millpond, home to lots of swans.  There are feed stands where you can purchase food for the swans and ducks.  Next to the Snack Barn is Tractor Land, a play area for younger kids.  For $1 you can purchase a rubber duck and participate in duck races.

A large collection of John Deere tractors and vintage equipment is on display throughout the property.  Make sure you take the short trip to Fly Creek Cider Mill when visiting Cooperstown, NY.  You are in for a tasty good time!

The Details:
Fly Creek Cider Mill
288 Goose Street
Fly Creek, NY 13337
(607) 547-9692
website

Hours: 9 AM – 6 PM every day

Parking:  Plenty of free parking is available in the lot across the street from the Mill

Tips:
*Tour the Cider Mill and visit the marketplace first.  When we visited, we received a coupon for the Snack Barn, but we had already eaten.

*Check the Fly Creek Cider Mill website before you visit for additional coupons.

*Arrive early!  We arrived around 1:30 PM and it was super crowded.  We waited on line to enter the mill and marketplace for about 10 minutes.

*We spent about 2 hours during our visit here, including eating a late lunch.