skip30

Visiting Cooperstown soon and seek advice on if Hall of Fame is manageable in one full day? Any suggestions on what not to miss, what to avoid, little-known gems or tidbits to make the day enjoyable? Discount coupons? Thanks.

PaulRabe

The Hall of Fame and Museum are easily manageable in one day, even if you are (like me) a super-devoted baseball fan.

Not sure what you mean by "what not to miss, what to avoid, little-known gems." You're planning a full day at one museum, so you won't have much a choice on what to see. And I can't (nor anyone else, actually) tell you what YOU might (or might not) enjoy at this place. Al Kaline's plaque was an absolute, positive, no-questions-about-it must-see for me; but it may not be for you.

InSandy

We were able to visit the Hall of Fame and the connecting museum in less than a full day. Though we didn't digest everything completely. It is certainly manageable in a day.
Don't leave without a picture of the statues outside.

There is a lot more to do in Cooperstown besides the Museum. For us the not miss thing was stopping by the Doubleday stadium. There was an American Legion game going on and it was amazing to sit in the stands and watch baseball in Cooperstown.

There is also the Farmers Museum, the Fenimore Art museum and the Classic Car museum that could take up another whole day.

skip30

Thanks for the good feedback.

gail

I am a huge baseball fan - and had enough of the HOF after part of a day. It is a wonderful shrine to past players, but looking at wall plaques, display boxes of shoes and shirts, gets old quickly. You see your favorite players' stuff, rekindle memories, but there are not interactive exhibits, educational exhibits - it genuinely does what it does well, but for us got boring.

So if you find yourself with some extra time, the Farmers Museum was quick shockingly wonderful. I am not a farmer, not especially interested in agriculture - past or present - but it was well done and quite fascinating for both adults and teens in our family.

Ackislander

And the Fenimore Museum has the best -- not the largest -- display of American Indian art I have ever seen. It is displayed as art, not as ethnography, so you appreciate the amazing quality of the work.

I think baseball is incredibly boring but always find plenty to do when we go to Cooperstown for Glimmerglass Opera.

NewbE

Isn't the Omegang brewery nearby? Sorry, it's been a few years since we were in Cooperstown, so I can't recall. Agree that the open-air Farmer's Museum is fantastic, as is the Fenimore. The lake is gorgeous. And the town boasts at least one really good restaurant--which I forgot the name of, wah! I hope someone else can fill in.

I can tell you that the HOF is really interesting even for non-fans; at least I found it so. And the surrounding area is beautiful.

bspielman

You're probably thinking of Alex & Ika, but it's really only fair. The Blue Mingo Grill, right on the lake, may be better, but, frankly, Cooperstown is not a dining destination. Having attended Glimmerglass Opera annually for fifteen straight years, we've traveled far and wide in search of a good meal. Places that come to mind are The Horned Dorset in Leonardsville (closed this summer for renovation), The Canal Side Inn in Little Falls, and The American Hotel in Sharon Springs.

Ackislander

bspielman has almost all the good places I know about, though service is somewhat chaotic at Blue Mingo and it is a long way to Sharon Springs, though the food at the American Hotel is excellent. We have stayed in Sharon Springs when we have waited to find lodging.

We did eat at an informal restaurant in Cooperstown. It opened onto an alley just behind the Main Street, toward the lake, IIRC. The food was good, and they featured good beers and the wines of Dr Konstantin Frank.

tchoiniere

Ommegang Brewery (http://www.ommegang.com/index.php)is somewhat nearby (about a 1/2 hour drive) and I would highly recommend it. There is also Cooperstown Brewing Company (http://www.cooperstownbrewing.com/brewery.htm).

I spent all day at the HOF as I did take my time to read a lot of it. Also, make sure to go to Doubleday Field even if there isn't a game going on. Lots of little shops on the Main St.

If you are going to be in the area for a couple of days, there is also a great car museum within an hour drive.

http://www.classiccarmuseum.org/

GBelle

We haven’t been to Cooperstown in years, but I do recall a very nice restaurant that overlooked the lake. There were boat tours on the lake too.

bspielman

Ackislander, characterizing the service at Blue Mingo Grill as "somewhat chaotic" is extremely generous.

We're a large opera-going group, sometimes numbering up to 14, and, despite most of these restaurants eagerly stating they can easily handle a large party like us, they clearly can't. Getting to Glimmerglass Opera's ever-earlier evening curtains on time remains a problem for us.

Attending some of the Festival's own "rubber chicken" dinners for the second season in a row has quickly become "old."

It's a shame that the class of that area, Church & Main in Canajoharie, closed when Beech-Nut vacated its factory there. I hope that restaurant's proprietors have been able to reopen in another, more viable location. If that's so, it's certainly not in that area of central New York.

NewbE

I think the place I recall has closed, then. It was a modern (renovated) space on the main street in town, multi-story, and served seasonal fare. I have also remembered a very classic red-sauce, read/white checked tablecloth Italian place, also on the main street, that was good, not great.

Bowsprit

NewbE: I think that red sauce place is Nicoletta's. I'd agree that's it's good and exactly what a family might expect. It isn't fine dining, but red sauce places often aren't.

There's another place over there nearby that overlooks a river that has heavily wooded banks. We ate on a balcony upstairs with that view. I seem to remember that we parked in a marina or a boat sales place nearby. Does this ring any bells? The food was good when we visited a few years ago. Is it the Blue Mingo? Not sure...

bspielman

Blue Mingo Grill overlooks Otsego Lake, and is on the same property as Sam Smith's Boatyard. You're probably recalling this. Although the lake is the source of the Susquehanna River, BMG is nowhere near the mouth of the lake.

Bowsprit

Thanks, bspielman: If they have an outdoor, second story balcony, overlooking some kind of water near a boatyard, then I'd say it was the Blue Mingo Grill too! We enjoyed it.