Winter getaway/babymoon in Berkshires/Cooperstown?
December 30, 2013 8:06 AM Subscribe
My wife and I are planning a babymoon for mid-February, and want to visit the Cooperstown Baseball HOF. Are there things to do around there, or things to do in the Berkshires, that are pregnant-friendly and winter-friendly?
My wife is expecting a baby in April, and we are looking to go to the Berkshires/Cooperstown for a babymoon in February (Feb 15th-17th). We'd both like to visit Cooperstown baseball museum, and would probably do that on Sunday (flexible). Looking through a bunch of websites, it seems that a lot of things there would be closed. I've also started to look at Stockbridge / Williamstown as places to stay and things to do on over the weekend. I understand that the Berkshires and Cooperstown are around 2-2.5 hours away. We would leave early Sat. morning, so we could stop on the way to and from Boston on Sat. or Monday and spend Sunday in Cooperstown.
Would Cooperstown be worth it to stay for the entire weekend? The Longwood Inn looks nice, but we'd rather not be stuck with nothing to do in that region if most things are closed.
If not, should we stay somewhere else? Williamstown looks quaint - is the MOCA worth a visit?
Are there things to do in February in the Berkshires that don't involve cross country skiing or hiking? My wife will be fairly pregnant, so we can't do any activities like that. Bars/beer tasting/wine etc are unfortunately out of the question.
We are coming from Boston, so any recommendations farther away than Cooperstown might be too far.
My wife is expecting a baby in April, and we are looking to go to the Berkshires/Cooperstown for a babymoon in February (Feb 15th-17th). We'd both like to visit Cooperstown baseball museum, and would probably do that on Sunday (flexible). Looking through a bunch of websites, it seems that a lot of things there would be closed. I've also started to look at Stockbridge / Williamstown as places to stay and things to do on over the weekend. I understand that the Berkshires and Cooperstown are around 2-2.5 hours away. We would leave early Sat. morning, so we could stop on the way to and from Boston on Sat. or Monday and spend Sunday in Cooperstown.
Would Cooperstown be worth it to stay for the entire weekend? The Longwood Inn looks nice, but we'd rather not be stuck with nothing to do in that region if most things are closed.
If not, should we stay somewhere else? Williamstown looks quaint - is the MOCA worth a visit?
Are there things to do in February in the Berkshires that don't involve cross country skiing or hiking? My wife will be fairly pregnant, so we can't do any activities like that. Bars/beer tasting/wine etc are unfortunately out of the question.
We are coming from Boston, so any recommendations farther away than Cooperstown might be too far.
The Fenimore House museum is open, as is the Farmers Museum. You might be able to take a ride on a Cooperstown and Charlotte Valley excursion train, but I don't know.
posted by jgirl at 8:28 AM on December 30, 2013
posted by jgirl at 8:28 AM on December 30, 2013
When we go to Cooperstown (always in the summer, sorry) we stay at Diastole.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:29 AM on December 30, 2013
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:29 AM on December 30, 2013
Response by poster: It looks like the Fenimore House museum is closed for the winter, along with the Farmers Museum (except for special events until April). It looks like a nice place though
posted by cavs33 at 8:48 AM on December 30, 2013
posted by cavs33 at 8:48 AM on December 30, 2013
Response by poster: Also, we would definitely hit up the brewery if she wasn't pregnant. We went with some friends to a brewery in Boston, and I felt like such a jerk bringing my pregnant wife there while I was drinking beers. Luckily I could blame it on our friends from out of town, but not this time!
posted by cavs33 at 8:50 AM on December 30, 2013
posted by cavs33 at 8:50 AM on December 30, 2013
Cooperstown is worth about a day. That's it. It's a very cute town, and there's a neat bookstore there, but after you've done the HOF, other than Fenimore House, that's it.
We stayed at the Super 8 in Oneida, only because there weren't rooms at the Casino. It was VERY nice all things considered!
We lucked out and Roy Clark was performing at the Casino, so we went. I could rest my chin on the stage and as corny and Hee-Haw/Bransonesque the whole thing was, he put on a fantastic show and it was well worth the $35 per ticket! Who knew?
Also, if you need new flatware...
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:50 AM on December 30, 2013
We stayed at the Super 8 in Oneida, only because there weren't rooms at the Casino. It was VERY nice all things considered!
We lucked out and Roy Clark was performing at the Casino, so we went. I could rest my chin on the stage and as corny and Hee-Haw/Bransonesque the whole thing was, he put on a fantastic show and it was well worth the $35 per ticket! Who knew?
Also, if you need new flatware...
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:50 AM on December 30, 2013
Best answer: I love Cooperstown but it is a tiny village best visited in the summer. The Fenimore Art Museum is closed until April and the Farmers' Museum is closed in the winter (except for special events). On preview you beat me to it.
For major attractions that leaves the Hall of Fame and the Ommegang Brewery. The Hall will be open and I assume all the baseball-themed shops along Main St. will be as well. The Ommegang tour is nice, and the brewery building was designed to look like a medieval Belgian building, but a brewery tour is a brewery tour. Once you've been on one you've more or less been on all of them.
If you wanted to head into New York, you'd be better off spending half a day antiquing and window shopping in Hudson or going to the New York State Museum in Albany. Bennington, VT isn't too far away, especially if you stay in Williamstown. The Bennington Museum is pretty good and has the largest collection of works by Grandma Moses if that's your sort of thing. MassMOCA in North Adams is large and usually worth a visit, but check to see if what is on exhibit is to your liking.
posted by plastic_animals at 8:53 AM on December 30, 2013
For major attractions that leaves the Hall of Fame and the Ommegang Brewery. The Hall will be open and I assume all the baseball-themed shops along Main St. will be as well. The Ommegang tour is nice, and the brewery building was designed to look like a medieval Belgian building, but a brewery tour is a brewery tour. Once you've been on one you've more or less been on all of them.
If you wanted to head into New York, you'd be better off spending half a day antiquing and window shopping in Hudson or going to the New York State Museum in Albany. Bennington, VT isn't too far away, especially if you stay in Williamstown. The Bennington Museum is pretty good and has the largest collection of works by Grandma Moses if that's your sort of thing. MassMOCA in North Adams is large and usually worth a visit, but check to see if what is on exhibit is to your liking.
posted by plastic_animals at 8:53 AM on December 30, 2013
Best answer: the Porches Inn at MassMOCA is great.
posted by mercredi at 9:02 AM on December 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by mercredi at 9:02 AM on December 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
Howe Caverns is about a half hour away from Cooperstown, it's really neat.
posted by Melismata at 10:55 AM on December 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Melismata at 10:55 AM on December 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I'm from that area and I can only kill about 3/4s of a day in Cooperstown, and that is at the Hall and eating. I guess you could stay for a couple days at Turning Stone in Oneida but...it's a casino, you know? I wouldn't plan a trip around it, especially when one of you can't get a little tipsy.
The Hall would be an easy enough day trip from the Berkshires, though. I prefer the Hall in the winter- you can get closer to all the exhibits and you don't feel like you are being herded through a baseball theme park. You could drive in, have a snack, do the Hall, eat again, drive back out. Alex & Ika is excellent.
If you wanted, you could stop at the Arkell in Canjo on the way back.
Be aware that if the weather is icy or snowy, the roads around Cooperstown will be crap for about 30 miles in any direction. They won't be as well-maintained as you are used to in a city. It can be unpleasant to drive on, more so in the dark.
posted by Snarl Furillo at 9:06 PM on December 30, 2013
The Hall would be an easy enough day trip from the Berkshires, though. I prefer the Hall in the winter- you can get closer to all the exhibits and you don't feel like you are being herded through a baseball theme park. You could drive in, have a snack, do the Hall, eat again, drive back out. Alex & Ika is excellent.
If you wanted, you could stop at the Arkell in Canjo on the way back.
Be aware that if the weather is icy or snowy, the roads around Cooperstown will be crap for about 30 miles in any direction. They won't be as well-maintained as you are used to in a city. It can be unpleasant to drive on, more so in the dark.
posted by Snarl Furillo at 9:06 PM on December 30, 2013
Best answer: I live in Williamstown. Mass MoCA (in North Adams) is pretty good if you like modern art (I do.) As alluded to above, they have no permanent collection, so look at their website to find out what's going to be on display. The Sol Lewitt wall drawings are on display until 2033 or something, though, so that much will be on view — and I quite like them. How much you'll like them depends on how much you like formal, geometric art.
Someone may suggest the Clark Art Institute (in Williamstown), but currently there isn't much on view there. Right now, most of their collection is either on tour or socked away for the big move to their new building, opening this summer. The smaller Stone Hill Center, a separate building on the museum's campus, will be open, with a selection of works on display there; but you'd be hard-pressed to spend more than an hour there. It might be worth a stop if you like 19th-century art, but it's not the Big Important Cultural Experience that it normally is.
I enjoy living in Williamstown, but it's not the type of town where you can easily wander around for hours looking into cute shops. There's a small central business district (Spring Street) with a few clothing shops, a couple of galleries, a toy store, an antique store, and a handful of restaurants. North Adams has a few more shops in its downtown, but is also somewhat more run-down.
Are there things to do in February in the Berkshires that don't involve cross country skiing or hiking? My wife will be fairly pregnant, so we can't do any activities like that.
Sweet Brook Farm, in Williamstown, offers sleigh rides in the winter, and you get to see their alpacas. And I've always been curious about Hilltown Wilderness Adventures, who offer dogsled rides in the winter months; I've never actually tried them, though.
posted by Johnny Assay at 9:41 PM on December 30, 2013
Someone may suggest the Clark Art Institute (in Williamstown), but currently there isn't much on view there. Right now, most of their collection is either on tour or socked away for the big move to their new building, opening this summer. The smaller Stone Hill Center, a separate building on the museum's campus, will be open, with a selection of works on display there; but you'd be hard-pressed to spend more than an hour there. It might be worth a stop if you like 19th-century art, but it's not the Big Important Cultural Experience that it normally is.
I enjoy living in Williamstown, but it's not the type of town where you can easily wander around for hours looking into cute shops. There's a small central business district (Spring Street) with a few clothing shops, a couple of galleries, a toy store, an antique store, and a handful of restaurants. North Adams has a few more shops in its downtown, but is also somewhat more run-down.
Are there things to do in February in the Berkshires that don't involve cross country skiing or hiking? My wife will be fairly pregnant, so we can't do any activities like that.
Sweet Brook Farm, in Williamstown, offers sleigh rides in the winter, and you get to see their alpacas. And I've always been curious about Hilltown Wilderness Adventures, who offer dogsled rides in the winter months; I've never actually tried them, though.
posted by Johnny Assay at 9:41 PM on December 30, 2013
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posted by JMOZ at 8:20 AM on December 30, 2013