For baseball fans, a trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York is like a pilgrimage—a rite of passage, even. Still, it can be hard to justify a long trip to Central New York just to spend a day in a museum. Fortunately, there are several other attractions nearby that makes Cooperstown the ultimate trip for baseball aficionados.
Here are a few ideas to help plan the ultimate trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame:
The Museum, of course, will be the focus of any trip to Cooperstown. The Museum features an extensive collection of memorabilia and artifacts stretching back to the earliest days of the game.
More than 38,000 items help tell the nearly two-century long story of baseball, meaning that even the most dedicated and diehard fans of the sport will walk away with some new insight and appreciation.
Of course, the ultimate thing to do on a baseball vacation would be to actually watch a baseball game. Fortunately, Cooperstown is home to one of the oldest fields in the United States. Doubleday field has been in operation since the 1920s and, though no professional teams call it home, it is host to an excellent summer series.
Currently, the Cooperstown Hawkeyes play home games in Doubleday. As part of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League—an excellent opportunity to see some of the best players in the NCAA play with, and against, one another.
Nothing goes with baseball like a cold beer and Cooperstown is home to one of the country’s top craft brewers. The Ommegang Brewery specializes in Belgian-style beers and is located on 136 acres of old hops farm.
Indeed, Cooperstown offers everything that is baseball—history, action, culture, and tradition—making it an ultimate weekend destination for any baseball fan.
Photo credit: West Point Public Affairs/Creative Commons
