Cooperstown Visit - Advice?

I'm thinking about taking two of my sons to the HOF tomorrow. The older one is 8 1/2 & perfect for it now - he's baseball obsessed, and still young enough that the game is still magical to him. The almost 6 year old is first getting into it. The drive will be about 2 1/2 hours each way. Is it worth the trip? Any tips I should know about if I go? I haven't been there since I was a kid.

Thanks.

 

I take it no hotel?

I'd guess it is probably doable, especially if you left early enough and stayed til it closed, which I believe is 9pm in the summer.

Probably depends how much you want to spend at each exhibit. Don't forget to spend a few minutes at Doubleday Field either.


I went last summer for the first time since my youth and spent 2 1/2 days there. I obviously didn't spend all my time in the HOF. It was great just to walk around Main Street.


Since it's still the heart of summer, crowds will be a bit heavier. I went just after Labor Day, so I got better rates at hotels. And it was almost dead in the HOF, except for some of the Little League teams that were still playing at Cooperstown Dreams down the road.

It was the last week the Hall stayed open til 9pm too. After dinner, it was almost deserted.

 

No, back & forth in 1 day. Is there really that much for kids so young?

 

Five hours of "when are we going to get there?" with a place far from major highways? You know your kids, but that seems like a recipe for disaster, or a sitcom.

HOF is awesome, though.

 

I didn't notice your kids age the first time.

Being 8 and 6, they probably won't read a lot of the exhibits, but it will be cool for them to see the older mitts and bats and stuff. The older stadiums exhibit is also pretty cool.

Without spending a lot of time at each exhibit, you could probably breeze through the HOF in 3-5 hours.


You say the 8 year old is really into baseball, so I doubt he would get bored. The 6-year old on the other hand might get restless.

They do have a small kids room that plays videos and some other activities.

 

Thanks, good stuff.

 

Awesome trip. I took my dad a few years ago — a little quality time that completely changed our relationship. Bonus: We went in October, when the area — outside of the Hall itself — is just amazing. Stayed overnight at one of the motels on the lake, spent a whole day just going thru the Hall. Best trip of my life.

 

Enjoy it, Guy. Nothing more memorable than a HOF visit at your sons' age -- I know the feeling well.

If the kids get bored (I sure didn't at 6, but I'm weird like that), take 'em to the hitting range next to Doubleday Field.

Not sure what's changed in three years, but here you go:

 

Welcome back, Buck! Where ya been, man?

 

Thanks for mentioning the batting cage, buckw. I completely forgot about that when I responded to Guy.


Oh and it's six or seven percent that is actually on display. At least that's what one of the HOF managers said last year. Still an amazing number. Would love to walk through their storage facility/basement once.

 

I've never been, and I have long regretted it.
Since I haven't lived on the East Coast in about 13 years, I regret it even more.
We tried to put together a last-minute trip when Ashburn was inducted (1995 maybe?), but the logistics were too crazy. Very difficult for a last minute trip during the induction weekend.
Left the East Coast a couple years later and never went.

 

Great tips, Buck. My dad and I stayed at the Lake Front, and you're absolutely right: Cheapest price, but still nice and clean. Step out your door, and you're at the marina (complete - if it's still there - with a bait vending machine. That was a first for me).

Don't know about the rest of you, but my favorite piece is still the colored balls depicting Ted Williams' batting averages at different pitch locations.