Here are some ideas for the great outdoors.

Cooperstown outdoor activities are bountiful and of great beauty. There are three good-sized lakes, four state parks, four state forests, a number of county parks and forests, bogs and sanctuaries, rivers and streams - for public enjoyment all year round.

A nice way to spend a morning outdoors is to rent a motor boat, kayak or canoe at Sam Smith's Boatyard, located on Route 80. If you head north, keeping to the west side of the lake, you'll pass Three Mile Point, a village park, Five Mile Point, Goodyear Swamp Sanctuary at The Glimmerglass Festival (about six miles up the lake). You're likely to encounter a loon or two, and perhaps a bald eagle.

Glimmerglass State Park is located at the northern end of the lake at Hyde Bay, where you'll find the Sleeping Lion Hiking Trail as well as a sandy public swimming beach. Stay at one of our Cooperstown campgrounds and enjoy a picnic, hike the trails and fish at Glimmerglass during the summer months. The park is open for cross country skiing, tubing and ice skating in the winter.

Your afternoon or early evening can't be complete without spending some time at the Barnyard Swing, where you'll find miniature golf and a number of other family-oriented activities - located in a refurbished barn on Route 28, about five miles south of Cooperstown.

Gilbert Lake State Park, Laurens, is a wooded park with a lake and swimming area, along with three ponds where you can fish and picnic during the summer, with trails for skiing and snowmobiling during the winter months. Explore the NYS Civilian Conservation Corps Museum on the grounds of the park.

Robert V. Riddell State Park, our newest state park, has fishing and hiking available along a beautiful creek, at Exit 17, Interstate 88.

The Betty and Wilbur Davis State Park is located "on top of the world." This mountaintop park has fully-furnished cabins (complete with dishwasher) available for year-round rentals. There's hiking, fishing, and picnicking available.

Miniature golf, bumper boats and go-carts are available for "play" at the Cooperstown Fun Park, located just three miles south of Cooperstown on Route 28.

Cooperstown maintains two parks for swimming and picnicking, Three Mile Point on Route 80, and Fairy Spring Park, on County Route 33.

The City of Oneonta oversees several parks with public swimming pools.

And if GOLF is your game, you'll find 10 public golf courses, ranging from the championship Leatherstocking Golf Course in Cooperstown, to one of the country's oldest courses, Otsego Golf Club, located nine miles north of Cooperstown. There’s the Meadow Links Golf Club, an executive course located minutes from Richfield Springs, as well as dozens of smaller courses located off the beaten path.

Snowmobile maps and hiking maps are available.

Map the Outsoor Recreation Itinerary
Share this with a Friend