Play Together

This is where memory-making family adventures go beyond the diamond and into the fields.

Whether you're catering to a young sports fan, or trying to wow a hard-core gamer with old-school tech, Cooperstown has just the thing for families. Sometimes the smallest people are the biggest fans, so The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum offers a variety of kid-friendly activities and exhibits, like the Sandlot Kids' Clubhouse. THen, visit the Cooperstown Bat Company in Hartwick to see how pro bats are made.

For a trip into the way back time machine, there's the Farmers' Museum, where digital natives can discover a world from before the telephone – butter churns and all. This living history village has a blacksmith shop, doctor's office and pharmacy, and a working farm from the mid-1800s. Explore the Country Fair and Empire State Carousel. Originally built in 1856, Fly Creek Cider Mill and Orchard is another activity rooted in history. The Mill still presses fresh apple cider the old-fashioned way, and the Mill Store Marketplace offers samples of sweet and savory treats.

For some active family fun, there's Barnyard Swing Miniature Golf and Family Fun Center, where you can play 18 holes or a game of laser tag. Head to the Clark Sports Center for its bowling alley, swimming pools and climbing walls, as well as 17 acres of outdoor playfields.

In nearby Milford, climb aboard the Cooperstown & Charlotte Valley Railroad for a ride through the countryside aboard a vintage 1869 diesel train. In the summer, you can walk among butterflies and other exhotic creatures at the Joseph L. Popp Jr. Butterfly Conservatory in Oneonta. With locations in Cooperstown and Portlandville, Canoe & Kayak Rental and Sales will outfit your clan for a day on the water.