Cooperstown Weekend Getaway

Just under a 4 hour drive away from NYC, Cooperstown was the perfect place to getaway for a weekend of wine, beer, and antiquing.

Here's a recap and guide to a weekend in America's Baseball town!

We left from Queens around 9am, and it was a bitter cold weekend. We knew we were visiting a predominately summer town, and that the winter weather might make the trip a little "off", but it definitely helped with the views on the ride up.

There were a few options I found for the route up there, and I chose the route that went through Oneonta specifically. I utilized This Is Cooperstown heavily while planning the trip, and Marketplace on Chestnut was one of their suggested places for antiquing and thrift. It was one of the very few places listed as open year round, so we added it as a stop for our weekend!

First Stop: Marketplace on Chestnut

This antique store was nuts. Three floors of what looked like an old warehouse filled with so many incredible finds. Usually when I go thrifting or antiquing, there are a lot of duds, things that I feel came from your parents basement when they decided to downsize. What I hope to find is things that came from your grandparents basement it gets cleaned out. The older, the better in my opinion! We didn't come in expecting to buy anything, and lord were we tested. My boyfriend Patrick couldn't stop teasing me for my constant, "oh look how cool this is!" refrain at every corner. I've promised myself that when we get our first home, we'll be furnishing from this store. It was a significant amount of home decor and furniture, but there were plenty of chotskies and small items as well.

The amount of ornate golden mirrors I wish I could have taken with me... I have serious buyers remorse on so many items. We ended up staying to so long here (3 hours+) just exploring every nook and cranny. We ended up purchasing three things: I found a ceramic certified real Thomas Kinkade plate (my mother is a huge fan, and Mothers Day is coming up!), a pair of gold foil and black velvet playing cards (I had forgotten to pack us a deck for games at the breweries!), and my boyfriend got an Italian leather decanter for our bar cart. So much for not buying anything lol.

When our hunger level finally outweighed our curiosity level, we sadly left to head to our next event: wine tasting!

Next up: Montezuma Winery

After a short drive from Oneonta, we made it officially to Cooperstown! We had until 9:30pm to check into our room for the weekend, so we decided to swing by Montezuma Winery since it was on the way! Via This Is Cooperstown, I had seen that there was a Cooperstown Beverage Trail.

This trail was a huge inspiration behind our trip, and I was so bummed to find out that most of these places closed for the winter and didn't open until spring. Some of them, like Bear Pond Winery and Fly Creek Cider Mill, closed forever post-Covid; others didn't open until the weekend, and our trip fell on a Thursday/Friday, we couldn't go. Since we only had the two days, and the Uber/Lyft situation was not great upstate, we decided on two spots for the trip: Montezuma Winery on Thursday and Ommegang Brewery on Friday.

Montezuma Winery was empty when we pulled in around 3:30pm on Thursday. They look more like a country store rather than a winery, but it was cute and cozy inside with the option of more shopping. The bar lines the one side of the store, where we set up shop to do our tastings! The winery is also a distillery, so we opted for both tastings. The wine tasting was $12 for 6 samples, and you get to keep the glass and receive a $2 off coupon for their store. The spirit tasting was $10 for 3 spirits, the glass, and the $2 off coupon.

The staff walks you through each bottle as you go, so it's guided and very informative! Their sweet wines and fruit wines really shone for me, and our favorite was anything from the Velour series they created, where the bottle suggests a book, movie and song to pair with the wine. I was less enthralled by the spirits, but I'm generally not a brown liquor gal, so that's more on me. However, their maple syrup liqueur was incredible, and I bought a bottle to bring home with me! I can't wait for next fall and winter to create some seasonal cocktails with it. Pat loved the cinnamon whiskey, and said it's what Fireball wants to be, and we got a bottle of that as well.

Snack Break at Council Rock Brewery

As we were leaving Montezuma Winery, we realized just two doors down was Council Rock Brewery! They weren't on the beverage trail guide, so it was a pleasant surprise to find another local brewery so easily accessible. At this point we had a good amount to drink and were ready for some snacks, the one thing Montezuma was lacking in. So we popped in for a local brew and a late lunch! It's a tiny place, with just a few tables and the bar, but the fireplace was sorely welcome as the temperatures began to drop. We had a few of their home brews, and they were good, but I could see why they might have been left off the beverage trail. The food they served was fantastic however, and the service was so kind! It was definitely more of a local spot. I still think about their french onion soup, it was that good.

Finally Checking in at The Inn in Cooperstown

At this point, we were ready to check into our lodging for the weekend: The Inn at Cooperstown. I found this lodging again from This Is Cooperstown, and when I saw this grand building in the snow on their website, I immediately knew this is where I wanted to stay. The building was designed by the same man who did the plaza hotel, and it felt rich, elegant, and homey. With the snow on the ground, I was definitely getting the McCallister House from Home Alone vibes. There were four fireplaces in the bed and breakfast (that I saw!), and while two weren't functioning, they did light one for a couple enjoying time relaxing in the Inn that night. If we had a longer stay, we would have done exactly what that couple did - get some take out and eat it by the fire! Outside of this one couple, we never actually saw any other guests that evening, and it felt rather private! When we left for dinner around 7pm, we were told that the Inn gets locked by 9pm, but our room keys also worked for the front door. We were a little surprised by this, but I forgot what a small town we were in - that's late for non-city neighborhoods I suppose!

Like a dummy, I waited too long to book the cheapest room, but even the next cheapest was still a good price! The nightly rate for a classic room with one queen bed, the small sitting area, and ensuite bath was $155 per night. It was cozy and perfect for our single night stay, and I was mostly impressed by the heat lamp situation in the bathroom. It struck me as odd at first until the temperatures dropped to about 3 degrees, and then we understood it haha! The eerie red glow cast by the lamp cracked me up; felt like I was in a horror movie!

Birthday Dinner at Mels at 22

After refreshing at the Inn, we went to my birthday dinner in the center of town. One of the selling points of the Inn for us over other bed and breakfasts or hotels was its proximity to Main Street. While we weren't going to the Baseball Museum, we knew that was the center of tourism for this town and there would be plenty to around it. I had researched a few different places to eat in this main area, but we ended up choosing Mels at 22 for the variety of vegetarian option for me. I also had wanted something a little fancier and trendier that had NYC vibes to it too, and Mels did not disappoint! If you are looking for a nice dinner in Cooperstown, I highly recommend giving them a visit!

We had had plans to go for drinks after dinner, but the timing didn't work out - small towns do tend to close earlier. But we had had such a long day anyway, that we took out unfinished wine bottle and leftover dinner back to the hotel to finish out the night in comfort!

Exploring Main Street Area and Breakfast at Stagecoach Coffee

The Inn at Cooperstown does include a complimentary breakfast, but I wanted to spend all the time we could out and about the town, so the next day we got up early, and checked out of the Inn. They allow you to leave your car in their parking lot after checking out if you want to explore, which is exactly what we did. We strolled down Main Street, scoping out the Baseball stores, restaurants and bars of the area. I had found StageCoach Coffee on maps and chose it at random, although we were sorely tempted by the Cooperstown Diner that looked like it was straight out of a time machine from the past. StageCoach was unassuming from the outside, and casual on the inside. There were hot food options in addition to your standard coffee shop pastries, and loads of space for seating in the front with the counter and in the back with a giant coffee machine! Their breakfast burrito gave my slightly hungover self life and the power to push on with our second day of breweries and antiquing! They weren't far from the lake either, so after breakfast we took a walk down to see it in its snowy, frozen glory.

Cooperstown Distillery

Now that we were properly full, it was time to get back to business: the booze! The Cooperstown Distillery tasting room was along Main Street and was an easy pitstop on the way back to our car. The actual distillery is in another part of town, but the tasting room, called the Cooperstown Beverage Exchange, offers complimentary tasting all day and a full bar at night -- it's where we had wanted to go after dinner the night before! The inside is half store, half bar, with gorgeous dark walls, wood floors, velvet couches and a fireplace. It's my perfect aesthetic. We browsed the shelves, and they offer not only their own product but a plethora of local ciders, beers, and merchandise. Since it's the baseball town of America, the distillery produces a lot of baseball shaped bottles! They were so cute, and I purchased a little one to come with me. The spirit tasting also features not only their own product but a ton of other local options, from vodkas to rums to bourbons. As a gin gal, I obviously had to sample that, but I couldn't not try one of their own creations too!

Ommegang Brewery

Main Street being properly explored, it was time to hop in the car and head towards Ommegang Brewery! Probably the biggest brewery in the area, it was a main highlight for our trip. We got there around noon, and scheduled plenty of time to do some beer flights, lunch and then sobering up before getting ready to head back down to NYC. The only downside to this brewery is it doesn't have a lot else around it, so driving is a must, which means you need a designated driver!

The brewery is massive and poppin' - we arrived just as it was opening and there was a line outside to get in. We sat at the bar, but there were plenty of tables and a gorgeous outdoor patio that would be incredible during the summer with their live concerts. The rolling hills of their grounds were a gorgeous backdrop to our flights! It was $15 for four 5 ounce pours of any of their drafts. Since Ommegang is easy enough to get a hold of, we tried their limited edition drafts. Between the two of us, we were able to try every single one! Our favorites were their stouts -- they had chocolate, vanilla and oatmeal stouts and they were all incredible.

Woodbull Antiques and Posie's Vintiques

After a delicious afternoon of bar snacks and brews, it was finally time to hit the road - but not before hitting a few antique stores on the way! Woodbull was a store I saw advertised on This Is Cooperstown, but their hours seemed sporadic and like they would be closed during our visit. I can't tell you how excited I was when their store happened to be on the road we were taking and they were open! Especially once we pulled in and realized what a unique experience this store would be. Built out of a barn behind their home, every single inch was dedicated to the wildest pieces of furniture and home items you can find. The amount of mannequins and dolls hidden around the barn was a little unnerving, and added to the "there is definitely a cursed amulet here" sensation we had. The barn has landings on multiple levels, and dozens and dozens of chairs hung high in the air, along with an old pond hopper type of plane! I will say the prices for the pieces here were pretty high, so we enjoyed walking around and window shopping but didn't make any purchases.

Posie's Vintiques was also a short detour on our way home that was recommended on This Is Cooperstown, and we popped in to end our trip here. It was a small store, more just two rooms, and was definitely more of a thrift store vibe than antiques, but still had some adorable and unique finds.

And time to head home...

After our final antique stop, it was time to go home. My birthday trip was less than 48 hours and we managed to squeeze in three antique stores, two breweries, a winery, and a nice dinner, all for a decent price. I'm so glad we took this trip, and despite Cooperstown being a summer town, it goes to show that a winter weekend getaway is a hundred percent possible in America's coolest small town.