5 Last-Minute Family-Friendly Destinations
I
t’s August and perhaps you
wanted to take a family vaca-
tion this summer, but life got
busy and plans never got made. Or,
maybe you’re looking for one more spot
to spend a long weekend that’s family-
friendly, yet not too far from home.
Whatever your story might be, we’ve
got five “last-minute” destinations, all
within driving distance from Buffalo, to
offer as suggestions.
While there are dozens more we
could have included, we tried to choose
a variety of spots that would pique the
interest of the many different personali-
ties of our readers.
They are all less than a six-hour
drive from Buffalo — an acceptable
time (with at least one stop to let them
run off some energy) for driving in the
car with kids without going crazy (be-
lieve me, I know!), and offer a variety of
activities to keep everyone in the family
happy, at least most of the time!
We’ve listed the locations from
shortest (Cooperstown, 231 miles), to
the longest (Lake Placid, 335 miles),
FAMILY TRAVEL
— by Lisa Littlewood
with several options in-between.
Cooperstown, NY
Distance: 237 miles
Drive Time: 3 hours 45 minutes
www.thisiscooperstown.com
Cooperstown is located in Central
N.Y., between Syracuse and Albany, at
the tip of Ostego Lake. It has received a
lot of recognition in the last few years as
“One of America’s Best Small Towns.”
It is most famously home to the Nation-
al Baseball Hall of Fame (baseballhall.
org), where new members are inducted
each year during Hall of Fame Week-
end (usually in July). In addition to the
Hall of Fame Museum, there is a nearby
Baseball Wax Museum, and the Coo-
perstown Bat Company where play-
ers and baseball enthusiasts can get fit-
ted for the perfect bat. Rest assured, the
center of town is charming and boasts a
number of quaint restaurants and shops
for the non-baseball fans in your family.
While in Cooperstown you might
also consider The Farmer’s Museum,
which showcases and demonstrates 19th
century farm life, and recently opened
a new exhibit titled “Brew: New York’s
Craft Beer Revival” (farmersmuseum.
org), as well as the renowned Fenimore
Art Museum (fenimoremuseum.org)
for the art enthusiasts in your group.
If you’re looking for a more rec-
reational experience, Ostego Lake of-
fers many options for boating, fishing,
and swimming, and just 8-miles from
Cooperstown you’ll find Glimmer-
glass State Park, where you can book
a camping reservation or just visit for a
day of hiking and picnicking.
Cedar Point,
Sandusky, OH
Distance: 256 Miles
(just an hour past Cleveland)
Drive Time: 4 hours
Touted by some as “one of the best
amusement parks in the world,” and
aptly named the Roller Coaster Capital
of the World, Cedar Point certainly has
a ride for everyone. Even I, not an avid
amusement park enthusiast, found my-
self enticed to ride the Millenium Force
(which climbs 300 feet and reaches a top
speed of 93mph) and Top Thrill Drag-
ster (a 3.8 second ride that reaches a
speed of 120 mph), and walked off with
a smile on my face.
The 364-acre amusement park lo-
cated right at the edge of Lake Erie
currently boasts 18 world-class roller
coasters, and is the 2nd oldest operat-
ing amusement park in the country. In
addition to its many roller coasters and
thrill rides there are several sections of
the park devoted completely to younger
children (5 and under), and many family
18 WNY Family August 2019