I loved this little nature center! It's nestled in the woods next to Thompson's lake, so the views…read moreare fantastic. A little trail leads you down to the water where there are benches and picnic tables to sit and enjoy the scenery. Lots of things to learn inside. A lot of taxidermy animals but live ones as well. The best part were the active honey bees on display with a direct access to the inside of the building so that you can watch them work!

Beautiful beautiful beautiful... Absolutely serene... A breath of fresh air for sure. My brother…read moreand my niece and the grandchildren went for a hike while I simply explored the overlook... I went back to where I dropped them off and my older brother noticed the photos that I posted and told me I should at least go in 1 mile to see the bottom of the waterfall which I did... Boy was I tired and sore, LOL

What a hidden gem off the Taconic parkway! I would enever have guessed this was here unless I…read moresearched for things to do while going on a weekend roadtrip. This place is open pretty much 365 and if the welcome center is closed, you can still walk around the grounds. Wonderful, funky, weird, unsettling, thought-provoking sculptures strewn over a large parcel of land and it's free too. We went in late Dec so it was cold, muddy and a few of the cool interactive pieces were closed.. whomp whomp. Also be aware of the dog 'landmines' as it seems a lot of owners do not bother to pick up. Will be back in the spring!

Awesome sculpture walk! About 50 pieces scattered in the fields and woods on the property. Get a…read moremap at the visitor's center and start your hunt! Wear comfortable shoes- it can be muddy in shaded areas. And wear a hat on a sunny day to keep the sun and flies off of you. Afterwards, rest in the cafe with a cold drink and discuss your favorite pieces. Great day trip for sculpture lovers!

I did not expect to spend as long as I did at the military museum! It's surprisingly vast and…read morefilled with historical documentation, artifacts, and knowledgeable staff (volunteers?) to greet you upon arrival. There is no entry fee required, but there is a place to drop cash donations. Yet another treasure in the city of Saratoga.

What a find! First, it's free. Second, if you have even the slightest interest in America's wars…read morethis museum will impress and educate. The museum is housed in the Saratoga armory. The exhibits begin with the Revolutionary War (focusing on Burgoyne's invasion) and continuing clockwise take you through Vietnam. It also has an impressive Naval exhibit. I believe I was there for more than two hours. The exhibits included placards explaining what you are viewing. Of course the central theme is NYS's connections to each war, particularly the contributions of the famed NYS National Guard. Many of the relics were either made in NYS or presented to the museum by NYS veterans. If you admire military weaponry this is the place to visit.

Despite being a small town upstater, I've been to some incredible museums this year from the…read moreGuggenheim to MOMA to the Met to the "more intimate" Seattle and Portland art museums. Still, I liked this little museum a great deal. Let me put it this way. What's more boring than a drive along the New York State Thruway? How about a fun, educational break from the cross-state driving? Just 3 or 4 blocks from the Canajoharie toll booth and you're at the museum. Stretch your legs, see a lovely little collection of interesting art, and barely interrupt your drive. I was most impressed by the beautiful bronze in the garden and the American Art Collection. I could care less about the high quality reproduction of the Night Watch; I've seen the real thing and I've even seen it done in tiles in the Delft factory - oddly interesting. My only regret - I missed the recent Homer and Wyeth shows. The current specials (infrared shots of American ruins and a room of paintings arranged by seasons) didn't ring my bell although my wife was agog over some of the winter scenes. If you have time, head south just a block or two to the Church & Main Restaurant. Or, along the way there is an old fashioned small town cafe/diner. Regardless, take a tiny detour, get out of the car, and have fun!

It is very hard to find an exact analog to the Arkell to compare it to. It's an artifact of the…read moreold-fashioned paternalist industrialist, a gift to the company town that has outlasted the company's presence in the town. The library is a full public library branch, to your right, and to your left are two gleaming new modern galleries and a large atrium space. The old memorial garden Arkell erected for his first wife is strangely isolated and inaccessible, its fountains dry, and straight on in from the door is a small exhibit on the Beech-Nut company and its relationship to the Arkell and the Arkell family. Then to the rear is the collection of the Arkells, which contains a couple of minor masterpieces but is mostly fourth-rate, and includes a copy of Rembrandt's "The Night Watch" at full scale, before its cleaning, so it looks as dank and dreary as the original painting (in the Netherlands) used to. I'll start by noting the curation is top-notch. For the permanent collection, which the museum is sort of stuck with, they have done their best and had excellent interpretive labels. The Beech-Nut exhibit is a little biased towards a rosy view of the company's complex relationship with the town, and ignores the horrors of recent years of real estate fraud, toxic waste, and lost opportunities at re-use of the site, which still stands partially intact across the street. But the two temporary exhibits we saw, while small, were extremely well done. One was on paintings of the Mohawk Valley, particularly the canal, on the occasion of the canal's 200th anniversary, and had a terrific array of works spanning nearly two centuries. The other was a single-artist exhibit of contemporary portraits of (historical) New York Suffragists, obviously not taken from life, that was quite stunning. There wasn't nearly as much interpretation overall as I would have liked but for the space and scope limitations I've seen few such exhibits done better. There's a small array of gifts at the combined museum and library lobby, including snack bars and drinks, and a small group of tables in the museum atrium to sit at, but no real café. There's a teaching/meeting facility in the basement that looks like it has an active program. So what can I tell you as a potential visitor? If you're going along the thruway, there are a lot worse ways to kill an hour (admission is $9, so there are also cheaper ways) than to see a small, "doable" regional museum. But the collection has *no* "destination" masterworks and little coherence, and the Beech-Nut exhibit, while it has some interesting artifacts, isn't exactly can't miss either. I think the museum itself is saddled a bit by the requirements of the donation from the benefactor; with a terrific facility and the evidence of strong leadership, it could be so much more with a different focus (the serving three- or four-masters in such a small space doesn't work well), either serving more centrally as a community center and local history museum (one way to go) or as a New York regional museum (another possible direction). So while I can't exactly gush that this is a can't miss museum, I can say that it's good for what it is. Which is sui generis.

A fun museum, very well done. I learned a lot and enjoyed the interactive nature of it all. Walking…read moretrails and scenery are also beautiful.

Love this place! Everyone so friendly and helpful! They do a…read morenice job with current artists and lots of positive energy spent on the children's area! We will go again!

What a gem! We visited the area from San Diego and a friend suggested to stop over at the Grant…read moreCottage. This is a great move for any history buff. The home is in the original condition the way President Grant and his family would have experienced it, meticulously maintained by a knowledgeable staff and volunteers. I had a great time and learned a lot. Highly recommend!

My visit to Grant's Cottage was amazing. I learned so much about his last days and how he provided…read morefor his family. The staff and tour guide here are all very informative and friendly. The grounds are well kept and the cottage itself is well preserved. I have no words to describe the breathtaking outdoor overlook. It is not to be missed. Everything within Grant's Cottage is well maintained and you truly feel as if you are brought back to the 1800's. You will enjoy the tour whether you are a history buff or just looking to gain knowledge about President Grant. I highly recommend!!

I didn't want to write this review, as my December trip to the Capital District was a pleasant…read moredistraction from reality, so this final writeup symbolizes the "end of an era" (three days long but I stretched out the content). The museum does stellar work on the impossible task of capturing New York State. ("How dare they mention the NYC subway but completely ignore the one that used to be Syracuse?! ZERO STARS"). Sesame Street's here, along with clocks, fire engines and a discussion of Albany's rum trade. Not only you can you enter an old-timey train car in the subway exhibit, there's a newsstand with old Post and Daily News copies mentioning the (an?) A-Rod scandal. The best part of the museum, or at least the most photogenic, is the assortment of minerals. The greens and oranges were quite surprising, as was the information that many of the specimens are from downstate. The cartography-inclined will enjoy old depictions of areas like "Lange Eyland."

So much to see, this is a well thought out museum about our state. I really enjoyed it. The old…read moresubway csts & turnstile, and the 9/11 memorial was well done. A donation is all they ask for instead of a set admission fee. Im a native, but I think people from other states will also like this museum.

Came for the glow festival. It was a nice time. Parking was handled well. The event itself was…read morewonderful. Concessions however needed some work. It was expensive and the line was in disarray with people jumping in the middle of the line and the lady at the cash register holding her hand out instead of telling you how much it actually cost. Outside of that it was a wonderful well organized event on beautiful grounds.

This is an amazing, unusual venue that more people should know about! An historic farm built in the…read more1700s, with a museum for artifacts, an original home, and a barn used for concerts and other events in warmer weather. I first attended the concert series a few years ago before the pandemic, then occasionally in the last couple years. Concerts are free but donations are encouraged. Some refreshments are sold, but bring a picnic and eat before or during the concert. Last night we went on a "moonlit hike." I heard this was the first one held. It was a 1/4 mile walk through the woods to the river. I'm very glad we went, but would advise anyone going: wear appropriate footwear for winter! Crampons, snow shoes, walking poles and the like would be good advice. The trails were fairly icy because that's the weather we've had this year. Get into the group closest to the leader so you can hear the speaker, or maybe they will have a tour guide near the end so that group can hear, as well. There is a lot of fascinating history here! The original home was heated snd the Information shared inside was amazing: observing the living conditions of these early settlers... did you know the second leading cause of death for women(after childbirth was long skirts catching on FIRE?! Definitely a worthwhile tour. Afterwards, go have delicious pub food down at the River Road House, where there is more history to be learned.