This is a gorgeous state park on the northeast edge of Otsego Lake. My wife, two teenage sons (15…read moreyrs, 13 yrs), and I came here with our miniature poodle for a quick visit during a 4-night stay in Sharon Springs, NY. We came here every day to enjoy the lovely view of the lake, take a leisurely stroll with the dog, and spend an afternoon fishing (for my 15 year old son). It's about a 15-20 minute drive from Cooperstown along the east shore. At the main entrance, you'll pay a $7 admission fee per vehiecle, or you can just show your NY State Parks Empire Pass card. This is a gem of a park that is well worth the price of admission. First, it feels open and spacious with nice hiking trails. Second, the view of Lake Otsego is lovely. You may see a few kayakers or windsurfers on the lake depending on weather conditions. If you have young children, this is a must-visit place as there are kid-friendly playgrounds. Third, the lake is shallow and calm by the beach, but the water temperature can feel a bit chilly. In the summer, they have lifeguards available starting at 11:00am. Finally, the park has a concession stand which sells basic snacks, hot dogs, and drinks. It's also worth it to take a short walk up the hill to see Hyde Hall and the view of the lake from there!

Very friendly staff at front gate beautiful lake to swim in and camping available as well.read more

Great fun place for all ages of kids with some adult fun…read moresprinkled in like alcohol!! Clean location, friendly staff and the food is pretty good to. We had the pizza combo and the it was pretty tasty, and at $55, two entry fees, pitcher of soda and a large pizza as we as $20 credit for games I thought it was a pretty good value. We went in a rainy Saturday and the kids had a great time !! We'll be back for sure.

A great indoor spot for kids on a rainy day! We took our toddler here today and it was perfect. $12…read moreentrance fee for her to jump around on all the bounce houses, she had a blast for hours. Also a special gate at the register area that prevents kids from wandering to the front doors... very helpful! I do wish there was a gate at the arcade area to prevent young kids from wandering in there alone. But overall a really great place to bring your kids!

This is a wonderful park to bring some take out from Voss' or some other food for a nice picnic. It…read moreis always clean and well groomed. On many occasions you can watch the process of a boat going through the working canal locks, which is pretty neat. There are picnic tables, a shelter, restrooms, and if the locks arent in use, access to the canal trail on the other side. Plenty of parking. Just an all around nice place to spend a little while. It isn't very big so if you are looking to get some exercise you are best heading to the canal trail. This place is also dog friendly, as long as you pick up after them, and my dogs quite enjoy sniffing around.

The area is so very,very nice.Plent of room, clean and mix of sun and shade.I didn't find alot of…read moremosquitoes, but I was there early in the day, no rain.

I mean it's ok...!? If your going there to fish, good luck. The main lake is not great fishing…read more However if you venture up to twin fawn and ice pond they are ok. It's a nice walk around the main lake. Amazing pictures to be taken of foliage and lake. I would say avoid Summer crowd as it can bring in some riff raff campers. Not great hiking unless your looking for flat dirt road hiking. If you don't plan on camping you can rent a Log cabin. The log cabin rentals are....eh? Do your homework prior to going to be sure you know what your renting. Has beach on end of the lake but can sometimes be mud and not sand. They do have row boat and kayak rentals that are pretty nice. Food stand is good with decent food stand food. All in all it's not a bad place but very low adventure but pretty.

What an incredible place to just breathe in the fresh air! Amazing campground with many tables for…read morea picnic. The tables are a good distance from each other and perfect for the 6 ft social distancing amid the COVID-19 Pandemic. This park was not crowded, had a few families and dogs- but just the perfect amount this past Saturday. I really enjoyed being here and was so grateful for the views. They have a nice hiking trail and it's a wide open space. I am thankful for the lake where you can canoe and kayak. Everyone is very respectful to each other. The park also has two lovely playgrounds for children to play on- after the pandemic. I can't say enough good things about this park because it's just perfect. If you ever have a chance to get outside and explore this is the place to be. Early mornings in the summer - I cannot wait to go back- but friends don't forget your masks! Stay safe!

The park is named after actor and former resident of Amsterdam, Kirk Douglas. This park is located…read morein the heart of the city & adjacent to the scenic Chuchtunnanda Creek. The Park offers playground equipment, and sitting benched for all to enjoy. my rating is totally for the creek and the falls that are adjacent to the park. I could sit there a whole day just to hear the water roar. I believe there is also a small waterfall.

What a gem. We have been visiting Plotter Kill for over a year and the changing seasonal characters…read moreof the part are just one of the many draws for us. The place is deceptively vast and you could easily get lost in it - not literally and in the most delightful ways. First off, parking is usually no problem since the parking lot fits about 20 vehicles, although there has been one occasion where it spilt over to the main road in the summer. The short trail from the parking lot to the first two forks is gorgeous with tree shade and mostly gravelly than the majority of the trails which are more natural. The creek and the falls are beautiful, although water level can be quite low in the summer and early fall. All in all this is a great park suitable for most people to navigate, and I'm glad for another natural reserve like this.

Gorgeous scenery here, but we had some issues with the trails/trail maps that I suspect weren't…read morecompletely down to my being bad at reading them. What's shown on the map at the entrance doesn't seem to conform to reality, and many trails are very obviously blocked off with warning signs, end in abrupt dead ends, or head off in directions that don't seem to reflect what the map shows. The blue trail on the map brings you past several waterfalls, but the real one seemed to reroute you away from the water and onto a muddy track through the woods heading in the opposite direction. This might have eventually led back in the direction of the falls, but we decided to turn back from when the mud got tough to deal with. To find the interesting bits in my pictures, we went to the first observation point on the blue trail, doubled back to take the bridge to the red trail, then went past there and took the yellow trail to the water before heading back to the parking lot, with a few accidental detours in between. With all of the backtracking and wrong turns I'd guesstimate that we walked a total of about three miles, but if you were more systematic about it you could probably do it under two. However, the short dead-end yellow trail especially was very steep and somewhat challenging for keeping our footing on the downhill, so appropriate hiking/walking shoes are still a good idea. Don't come here in flip flops! All in all this was still totally worth it, but I'd be really happy to learn that they've managed to re-open the trails that have been closed (for safety reasons?) and/or updated the maps to make it a bit easier to hit the scenic highlights.

A small park that's good for kids on a hot sunny day as it has a lot of shade to keep it cool. The…read morepark has swings, slides and features other cool play equipment for the kids. In addition the park also has a basketball court and tennis court with enough room for adults to walk around. There is ample seating, parking and picnic tables for a mini picnic. Been coming here for 5 years now and will continue to do so till my son grows out of it.

Nice park when it's hot out with the tall pines. We call it…read morethe shady park. Well maintained. .

Before you come here, if you want to hike behind the waterfalls, Indian Ladder Trail is closed…read moreduring the winter and through April due to ice. Other than that, all the trails are open and still fun to hike and enjoy the views. Also the state park is free during off season and much less traffic, which is a bonus. Luckily, I came in late March where most of the snow and ice has melted, and I could explore with regular hiking shoe. I did a loop at the Paint Mine trail. Maybe 2miles total. There are some small waterfalls there, fairly easy loop, no real elevation change. There are a couple overlooks at the park where you can see over the valley. If weather permits, you can see city of Albany at far away with a waterfall on the side. It was very foggy at my first day, so I had to go back again.

Today two friends and I visited the Nature Center to see a wildlife art show/exhibit. There were a…read morevariety of media: photography, felting, ink art, watercolors, acrylics and oil paintings and sculptures. The artists' pieces are beautiful. I was especially impressed with the paintings created on wild turkey feathers. Rarely do I head to Thacher State Park in March...I am so glad we did. I highly recommend viewing this art show now. It is running until March 29th. I look forward to returning to John Boyd Thacher State Park in warmer weather when the trails are open. Truly a treasure!

One of the best fireworks conducted on the first weekend after 4th of July. The festivities were…read morecanceled over the last 2 years due to the pandemic. This year the festivities are back and with a bang. The place was crowded but not overly crowded. The park had food trucks, music, entertainment and games for kids. This use to be one of the best fireworks. The fireworks are still good and one of the best in the area. The view is closes compared to other fireworks I have been to. This is the only time of the year I visit this park.

We were in town for the baseball hall of fame but we found this spot while walking around town…read more This is a beautiful little park with a great view of Otsego lake and there is the Council Rock. This is the rock where the Indians would meet for meetings. The place is very nice and people were sitting around on blankets in the grass enjoying the day. I dont know about parking because we were parked on the main road from our visit to the HOF. Pretty cool thing to see and place to hang out.

A small, yet perfect retreat from Cooperstown's Main Street, this park offers scenic views of…read moreOtsego Lake, a nice walkway through native plants that help protect the lake from contaminants, and a generous lawn with benches for relaxing. According to their official web page (http://www.thisiscooperstown.com/attractions/lakefront-park), this park also plays host to the Cooperstown Lakefront Concert Series. Whatever brings you to Cooperstown, this is well worth the 5-minute walk from Main Street.