A Visit to the Fly Creek Cider Mill
The exploring locally series continues this week and with fall in the air the focus will shift to fall fun activities. This week we will talk about the Fly Creek Cider Mill. Located just 3.5 miles outside of Cooperstown it is the perfect family friendly attraction for those visiting the hometown of baseball.
The Fly Creek Cider Mill is a water-powered cider mill along the banks of Fly Creek. Built in 1856, it has been in business for 161 years, producing ciders, hard ciders, and wine. Today, you can find some vintage equipment located throughout the mill.
Hours
The Fly Creek Cider Mill is open year round. The Marketplace and Snack Barn are open daily from 9am to 6pm. Admission to the mill is free.
How to Get There
The Fly Creek Cider Mill is located 3.5 miles outside of Cooperstown and 22 miles south of Herkimer. It is easily accessible by car. When arriving in Fly Creek you will come to a four way intersection along County Route 26. If coming from Cooperstown, you would take a right, if coming from Herkimer you would take a left. Follow the road for a couple minutes and you will come upon the cider mill to the right.
There is free parking in the mill parking lot, but this limited. If you continue just past the main mill parking lot you will find another large free parking lot that is only a minute’s walk from the cider mill.
What to do at the mill
There are plenty of things to do at the Fly Creek Cider Mill that will entertain visitors of all ages. Explore the mill with these great attractions:
The Mills Learning Center and Cider Gallery
Inside of the Mill Store Marketplace you can watch as apples are processed and transformed into the delicious cider you enjoy with free tastings or at the Snack Barn and Bakery. In the mill you can see the original equipment that is still used today to produce the cider. Cider making occurs on the weekends at varying times, but on the busy fall weekends it tends to run through most of the day.
The Mill Store Marketplace
The marketplace at the cider mill offers free daily tastings of over 40 food items, including fudge, cheese, salsa, wine, and hard ciders. You will also find a great selection of foods, wines, cheeses, fudge, cookies, apples, cider, sauces, salsa and chips, kitchen wear, maple syrup, honey, and more!
There is a completely online store where you can purchase any of these items!
Outside of the Marketplace you will find stand up character boards for photo ops and an oversized rocking chair the whole family can fit on.
Mill’s Farm Winery
The Farm Winery offers a variety of hard ciders and wines for purchase. Original ( a semi-sweet with apple flavoring) and Apple-Raspberry (a semi-dry with a fruity flavor) are the two main flavors found at the winery, but you can also find Apple Cranberry, Apple Black Currant, Apple Cherry and Apple Strawberry.
One of the most popular wines is the Apple Frost, which is similar to an Ice Wine. The winery is part of the Cooperstown Beverage Trail.
Mill Pond Boardwalk
Sitting behind the Snack Barn you will find the entrance to the Mill Pond Boardwalk, a small wooded deck that overlooks Mill Pond. Looking into the pond you will be greeted by a swarm of ducks. Along the boardwalk you can find dried corn for feeding. You will also find plenty of picnic tables and rocking chairs for you to sit down and relax. You can bring in lunch and enjoy it here or order a treat from the Snack Barn.
The Duck Races
The Duck Races is the hit of the cider mill for children. With an old farm style pump and a rubber duck (purchasable at the Snack Barn and Marketplace for $1) the kids can send their duck down a stream of water to see who’s is the fastest. There are even picture frame signs that the winner can hold and snap a photo with to show off their victory!
P.S.- Even the adults seem to enjoy this!
Feed the Ducks
If you are visiting with young children, this will be another big hit for them. Adjacent to the duck races you will find the creek with some green area that is filled with ducks, chicken, and roosters. Along the fence you will find vending machines where for a quarter you can get some duck feed.
The kids truly enjoyed this and could have spent well over an hour there!
Snack Barn and Bakery
Stop at the Snack Barn and Bakery for some delicious fall themed treats. Make you sure try the apple cider slushies, apple pie sundaes, apple cider donuts, and a selection of hard ciders and wines.
You can also find some meal options, including a hot dog combo meal, BBQ pork meal, sausage, pot roast, and soup or chili bowls. There are kids meal options available as well that come complete with a rubber duck for duck racing!
The Play Area
Next to the snack barn you can find a small play area with toy tractors, a wooden tractor with a slide, and plenty of wood cutouts for picture taking.
The play area is marked with signs indicating that it is designed for kids 2-6 only, and the tractors are for children 2-4 only.
In the back of the mill you can find some real life, vintage John Deere tractors to observe, but do not touch.
About Me
I’m Melissa, but you can call me Missy. I continuously crave a new adventure and love sharing those adventures with you! My sidekick is my 5 year old daughter. Together we are conquering the world, one city at a time! Find family travel tips and guides that will help you plan your next adventure!
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