Shopping and Outdoor Fun Near Brockport, NY

Brockport, NY, is a famous town on the Erie Canal and is well known for its lovely historic downtown with quaint shops perfect for a window-shopping stroll. Parks, farm markets, walking tours, and historic monuments are all attractions to enjoy while visiting this small town outside of Rochester, NY. As the holidays draw near, places to find unique gifts for those loved ones or places to find delicious treats we can enjoy are on our minds. There are several special spots in Brockport to discover delights that will make your shopping fun and your giving easy. For locals seeking places to enjoy some outdoor family time, there are beautiful and fun places to get out in the snow or to see the sights.

One way to warm up the holiday season is with a delicious meal with a glass of wine or craft beer. Five Sons Winery offers Brockport a friendly, unique spot to get an experience you won’t find anywhere else. With craft beer brewed by the owners, wine crafted from their own vineyard, and a menu of tasty foods both savory and sweet, you really can’t go wrong. If you’re looking for a gift for a couple who could use a special night together or you know someone who appreciates craft beer or local wine, this winery is a perfect place to offer them a night out. Even if they prefer a night in, the winery has online ordering and takeout service to bring your meal home.

Beer lovers will enjoy taking home crafted stouts, IPAs, ales, and porter. Dragon’s Breath stout, Porch Hopper IPA, and Raspberry Rhubarb hard cider are just a few of the creative names for their locally-produced beers. Wine lovers can enjoy red, white, blush, and sparkling, with names like Sunset Red, Torte de Mele, and Sparkling Patriot Blend. Oysters on the half shell, calamari, artisan flatbreads served with toppings to make a meal, and burgers are a few tempting finger foods on the menu. For a twist on dessert, Five Sons has beer custard and slushies, a truly unique spin on classic sweets.

Imagine sending a beautiful box of locally-grown fresh apples, packed by hand from a local farm. If you just aren’t sure what to send someone who’s tough to buy for, gifts of food are often a great answer. Not sure they like apples? What about a CSA subscription for a season of fresh veggies? Foods grown at the farm are harvested weekly and provided to members who purchase a subscription for their season of choice. You can view all the available options on Kirby’s Farm Market website and complete your entire transaction online if you prefer, or you can visit their farm market in person if you want to take in the gorgeous fruits and veggies to see the quality of food you can send to someone you love.

The farm market also has a gift shop full of one-of-a-kind items like handmade pottery, art, or original crafted items made by local artisans. Jars of preserves, local maple syrup, and other goodies can also be found in the shop and make excellent gifts for the holidays.

If you want to spend some quality time with family outdoors during the holidays, Northampton Park has shelters or lodges open for rent and offers fun winter outdoor activities the whole family can enjoy. For folks in need of a little time outside, sledding, cross-country skiing, and even downhill skiing for beginners are available at the park. Tow lines help get you up the hill for sledding and skiing, and when you’ve had enough of the fun in the snow, you can cozy up to a fire in a lodge if you call ahead to reserve it.

Horseback riding trails and hiking are also options, or those trails could be hiked with snowshoes if the snow falls heavily enough. This is a charming park to enjoy for a day trip and winter fun with kids. Bring hot chocolate in a thermos and make a day of it!

With all the new use of technology in our lives with Zoom calls and connecting online, some of our loved ones may be finding it tough to keep up. Boundless Connections is a tech center in Rochester, NY, which offers day passes to explore technology, get help using tech, or join networking groups to connect with people interested in similar activities. They also have programs dedicated to kids and youth of all ages interested in exploring all the possibilities of technology, from learning how to program and code to creating anything using technology—even building with 3D printers. Whether you have a tech prodigy child in your family or a person struggling to figure out how to use their computer, you can gift them with a day pass, a full month of access to the center, or even a membership for a year.

Programs like Tech Unleashed teach youth how to create a career with tech in any tech-related field they love. A young adult program offers opportunities to learn how to create a business with technology, and several kids’ programs allow exploration of tech in innovative and creative formats conducted by people who love technology and know-how to make using it friendly and fun. This could make a unique gift to someone who wants to learn more about tech in a creative, diverse, and community-oriented environment.

Learn about historic Brockport by taking a self-guided walking tour of the areas near the Erie Canal and downtown, offered free on the Village of Brockport website. Several sites of historic interest date back to the founding of Brockport in 1823; subsequent years of the village’s growth are mapped in five walking tours which describe each point of interest. Directions on the site will lead interested parties on tours that can take anywhere from a few minutes to over an hour, depending on the length of time you care to walk. Tours visit the Erie Canal area to learn about the village during the Canal’s development, view historic homes of people who were noteworthy in their day, and see the historic shops of the downtown.

For history buffs, these flexible walking tours could make a nice afternoon on a sunny day when the shops are open so you can head inside to warm up if it’s chilly, or you could enjoy a cup of tea at the Red Bird Café or coffee at Java Junction downtown. This could make your holiday shopping a little more interesting while you seek a few treasures to wrap up in festive holiday paper, or could serve as a little respite from a busy day.

Enjoy your day in Brockport, NY, and discover why small towns are the perfect place to find delicious food, local art, unique gifts, and memorable experiences for all ages. Brockport has the kind of holiday spirit we often see only in a movie, but anyone can visit to find out how rewarding small town life can be.