• 1. Where to Stay
• 2. Where to Eat
• 3. What to Do
• 4. Insider’s Tip
• 5. An Oddball Day

Shop for customized wooden furniture at Amish Collections.   (Photo: Courtesy of Amish Collections)

Abandon the slopes and go Amish for the day. Head an hour west for a hearty breakfast of wood-oven-baked Amish bread, blackberry jam, and Mennonite yogurt ($10, reservations required) at the 1860s Cherry Creek Inn, where period rooms are festooned with Amish quilts and wooden rockers. The innkeeper, Sharon, is an excellent source of info on New York’s Amish community and food and arranges tours of the region (from $30 per person). DIY types should skip the tour and instead follow the detailed Amish Trail map, which reveals nearby locations where you can purchase cedar chests, quilts, and maple syrup direct from the sellers’ homes. Amish sellers close on Sundays, so if you’re shopping then, group shops are the next best way to get Amish goods. Head ten minutes south to Raber’s Blacksmith Shop in Conewango at 6370 Route 62 between Eldridge Road and County Highway 6, a great spot to score handcrafted rugs and soap. Next, bag some Amish Niagara grape jelly, “all day” donuts, and homemade pickles at Randolph Peaches & Cream (19 Randolph St.; 716-358-2241). Amish Collections in Gowanda, 25 minutes north, is the best place to buy customized wooden Amish furniture and cabinets made from wormy maple, hickory, and ash (starting at $100 per item). Finally, settle in for a pot roast and applesauce dinner ($10) at Oregano’s, 30 minutes north in Randolph, where all the Amish decorations in the restaurant are for sale.

Published on Jan 13, 2011 as a web exclusive.