If there’s one thing I’ve learned after spending nearly four years as a fulltime travel family, it’s that there are amazing things to do with kids near me no matter where we are. And as a family that’s always exploring new places, the activities budget can get out of hand fast. We often splurge on an exciting adventure or two, but mostly we spend our time on free or nearly free family activites. So we’ve gotten to be experts on finding things to do with kids near me, even when our front yard changes every week or two!
I’m excited to share some of our ideas in the hopes that they inspire you to get out and adventure together this week.
Things to do with Kids Near Me, Wherever We Are:
Libraries
If you’ve been around here for any length of time, you’ll know that we believe libraries are the unsung heros of family life. I even have a post with 200+ library card policies around the continent! But even if we’re not talking about reading books, libraries are an amazing resource when I’m looking for things to do with kids near me. They often have incredible programming at the branches. We’ve met rescued raptors, taken a cartooning class, built lego robotics, painted watercolors, and more all at totally free library classes.
Many communities also offer free museum ticket vouchers for local museums through a culture pass program or similar. And increasingly, libraries are offering resources like free 3D printing (how cool!) or a free seed library so you can start your own garden. I’ll never stop sharing what an incredible place libraries are for families, especially families on a budget.
Free Museum Days
Even if you aren’t able to snag free museum tickets through your local library, most museums have some sort of free or drastically reduced admission program. Check the museums near you to see if they have weekly or monthly free admission days. And consider museums beyond just children’s museums. You might be surprised at how interested your kids are in modern art or your county’s historical society. Kids deserve to be in these spaces, too. More and more traditionally “adult” focused museums have weekend children’s programming, as well. We took a neat printing class at a very stuffy Quèbec art museum. You never know!
Playgrounds & Splash Pads
Okay, admittedly a playground is a little obvious, but hear me out. When looking for things to do with kids near me, I often seek out the most interesting playgrounds because we love visiting unique ones! Even if you’ve lived in a place for a long time, there are probably playgrounds or splash pads you haven’t tried. Make it a game! List all of the playgrounds in driving distance and try to visit all of them. Let your older kids create a ranking system and judge which one is the best!
Hiking
We think hiking as a family is a massively underrated activity. But I understand why! It can feel intimidating to get outdoors with kids, especially when you don’t see others doing it. But our kids have seen massive benefits, from visiting some of the most beautiful places to improving their gross motor skills. If you need tips for hiking with kids or recommendations on our favorite hiking boots, I’ve got you. Start small with a local stroll and work your way up to whatever outdoor adventures excite you!
Biking
Biking is another fun way to spend time together as a family outdoors, and the increase in the popularity of biking trails is so exciting for this! The biking options are truly endless, from simply pulling a kid bike trailer behind your own bike to gearing up for family mountain biking adventures. Even a bike around the neighborhood is a fun way to spend a Saturday morning. Our kids are often willing to bike when they might complain about walking somewhere, so this is always another good option.
Rockhounding
What is it about kids and rocks? Our kids are always thrilled to go out collecting and identifying rocks. It’s easy (and free!) to search for rockhounding locations near us and then spend an afternoon collecting beauties and identifying them. Plus it’s educational! We use a combination of rocks & minerals books and an app called Rock Identifier to figure out what we’ve found. We’ll even stop into local rock shops to share our finds and look at new ones. Our kids’ enthusiasm is always increased by another rock expert nerding out with them over their finds.
Water Sports
With kids (and especially when it’s warm!), you can never go wrong with water sports. Whether that looks like swimming in the local lake or pool, or kayaking down a river together, water sports are a great way to spend time together without spending any money. And almost everyone can find a nearby body of water (yes, even in the desert!). We invested in an inflatable kayak that we love, and I take my kiddos out in it one at a time. I’m hoping to get another one this year so that we can all go out together. Don’t forget the life jackets!
Even if your kiddo is too little for real water sports, you can find a shallow creek and let them splash for hours. These are often my kids’ absolute favorite days, when they just get to play in water that’s at their shins.
National Park Sites
We write a lot about visiting the big National Parks (and here are some traveling families’ picks for their favorites!), but did you know that there are over 400 smaller National Park sites around the country? Almost everyone will have one of these lesser-known sites nearby, and they’re always fascinating. Don’t forget to grab a National Parks’ Passport for your souvenir stamps!
Art En Plein Air
Art En Plein Air just means doing art outdoors! Nothing reinvigorates little artists more than taking their artwork outside. For toddlers, this might look like chalk drawings in the driveway or the park, or even coloring pages at your favorite picnic table. Older kids might like to sketch a beautiful view or practice watercoloring the sunset. Snacks and art supplies outside are a glorious way to pass an afternoon when I’m looking for things to do with kids near me. Here are some of our favorite art supplies and art books for inspiration.
Identify Local Flowers & Plants
I never would have considered myself much of an amateur botanist, but spending more time outdoors has us all fascinated by plants. When you take your time on a nature walk or sitting in a beautiful place, it’s so much fun to identify and learn about the local flowers and plants. We use field guide books and the Seek app to figure out what we’re looking at, and sometimes we even sketch what we’ve seen in a sketchbook. We love this book for learning how to nature journal.
Street Art Walking Tour
If you love looking at art, but the idea of an art museum with wiggly little bodies is too intimidating, then a street art walking tour is perfect for you! We love looking up street art locations in the places that we visit and figuring out how to visit them all on foot. We’ll often work in a cool dessert, as well! Everyone gets an amazing cultural experience and a bunch of exercise and some totally gorgeous photos! This is one of our favorite choices when I’m looking for things to do with kids near me.
Thrift Shopping
Thrift shopping with kids?? What a weird idea, you might be thinking. But I think it’s actually genius, and my kids NEVER complain. Thrift shopping is one of the things I like to do, and I’ve found that bringing my kids along actually makes for a pretty fun day for them, too, if I grab them something small. Sometimes it’s a fun shirt or a book, and sometimes it’s a new puzzle or board game. This isn’t totally free of course, but it’s pretty darn cheap. And it’s a great activity for bad weather days or when you really want to do something that you used to love before having kids.
I hope this list of things to do with kids near me that’s applicable to anywhere has given you some new ideas! Let me know in the comments if I’ve missed anything.
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For more about how we travel with kids, check out these posts:
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