Make this summer a season to remember with Macaroni Kid's top 80 Family Friendly Summer Day Trips. We've updated last year's "75 Family-Friendly Summer Day Trips" to include even MORE family fun - everything from beaches, lakes, rivers, water parks, state parks, museums, farms, zoos and more. We've even included dates of special events happening for certain listings. Go explore, discover, and have fun!
Be sure to stay in the know by signing up for our FREE weekly e-newsletters HERE! Every week we've got fresh ideas on local things to do like summer movies, outdoor concerts, street fairs, festivals and more. Also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest - we'd love to see where you've been!
Amazing Aquariums
1. Adventure Aquarium - Camden, NJ
2. Maritime Aquarium - Norwalk, CT
3. Mystic Aquarium - Mystic, CT (Summer Nights Mondays through August 29, 2016 6-9PM)
Boardwalk Blast
4. Coney Island - Coney Island, NY
5. Jenkinson's Boardwalk - Point Pleasant Beach, NJ
6. Seaside Heights - Seaside Heights, NJ ($20 Wristband Night Fridays 5PM-11PM)
Come Sail Away
7. Barnegat Bay Sailboat Charters - Barnegat Bay, NJ
8. Clearwater - Beacon, NY
9. Hackensack Riverkeeper - Hackensack, NJ
10. Tenafly Nature Center - Tenafly, NJ
Farm Fun
11. Alstede Farm - Chester, NJ
12. Brookhollow's Barnyard - Boonton, NJ
13. Terhune Orchards - Princeton, NJ
14. Von Thun Farms - Monmouth Junction, NJ
Glorious Gardens
15. Everett Children's Adventure Garden at NY Botanical Garden - Bronx, NY
16. New Jersey Botanical Garden - Ringwood, NJ (Audubon Butterfly Festival August 14, 2016)
17. Planting Fields Arboretum - Oyster Bay, NY (Summer Garden Family Festival July 16-17, 2016; Nature Sundays for Children through August 28, except July 17, 2016)
It's A Shore Thing
18. Belmar - Belmar, NJ
19. Ocean Grove - Ocean Grove, NJ
20. Sandy Hook - Sandy Hook, NJ
21. Spring Lake - Spring Lake, NJ
22. 7 Presidents Oceanfront Park - Long Branch, NJ
Lake Lovin'
23. Hopatcong State Park - Landing, NJ
24. Lake Welch at Harriman State Park - Stony Point, NY
25. Shepherd Lake - Ringwood, NJ
26. Wawayanda State Park - Hewitt, NJ
Marvelous Museums
27. American Museum of Natural History - New York, NY (Macaroni Kid's 2014 review)
28. Children's Museum of Manhattan - New York, NY
29. Children's Museum of the Arts - New York, NY
30. Discovery Times Square - New York, NY
31. Liberty Science Center - Jersey City, NJ (Dino Dig through September 5, 2016, except July 22, 30, 31)
32. Long Island Children's Museum - Garden City, NY (Macaroni Kid's 2013 review)
33. Metropolitan Museum of Art - New York, NY
34. Museum of Ice Cream - New York, NY (Only open July 29-August 31, 2016)
35. National Baseball Hall of Fame - Cooperstown, NY
36. Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island - Jersey City, NJ
37. Stepping Stones Museum for Children - Norwalk, CT
38. Sterling Hill Mining Museum - Ogdensburg, NJ
39. West Point Museum - West Point, NY
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
40. Aviation Hall of Fame & Museum of NJ - Teterboro, NJ (Open Cockpit Weekend August 20-21, 2016)
41. Autobahn Indoor Speedway - West Nyack, NY
42. Cradle of Aviation Museum - Garden City, NY
43. Delaware River Railroad Excursions - Phillipsburg, NJ (Day Out with Thomas July 15-17, 2016)
44. Elmsford Raceway - Elmsford, NY
45. Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum - New York, NY (Space and Science Festival July 14-17, 2016; Macaroni Kid's 2014 review)
46. Northlandz - Flemington, NJ
47. Pole Position Raceway - Jersey City, NJ
48. Raceway Park - Old Bridge, NJ (Waterfest VW/Audi Car Show and Motorsport event July 16-17, 2016)
A River Runs Through It
49. Pocono Whitewater - Jim Thorpe, PA
50. Whitewater Rafting Adventures - Nesquehoning, PA
51. Delaware Water Gap - NJ/PA
Thrilling Theme Parks
52. Adventureland - Farmingdale, NY
53. Crayola Experience - Easton, PA
54. Diggerland USA - West Berlin, NJ (Macaroni Kid's 2014 review)
55. Field Station: Dinosaurs - Leonia, NJ
56. Keansburg Amusement Park - Keansburg, NJ
57. Land of Make Believe - Hope, NJ
58. Sesame Place - Langhorne, PA (Macaroni Kid's 2014 review)
59. Six Flags Great Adventure - Jackson, NJ
Time Traveling
60. Allaire Village - Wall, NJ
61. Fort Lee Historic Park - Fort Lee, NJ
62. Grover Cleveland's Birthplace - Caldwell, NJ
63. Kykuit Rockefeller Estate - Sleepy Hollow, NY
64. Monmouth Battlefield State Park - Manalapan, NJ
65. Thomas Edison National Historic Park - West Orange, NJ
66. Vanderbilt Mansion - Hyde Park, NY
Wet & Wild
67. Camelbeach - Tannersville, PA
68. Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom - Allentown, PA
69. Kalahari Resorts & Conventions - Pocono Mountains, PA (Macaroni Kid's 2015 review)
70. Runaway Rapids - Keansburg, NJ
71. Sahara Sam's Oasis - West Berlin, NJ
72. Six Flags Hurricane Harbor - Jackson, NJ
73. Splash Down Beach - Fishkill, NY
74. Splish Splash - Calverton, NY
75. Tomahawk Lake - Sparta, NJ
Zany Zoos
76. Beardsley Zoo - Bridgeport, CT
77. Bronx Zoo - Bronx, NY
78. Central Park Zoo - New York, NY
79. Space Farms Zoo - Sussex, NJ
80. Turtle Back Zoo - West Orange, NJ
