{"id":29490,"date":"2012-06-19T20:01:46","date_gmt":"2012-06-20T00:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/?p=29490"},"modified":"2025-08-21T10:06:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T14:06:09","slug":"family-activities-in-new-york-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/29490\/family-activities-in-new-york-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Family Activities in New York City and Beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"

You’re determined before they’re all grown up and on their own, that this summer you’re going to spend a lot of quality time with your kids. If you’re overwhelmed with all the options or don’t know where to start (and perhaps don’t want to drive), we’ve honed in on 20 activities and getaways in and around NYC that are sure to suit everyone’s interests and budgets.<\/p>\n

The Rocking Horse Ranch<\/a><\/strong> in Highland, New York will be a hit with the kids, as it is chock full of activities, including horseback riding, mini golf, and an indoor water park. There are magic acts and other entertainment, and the resort offers facials and massages for $80 an hour for parents. Summer package deals start at $219 per adult and $75 per child per night, and if you stay five nights you get one night free.
\nHow to get there:<\/strong> Take the Metro North or Amtrak to Poughkeepsie, or Adirondack Trailways to New Paltz. If you call the resort 48 hours in advance, they will arrange for a pickup service to meet you at the Poughkeepsie Train Station.<\/em><\/p>\n

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There are many choices for musical activities for kids this summer. Here are three fun and free children\u2019s music festivals to attend: The Carroll Park Concert Series<\/a><\/strong> is hosting one show a month from 2-5 p.m., including the Jitterbugs and the Deedle Deedle Dees; Musicians such as Astrograss and the Rozz and Val Show will be at Music In The Grove Kids<\/strong> in Fort Greene Park on Wednesdays at 10 a.m., and the Albee Square Summer Concerts for Kids<\/strong> will be on Thursdays at 10 a.m. with Dogs on Fleas, Fuzzy Lemons and more. <\/p>\n

How to get there: <\/strong>For Carroll Park, take the F or G to Carroll Street. The park will be to the north. For Music in the Grove, take the C to Lafayette Avenue and walk north on South Portland Avenue to DeKalb Avenue, or take the B, Q or R to DeKalb Avenue and walk east. For Albee Square, take the 2 or 3 to Hoyt Street, or the A, C, or F to Jay Street \u2013 MetroTech and walk southeast to Hoyt. To get to ABC Do-Re-Me!<\/strong> in Brooklyn Heights, take the A to High Street, head southwest, turn right and then left onto Cadman Plaza, the class will be near the AstroTurf.<\/em><\/p>\n

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How to get there<\/strong>: Take the Metro-North Harlem local line to Botanical Garden Station. Walk across Kazimiroff Boulevard to the Garden\u2019s Mosholu Gate entrance. By subway, take the B, D, or 4 train to Bedford Park Blvd Station. From the station exit, take the Bx 26 bus east to the Garden\u2019s Mosholu Gate entrance. Or walk eight blocks down the hill on Bedford Park Blvd to the end (approximately 20 minutes). Turn left onto Kazimiroff Blvd and walk one block to the Mosholu Gate entrance.<\/em><\/p>\n

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How to get there: <\/strong>Take Metro North to Yonkers, walk west on Dock St., turn right on Alexander St., make a left and a right to 35 Alexander Street, Yonkers, NY 10701.<\/em><\/p>\n

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How to get there:<\/strong> Take the North Jersey Coast Line train from Penn Station to Point Pleasant. $15\/adult, $7\/child. Walk the ten minutes from the train station to the beach, or call a cab (732.292.0660).<\/em><\/p>\n

For a low-key, low-budget family getaway, there are many camping sites<\/a><\/strong> in the New York area. Bring the family (and even the dog) to Cedar Point County Park<\/strong>, Long Island, where you can take advantage of nature walks, Saturday night movies, boat rentals, picnic spots, beach access and a walk to the antique lighthouse, for only $24. Starting at $32, you can either rent tents or a cabin at Frost Valley<\/a><\/strong> in the Catskills, the largest YMCA campground in the country complete with high ropes courses, horseback riding, an observatory, and outdoor living skills classes. To register for camping within the city limits, visit the NYC Parks website<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

How to get there: <\/strong><\/em>To get to Cedar Point County Park<\/strong>, take the LIRR to East Hampton from Penn Station. Arrange a taxi ahead of time and take it to 5 Cedar Point Road, or bring your bikes if the kids are up for the six-mile ride. Call 631.244.7375 for reservations. To get to Frost Valley<\/strong>, take the Short Line bus<\/a> from Port Authority to a stop in Liberty, NY. Call a taxi in advance (845.794.4040, 845.794.7777) to 2000 Frost Valley Road, Claryville, NY. Book your trip online<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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How to get there: <\/strong>For the Cyclones<\/strong>, take the D, F, N, or Q train to the last stop, Coney Island\/Stillwell Avenue. Turn right at the corner of Stillwell and Surf Avenues, then walk two blocks west along Surf Avenue to MCU Park. For the Staten Island Yankees<\/strong>, take the Staten Island Ferry to the St. George Ferry Terminal. Richmond County Bank Ballpark is across the street.<\/em><\/p>\n

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How to get there: <\/strong>Take the 7 train to 111th<\/sup> Street, walk three blocks south. Or take the Q23 or Q58 bus to Corona Avenue and 108th<\/sup> Street or the Q48 to 111th<\/sup> Street and Roosevelt Avenue.<\/em><\/p>\n

Charles Carmel, a prominent carousel designer of his time, carved the Prospect Park Carousel<\/a><\/strong> in 1912. Celebrating 100 years on June 10, it is a classic, antique carousel with 53 animals, including horses, a lion, a giraffe, a deer, and two chariots pulled by dragons that the kids will love. Tickets are $2 a ride, and ice cream and popcorn is sold at the Pony Express snack bar.<\/p>\n

How to get there: <\/strong>Take the Q, S, or B train to Prospect Park station or the B15 or B43 bus to Ocean Avenue and Empire Boulevard or the B41 bus to Flatbush Avenue and Empire Boulevard. Use the Willink park entrance at Ocean and Flatbush Avenues and Empire Boulevard.<\/em><\/p>\n

Photos: Ryan Somma<\/a><\/em>, LarimdaME<\/a>, BBG, lgarfinkle, NY Hall of Science, Sesame Place, Science Barge,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You’re determined before they’re all grown up and on their own, that this summer you’re going to spend a lot of quality time with your kids. If you’re overwhelmed with all the options or don’t know where to start (and perhaps don’t want to drive), we’ve honed in on 20 activities and getaways in and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":85,"featured_media":29978,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[784,815,725,787,315,1049,790,792,842,329,325,326,844,814,714,1045,316],"tags":[239,293,484,129,196,120,117,36,18,133,720],"class_list":{"0":"post-29490","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-adventure-activity-2","8":"category-baseball-sports-2","9":"category-best-of","10":"category-camping-adventure-activity-2","11":"category-day-trips","12":"category-golf-activity-2","13":"category-hiking-adventure-activity-2","14":"category-horseback-riding-adventure-activity-2","15":"category-music-culture-2","16":"category-new-jersey-destination","17":"category-new-york","18":"category-queens-outer-boroughs-destination","19":"category-science-culture-2","20":"category-sports-2","21":"category-summer-travel-guide","22":"category-theme-parks","23":"category-weekend-getaways","24":"tag-botanical-gardens","25":"tag-budget-friendly","26":"tag-camping","27":"tag-concert","28":"tag-coney-island","29":"tag-family-fun","30":"tag-horseback-riding","31":"tag-metro-north","32":"tag-museum","33":"tag-outdoors","34":"tag-ranch"},"acf":[],"mv":{"thumbnail_id":29978,"thumbnail_uri":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/8717_126672774279_5831500_n-288x300.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/85"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29490"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29490\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}