Looking for family-friendly day trips and weekend getaways around New York City? You've come to the right place!!! Check out our extensive list of the best family vacation spots near New York City (i.e. easily doable as a day trip, weekend getaway, or longer family vacation)!
Family-Friendly Day Trips from NYC:
( * denotes link is to my personal review on US Japan Fam )
( * denotes link is to my personal review on US Japan Fam )
- Adventure Park at Long Island (LI)
- Alstede Farms (NJ)
- * Bear Mountain (NY) - Guide to Oktoberfest Bear Mountain Cruise With Kids
- Crayola Experience (PA)
- Diggerland (NJ)
- Field Station Dinosaurs (NJ)
- Funplex / Splashplex (NJ)
- Harbes Family Farm / Barnyard Adventure (LI)
- *Hudson's House of Play (NJ)
- Garden State Discovery Museum (NJ)
- Land of Make Believe (NJ)
- LEGOLAND Discovery Center (Westchester)
- Long Island Children's Museum (LI)
- Medieval Times (NJ)
- Pine Ridge Dude Ranch (NY) - day passes or overnight available!
- Playland Park (NY)
- Sahara Sam's (NJ)
- *Sands Point Preserve (LI)
- Sesame Place (PA)
- Six Flags Great Adventure (NJ)
- Splish Splash (Long Island)
- Storybook Land (NJ)
- Turtleback Zoo (NJ)
- Van Saun County Park (NJ)
- White Post Farms (Long Island)
- Wild West City (NJ)
Family-Friendly Weekend Getaways from NYC:
Note: Some of these could technically be a day-trip, especially if you have a car, but I personally recommend then for a 2-3 day weekend, or more.
( * denotes link is to my personal review on US Japan Fam )
Note: Some of these could technically be a day-trip, especially if you have a car, but I personally recommend then for a 2-3 day weekend, or more.
( * denotes link is to my personal review on US Japan Fam )
- * Amish Country / Lancaster / Dutch Wonderland (my 2018 guide, my 2017 guide)
- Atlantic City, NJ
- * Baltimore, MD: Must Do: Weekend Getaway to Baltimore
- Boston, MA
- Cape May, NJ
- The Country Place Resort (NY)
- Crystal Springs Resort (NJ)
- Hershey Park (PA)
- Mohonk Mountain House
- * Montauk, Long Island: Montauk Yacht Club Getaway Part 1 and Part 2
- Mystic, CT
- Newport, RI
- * Norwalk, CT: Family-Friendly Getaway from NYC to Norwalk, Connecticut
- Pinegrove Family Dude Ranch (NY)
- * Philadelphia, PA: Weekend Getaway to Philadelphia (With Kids)
- Poconos (Camelback / Aquatopia)
- Poconos (Great Wolf Lodge)
- Poconos (Kalahari)
- * Poconos (Pocono Manor) - Our Fall Family Getaway to The Poconos
- Poconos (Skytop Lodge)
- Poconos (Split Rock Resort)
- * Poconos: All-Inclusive Woodloch Resort (summer 2016) / Woodloch (winter 2018)
- Riverhead, Long Island
- Rocking Horse Ranch
- Six Flags Great Escape (NY)
- Washington D.C.
Free Water Fun within an hour of NYC
Best in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn:
Other greats of NYC:
New Jersey:
Long Island:
Fee-Based Pools & Water Parks within an hour of NYC
Best in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn:
- Owl's Head Park Sprinklers (67th & Colonial) - separate section from playground, nearly closed off (1 closed gate, 1 open), button on wall near entrance turns water back on.
- Leif Erikson Park Sprinklers (66-67th / 8-9th Ave) - cute Nordic theme, nice playground
- Patrick O'Rourke Playground (Bear Park - 81st between 11-12th Ave) - fully inclosed playground & sprinklers
Other greats of NYC:
- Chelsea Waterside Park (Chelsea, Manhattan) - sprayground & playground
- Douglass and DeGraw Pool (Park Slope, Brooklyn) - regular & kiddie pool
- Hamilton Fish Pool (LES, Manhattan) - regular & kiddie pool
- Jacob Riis Park (Rockaway, Queens) - nice public beach
- Lasker Pool (Central Park, Manhattan) - regular & kiddie pool
- LeFrak Lakeside (Prospect Park, Brooklyn) - ice skating rink filled with an inch of water and fountains
- Red Hook Pool (Red Hook, Brooklyn - regular & kiddie pool with sprinklers
- Sunset Park Pool (Sunset Park, Brooklyn) - regular pool
- Water Lab (Brooklyn Bridge Park's Pier 6) - layout and crowds makes it hard with 2+ kids. Great playgrounds and sand play areas nearby
- West Brighton Pool (Staten Island) - regular & kiddie pool
New Jersey:
- Dorbrook Recreation Area (Colts Neck, NJ) - sprayground (swim diapers required) & playground, hiking, skating, etc
- James J Braddock Park (North Bergen, NJ) - great playground structures and fun sprinkler area, huge park with a lake.
- Mt. Playmore Turkey Brook Park (Budd Lake, NJ) - Pirate's Cove sprayground, fields, playgrounds, etc
- Ponderosa Park (Scotch Plains, NJ) - great playground with sprinklers
- Van Saun Park (River Edge, NJ) - playground & sprinklers, for a fee: zoo, train, carousel.
Long Island:
Fee-Based Pools & Water Parks within an hour of NYC
- Breezy Point Beach Club - day passes from $35/adult and $25/child
- Crystal Springs Family Waterpark (East Brunswick, NJ) - $22 weekdays, $28 weekends (under 2 free)
- Fort Hamilton Community Club Pool (Bay Ridge, Brooklyn NY) - open to members, DoD ID cardholders, & their guests; includes baby pool & snack bar
- Fort Monmouth Pool (Tinton Falls, NJ) - weekends $30/family (up to 4), $10 single
- Memorial Pool (Westfield, NJ) - includes kiddie pool, water slides & snack bar; $25/person over 6 months old ($10 per person if guests of member)
- Oakcrest Family Swim Club (Edison, NJ) - with kiddie pool & tube slide; day pass for $15/person or $50 for family of 5
- Runaway Rapids (Keansburg, NJ) - waterpark inside Keansburg Amusement Park - $14.95 under 42", $26.95 for 2 hours, $28.95 for 3 hours
- Silver Gull Beach Club - day passes from $35/adult and $25/child
- Splashplex (East Hanover, NJ) - outdoor waterpark with lazy river and slides, and indoor "funplex" arcade. $29 per person (under 36" free).
- Walter E. Ulrich Pool (Rahway, NJ) - $10 per adult, $8 (under 18), includes baby pool, diving boards, playground & snack bar.
- Warrenbrook Pool (Warren, NJ) - $12/adult, $8 (4-17), under 3 free; includes kiddie pool & snack bar
- WaterWorks Family Aquatic Center (West Windsor, NJ) - $19/adult, $15 (age 2-8); family pool, lap pool, wading pool, sprayground, & snack bar.
- Coney Island (Brooklyn NY)
- Great Kills Beach (Staten Island)
- Jacob Riis Park (Rockaway NY)
- Long Beach (NY)
- Long Branch (NJ)
- Rockaway Beach (NY)
- Rye Town Park & Beach (Westchester NY) - $15/adult
- Sandy Hook (NJ)
Other great resources for planning your getaway!
