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10 Exciting Adventures for Kids This Summer
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10 Exciting Adventures for Kids This Summer

Looking for some exciting adventures to take your kids on this summer? Then you’re in the right place!

Summer is here! School is over and the dog days of summer are among us. Summer usually starts out super strong and exciting with high hopes of good times but tends to fizzle after having the kids home for a few weeks. We all have the best of intentions! To help fill your summer calendar with fun times instead of bored kids, here are 10 exciting adventures you can take your kids on this summer!

10 Summer Adventures for Kids

Take a look at these exciting summer adventures the whole family will enjoy! #summeractivities #summertodo #summerbucketlist

1. Go Splash Pad or Park Hopping

Going to the same park or splash pad can get a little monotonous. To spice things up, make a list of different, exciting parks nearby that you can take the kids to this summer. The next time the weather looks beautiful and choose one from your list and make it an adventure! I recommend finding a great splash pad with a park nearby so your kids can play between the two.

2. Create a Treasure Map

X marks the spot! A few years ago, my daughter drew a treasure map while at her grandparents’ house. The next time we visited, they took her treasure map and turned it into a real adventure with buried treasure at the end! It was so much fun for all my kids, but especially my daughter getting to see her map come to life!

Have your kids create a treasure map and find a way to make it come to life this summer.

Have your kids create treasure maps and then find a way to make it work at your house or even a local park. Have them follow along and create “landmarks” that match the ones they’ve drawn on their maps. Bonus points if you have a treasure at the end! It doesn’t have to be big. Even popsicles would make the perfect end to a summer treasure exploring adventure!

Related Post: Summertime Spray Art Activity

3. Visit the Children’s Museum

Children’s Museums are a great way to try something new and get out of the sun if you need a break. (This especially applies to southern states ready to escape the summer heat!) Do a quick search of local children’s museums near you. There are usually quite a few options if you live near a major city. If you don’t, make a day trip out of it!

The best part is entrance fees to children’s museums are usually pretty low cost and you can come and go throughout the day. This means you can leave for lunch and come back if you’re making a whole day out of it.

We recently discovered Play Street Museum and all of my kids (ages 6, 3, and 1) had an amazing time. They have locations throughout the US and you can look up if one is near you here.

4. Go to a Baseball Game – Professional or Minor League

Summer is baseball season, so why not take the kids to a game! Professional games may be great for older kids, but a minor league game can be fun for the whole family. Minor league teams have smaller stadiums and usually have extra fun for kids like playgrounds, splash pads, or special events!

Be sure to look through the schedule because baseball teams often have special offers for different games. Offers like discounted tickets for teachers, military, or first responders, special food deals on specific nights, or even free giveaways!

Find out if you have a minor league baseball team near you!

5. Plan a Weekly/Monthly Meet Up with a Group of Friends

Pretty self-explanatory! Find a friend or group of friends with children of similar ages to yours and plan a weekly or monthly meet-up. This can be a rotating play date at different people’s houses or you can meet at a park, children’s museum, indoor play place, etc. Planning meet-ups make adventures fun for parents too because we all need a little adult conversation!

6. Visit Your Local Zoo or Aquarium

Plan a day at the zoo or aquarium. Better yet, if you have them nearby, visit each at some point this summer! Most zoos allow you to bring in your own food and drinks, so you can pack a lunch and snacks to save money and make a full day out of it.

Going to the zoo or aquarium is a fun summer adventure for kids!

Find a zoo or aquarium near you!

7. Have a Water Day at Home

Think sprinklers, water tables, mini splash pads, inflatable pools, and water balloons!

This is probably one of my favorite low-key summer adventures for kids! There are so many different ways to make this more than just 15 minutes of running through the sprinkler.

  • Set up in the front yard, so other neighborhood kids can join
  • Make a water station rotation
  • Plan different activities for the morning and afternoon with a rest break for lunch
  • Set up an obstacle course

Related Post: At Home Summer Activities for Toddlers & Kids

8. Go on a Picnic

One of the most simple summer adventures for kids, but it’s a classic! Pack up everyone’s favorite lunch in a cooler or picnic basket, grab a blanket big enough for everyone to sit on, and find the perfect spot to eat and spend time together. This can even be in your backyard if you want.

Make it special by baking a special dessert before your picnic and surprise the kids!

9. Camp Out in Your Backyard

Camping in your yard is an activity that is super fun and you can make it as simple or extravagant as you want! Keep it simple by putting up a tent and sleeping bags for a night under the star. If you want to make more of an event out of it, make a campfire, tell stories, roast marshmallows and make some smores!

Here are some other backyard camping ideas:

  • Don’t have a tent? Make your own!
  • Make your smores in a terracotta pot fire
  • Roast some hot dogs or sausages on a stick while you’re at it
  • Set up different yard games like bean bag toss, monkey golf, etc.
  • Put glow sticks in mason jars to make lanterns
  • Use rocks to play tic tac toe
  • Set up a sheet and projector for outdoor movie night
Backyard camping and roasting s'mores in a terracotta pot.

If your kids don’t want to sleep outside, check out these fun tips on how to have the best family sleepover party!

10. Create Your Own Field Day

One of my kids’ favorite school days of the year is field day! Let’s make it one of their favorite days of summer too by creating your very own at-home field day!

Think of different stations that your kids would have at field day and set them up around your yard. Be sure to mix some water stations in to help keep cool and just to add the water fun! Here are a few different station ideas you can use:

  • Sack races (use old pillow cases)
  • Tug-o-war
  • Egg spoon race (use plastic Easter eggs)
  • Sponge race
  • Sponge over under pass
  • Jump ropes
  • 3 legged race
  • Hula hoops
  • Bean bag toss

These are just a few examples, but you can create so many different stations based on your children’s ages and the toys that you have at home.

Set up the stations and have your kids rotate every 5-10 minutes depending on how much they’re enjoying each station. If they’re having a great time, don’t hesitate to let them keep going.

Create an at home field day for the kids this summer!

More Summer Adventures for Kids

It’s so easy for parents to get burnt out in summer. We tend to get excited and go home or go home at the beginning and fizzle out towards the end. Keep these different summer adventures for kids in your back pocket so that you have some different ideas to use throughout the summer. Save them for a week you know you don’t have a lot going on or when their friends are out of town to help keep them engaged!

For more ideas, check out this fun list of 50+ screen-free activities for kids! With both indoor and outdoor options, this is great for summer!

Also, take a look at these fun summer activities and bucket lists from some of my friends!

Summer Bucket List from Mission Mami

Summer Activities for 4 Year Olds from Travel and Life with Roaz

Summer Activities for Kids from The Lifestyle Passport

Summer Activities with Kids from Knnika Key

Summer Activities for Kids on a Budget from Mama Llama Llama

4 Summer Activities for the Whole Family from Kristen Fry

100 Creative Painting Ideas from Smile On

Summer Activities for Kids from Style Simpler

Before you go…

Pin this to your summer Pinterest board!

What are your favorite summer adventures that you do with your kids?

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(14) Comments

  1. Kimberly G says:

    I like the idea of turning a terracotta pot into a fire pit.

    1. Isn’t that so neat! Definitely makes camping in your backyard a little more special and memorable!

  2. Kirsten Fry says:

    Absolutely trying the scavenger hunt idea! Such a darling story for your little ones.

    1. It was so much fun and my daughter loved that her map was turned into “real life”!

      1. We love being outside..love the Backyard camping idea.

        1. Same here. Any chance we have to be outside when it isn’t too hot here is a win in my book.

          1. Love love love these ideas! The treasure hunt is my favorite!

          2. My daughter loved seeing her map come to life!

  3. Cameron says:

    I love the idea of a treasure map! How fun!

    1. My kids had the best time with it!

  4. Loved all the ideas! But would love to try the backyard camping and treasure map idea.

  5. Summer baseball games are always our favorite. A few years ago we went to the Savannah Bananas and I’m still trying to relive it lol

    1. That’s so neat! I’ve heard that the Savannah Bananas are SO MUCH FUN! We have a professional and minor league team close by. The kids love the minor league games so much more!

  6. Love all of these summer activities and we do a lot of the same! Haven’t tried backyard camping and I bet my kiddos would love it!!

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