Looking for fresh air and family adventure? Head out to explore one of New Jersey's "reservations" — forested nature preserves that are like mini state parks. Hidden along river banks and tucked into woodlands, these New Jersey parks are ideal for family hikes, picnics, and biking. You can bring binoculars to spy on colorful birds or wear boots to let the kids muck around with turtles and frogs.

Most reservations have marked trails, education and nature centers, playgrounds, and restroom facilities, while others are a bit more rugged, with "carry in/carry out" policies—meaning not even trash cans are provided.

We've rounded up 10 New Jersey reservations with a variety of offerings. Read on to find the best spot for your next outdoor adventure! 

Beach season may have gotten an extension in 2020, but Long Islanders know the best time to visit the beach is long after the out-of-towners have packed up and returned home. In fact, a beach walk could be just what you need to recharge in any season. We've rounded up 11 of the best Long Island beach walks for families to explore. Beyond beautiful scenery, these sandy shores offer some fun extras, from lighthouses to playgrounds, boardwalks, and more. So, put on some comfy shoes, gather up the kids, and hit the sand to enjoy some of our favorite beaches with a peaceful stroll.

Don't forget to pack a picnic, and bring some shovels and pails. It's always sandcastle season. Find more shore-inspired fun in our Beaches, Pools, and Water Playgrounds Guide.

There are countless websites and apps that can supplement kids' school curriculum through interactive games and other resources.

From museum tours and National Geographic deep dives to coding classes and reading apps, we've rounded up some of our favorite—and mostly completely FREE— online learning resources for kids. We've included options for preschoolers, elementary-age kids, middle school, and even high schoolers.  

Find more online classes, games, and resources in our Virtual and Online Guide for Families, or after school learning is done, have hands-on fun with the boredom busters in our Kids Crafts and Activities Guide.

After a months-long shutdown, the American Museum of Natural History is on the brink of reopening Wednesday, September 9, and its special exhibition hall is aglow with the vibrant The Nature of Color exhibit, which lets visitors explore the role and power of color in the natural world, human cultures, and in our personal lives.

The Nature of Color reveals how color carries information in nature—where organisms use it to find food, ward off predators, and conceal or reveal themselves—and across cultures, where different colors can signal a wide range of meanings, from good luck to power to a sense of urgency.

While museum visitors may be anxious to see the famous dioramas or the towering T. Rex and its prehistoric dinosaur friends, this colorful, rainbow-hued exhibition is destination-worthy on its own, once you've nabbed your (now-required) timed-entry tickets to the museum. Get the details on how to snag your tickets to AMNH and all the other recently reopened, or opening soon, museums here.

Distance learning is hard and almost no one's first choice—this we know. But not everything about it is awful. In fact, there are even a dozen or so things about it that my family has found kind of nice.

We may be wishing for the good old days, but sometimes it's good to remember that these are the good old days. And the 12 things below might even be things we'll miss about remote learning when all this is a bizarre memory.

Find loads of remote learning resources in our 2020 Back-to-School Guide.

If you're looking for an escape and craving a little culture, outdoor sculpture gardens are the perfect destination for the entire family. While New York features some of the world's most famous art museums, many of which have reopened or are doing so soon, the metro area is also home to a diverse array of sculpture exhibits by international contemporary artists. At these outdoor art destinations in the city and nearby, you'll be enchanted by forests, meticulous gardens, and even a labyrinth of stone.

From Midtown Manhattan to the sprawling Hudson River Valley and Long Island's majestic Gold Coast, we've found 11 sculpture gardens and destinations to see outdoor art near New York City. So, spend the day strolling through wide-open spaces, gazing at stunning, larger-than-life sculptures, and breathing the fresh fall air. Pack a picnic and head out to one of these destinations for the perfect fall family day trip.

Find more seasonal fun in our Fall Fun Guide and consider these 30 fall family day trips nearby, too.

If you've got a child in public school, you live by the school calendar. The 2020-21 school year has already been off to a surprising start, with last week's announcement that the first day of school has been pushed back. Many local NYC preschools follow the public school schedule, too. The New York City Department of Education's calendar for the 2020-2021 school year is below, and you'll want to bookmark it now for reference—and to help with planning family vacations and school break camp coverage. 

Of course, we've been reminded over and over again that this school year will be one unlike any other, so the dates may not be as set in stone as in years past, but at least parents have a framework now. 

These are all of the dates you can count on your kiddos being out of school—or away from their remote learning device—during the 2020-2021 school year.

Covering more than 5,000 acres, Pedernales Falls State Park in Johnson City, Texas, offers camping, miles and miles of hiking trails, plenty of river to explore, and some amazing and unique scenery with a little wildlife, too.

My family typically takes an annual camping trip from our Houston home base, often to Garner State Park. But one thing this pandemic has done is to change up our routines, right? When we couldn't find any open slots that fit our schedule at that park (most of the Texas state parks are operating at reduced capacity), we found Pedernales Falls State Park.

Pedernales Falls proved to be a wildly untapped resource that's only three hours from Houston, and offering both electric and primitive campsites. In fact, this fallback option turned out to be one of the best camping trips we've ever taken. Read on for just what made it so special.