When you live in Connecticut and within a short drive of great beaches, state parks, and amusement parks, every summer weekend is an opportunity for a quick, easy family day trip with kids. Here, we've collected ideas for outings to attractions that are open or operating in 2020, usually with some extra restrictions or precautions (in line with Connecticut's reopening plan) to keep visitors safe.

Click through each link for more information and inspiration—whether you are looking to explore Connecticut's natural beauty, historic treasures, or thrills and chills (courtesy of a water slide or roller coaster). Remember to bring your trusty face masks and hand sanitizer along with your sense of adventure. Find even more summer activities in our Connecticut Summer Fun Guide.

New Jersey's amusement parks, water parks, and playgrounds can reopen on July 2 with new restrictions in place. NJ Governor Phil Murphy made the announcement Tuesday, June 23, at his daily coronavirus briefing as the state continues to reopen businesses temporarily closed due to the ongoing health crisis.

The amusement park reopenings, which come just ahead of the July 4th holiday weekend, include the Jersey Shore's popular boardwalk rides, theme parks, and water parks. Some boardwalk games and outdoor eateries had already reopened, and Governor Murphy said he expects to release guidelines on indoor amusements, such as arcades, as soon as tomorrow.

Most of us had summer vacation plans for 2020, and most of us have faced by now that those plans aren't happening. While we adjust daily to the new normal, we also look at an uncertain summer that really needs some bright spots, preferably including a couple of getaways. California has begun cautiously opening up, and that gives us some options: from glamping to deserts to not-so-far islands, we've checked to see which weekend destinations we can drive to now, in pursuit of that vacation we all definitely deserve.

The Sunshine State has reopened for locals and tourists ready to venture out for some summer fun in the sun. The Florida reopening is well underway, and we've got the scoop on what's open in Florida right now, as well as top attractions opening soon.

Keep in mind that the coronavirus pandemic is an ever-evolving situation. A slew of new mask-wearing orders went into effect in Florida over the past few days as the state's positive cases shot up. Tourist hot spots like Orange County (Orlando), the city of Tampa, and the Florida Keys are mandating face coverings indoors to stop the spread. 

The comprehensive list of family-friendly attractions in the Florida reopening includes everything from our favorite Florida beaches to the big-name theme parks, Orlando hotels, water parks, and more. If your summer travel plans take you to a different region, check out our list of family-friendly resorts reopening for summer 2020 travel.

Road trip it this summer to one of our gorgeous U.S. national parks where kids can hike, swim, camp, and generally explore the outdoors. You can get back to nature with a little planning—and an online reservation. 

But some are maybe wondering: Are national parks open? Actually, yes, many of our national parks are in the early phases of reopening for the busy summer season, meaning some lodges and campgrounds are once again accepting reservations. The National Park Service covers 84.6 million acres, making it easy for all of us to maintain social distance if we pick our trail and camping spot carefully. 

At Dwight-Englewood School's virtual summer camp, kids can experience much of the same fun and camaraderie they'd expect out of a traditional day camp, from home. Flexible and highly-customizable, D-E 360° Summer Connections online camp offers a huge selection of live classes and activities for preschoolers to 12th graders, with the option for families to enroll their kids for one week, two weeks, five weeks, or all six weeks the camp runs.

Whether you've got a gamer, film buff, ballerina, budding activist, or musical prodigy at home, the virtual camp experience at D-E 360° Summer Connections is tailored to your child's personal interests. Each week, campers create their own curriculum from the seriously extensive course catalog, which includes classes on sewing, origami, coding, broadcast journalism, writing, animation, and dance—just to name a few.

There are few parent-approved pastimes more loved than science experiments, but once summer hits, we naturally want kids (and their sticky creations) outdoors. With these 15 backyard science experiments for kids, all that measuring, mixing, and tinkering can take place on the grass, driveway, or a stretch of sidewalk.

Kids can learn to harness the power of sun or water in these science experiments, learning concepts ranging from molecular chemistry to basic physics. Several experiments are easy enough for even young children to do independently, but parents might want to get in on the (re)action, too! Find more science experiments for kids in our STEM Guide for Kids and loads more summer fun on our Ultimate Summer Bucket List Ideas with 100 (Mostly) Free Outdoor Games and Activities for Kids.

New York parents breathed a collective sigh of relief last Thursday, June 11, when Governor Andrew Cuomo announced public pools, spraygrounds, and playgrounds are allowed to reopen statewide at local governments' discretion.

The governor noted that local municipalities must use their discretion in opening play areas to the public, "Everybody wants to swim, I understand," Cuomo said. "Everybody doesn't want to see a spike in COVID again. So, use your judgment. Sometimes yes is not the right answer. It's the easy answer."

Read on for the details on how the decree has been received locally and what that means for families anxious for summer fun in Long Island, Westchester, and New York City's five boroughs. Stay tuned to our Summer Fun Guide for the latest reopenings for area kids.