If you've got a child who loves cows, like my daughter, South Mountain Creamery in Middletown, MD is a must-visit. At this family-owned farm less than a 90-minute drive from DC, visitors can tour the maternity ward and other farm areas, play on a playground, eat delicious homemade ice cream, and even feed baby cows. And the best part is, it's FREE to visit (though you'll have to pay for the calf feeding and certain other activities).

Read on to learn all about my family's visit to South Mountain Creamery. Then visit our Guide to Farms in Washington, DC for more farm fun with kids, from great animal farms and petting zoos near DC to awesome places to pick your own produce.

Taking a vacation with kids can be tricky, especially when it comes to traveling. Flying can be stressful and expensive, and if you're anything like me, it's your least favorite method of transportation even without kids.

Sometimes, half the fun and adventure of a vacation is getting there! Road trips can be a great way to bond with your family, so we've rounded up a few awesome places that are less than a 10-hour drive from the greater Philadelphia metro area. As an added bonus, you can travel to a few of these places by train, too!

At New Jersey petting zoos, you and your family get to spend time outdoors while visiting cute, cuddly animals. In addition to seeing chicks, calves, lambs, bunnies, and piglets, kids can often pick fruit and vegetables. Some farms even host events where kids can watch cows being milked or take in another demonstration, like learning how cheese and bread are made.

Read on for more than a dozen of our favorite NJ petting zoos. 

It’s flower season in the tri-state area, when pick-your-own farms are no longer limited to berries, peaches, apples, and pumpkins. Many of these local flower farms allow visitors to stroll flower fields full of beautiful blooms for photo-ops and to pick everything from tulips in the spring to sunflowers in the fall. So, mix up your usual routine with a blossom-filled adventure to one of these you-pick flower farms near NYC.

Some of these flower farms near NYC offer so many activities that flower picking becomes a full-day affair. The farms are packed with family-friendly fun, from pony rides and playgrounds to mini golf and food trucks. Grab your kids and some clippers and spend the day at one of these local flower farms; stunning family photos and beautiful blooms await. Find more family-friendly farm fun in our Guide to Farms and U-Pick.

Amplify is an award-winning, American Camp Association accredited, music and arts summer camp in Ojai, California with day and sleepaway programs in music, photography, film, theater, dance, and much more.

Tucked away in the beautiful Topa Topa mountains–just an hour and a half outside of LA–Amplify’s totally one-of-a-kind music and arts summer camp attracts deeply creative kids from California and around the world. The empowering program invites girls entering grades 4 through 12 to bust through gender bias, giving them an unmatched opportunity to freely explore their interests and talents, express themselves authentically, and build beautiful friendships that last far beyond the summer.

Within Amplify’s truly nurturing and inclusive environment, not only do kids get to choose a creative focus for each camp session–from rock band to photography. They also create their own customized daily schedules, choosing from incredible ever-changing elective activities like screen printing, surfing, and karaoke. Add in campwide field trips to the beach and nighttime dance parties under the stars, and you’ve got a really unforgettable summer for preteens and teens.

Learn more about why Amplify’s transformative summer program is a perfect pick for creative kids:

Find April Break fun in and around Boston for 2024!

Beach clubs offer a surefire way to add more relaxation to a summer staycation with kids. These local beach clubs in New York City, Long Island, and New Jersey all offer top-notch amenities for summer fun, like massive swimming pools, organized kids' activities including sports and arts and crafts—sometimes even a day camp—plus spas, restaurants, lounges and, of course, access to pristine private beaches, so you have plenty of space to spread out.

So, much as we love the idea of jetting off to an all-inclusive resort for a couple of weeks, these local beach clubs provide a closer-to-home alternative escape that lasts all summer long. These top picks for beach clubs near the New York City metro area will jumpstart your summer plans. Find more wet-and-wild seasonal fun in our Family-Friendly Guide to Beaches and Lakes.

Staying active is incredibly important for healthy development in kids, and getting kids running provides great exercise and cardio. From fun runs to themed races, NYC offers many kids running opportunities where children and parents can lace up their sneakers and pound the pavement together. Whether you and your family are seasoned runners or you're just looking to get your kids running, these races and runs are the best kid-friendly options in NYC. Of course, many of these kids running events in the spring and summer when the weather warms up, but there are kids' races year-round. Check out our favorite kids running picks below and find more ways to keep kids active in our NYC Kids' Guide to Sports Centers, Gyms, and Fun Zones.