Santa Barbara offers a lovely coastal getaway with the promises of balmy breezes and swaying palm trees. An easy day trip from Los Angeles at a hundred or so miles away, this picturesque seaside community offers equally glorious ocean and mountain views in every direction. 

While Santa Barbara provides endless serenity, it's also a marvelous place to take the kids. Home to one of America's best small zoos, a plethora of enticing museums, and playgrounds with ocean views and castles to climb through, it's a perfect family destination. Keep reading below for the not-to-miss kid-friendly local attractions in Santa Barbara. 

Combine your Santa Barbara excursion with things to do in Ventura with kids or an adventure to the Channel Islands, and check out other nearby destinations to pack the car for in our Weekend Getaway Guide and Day Trips for Los Angeles Families. 

Orlando, known for theme parks and attractions, also offers a unique and invigorating indoor experience for kids: indoor rock climbing! Orlando indoor rock climbing facilities provide a safe and controlled environment for children to scale vertical walls (insert Spidey senses!) and conquer challenging routes. With a range of climbing options catering to different age groups and skill levels, indoor rock climbing gyms in Central Florida offer an excellent opportunity for kids to develop physical strength, problem-solving skills, and self-confidence.

Planning a creative birthday party for children, year after year, can leave you running out of ideas. And with Miami's unpredictable weather, coming up with a fail-safe indoor birthday party location can be even more challenging. We have compiled great options for the best indoor birthday party in Miami and South Florida that any child would love!

When the temperature soars, Westchester and Hudson Valley families have to come up with strategies to beat the heat. We've got 25 ideas for how to keep cool—whether you love the outdoors or prefer to stay in the air conditioning.

Our list includes outdoor spots like parks with splash pads and awesome pools where you can take a dip, as well as indoor havens such as kid-friendly museums. We have even included exceptional frozen-treat spots so you can indulge in ice cream and other goodies.

For even more summer fun, be sure to bookmark our Event Calendar, and check out our Ultimate Westchester and Hudson Valley Kids Summer Vacation Guide. 

Looking for ways to beat the heat on Long Island? Here are 26 awesome things to do during a heat wave.

Deep summer usually brings high temps and plenty of humidity, leaving Long Island families scrambling to find ways to cool off. Whether you want to bask in the sunshine or chill in central AC, there are plenty of options in both Nassau and Suffolk counties to help you beat the heat—and all are guaranteed fun for every age. After all, you want to enjoy every bit of summer before school begins. 

Find more great outdoorsy things to do in our Ultimate Long Island Kids Summer Vacation Guide, and be sure to bookmark our frequently-updated Long Island Family Activity Calendar. 

If you're suffering from hot-weather burnout, don't sweat it: New Jersey has tons of things to do to help the whole family chill out when the temperatures soar. From beaches on the Jersey Shore and splash pads in parks throughout the state to blissfully air-conditioned bowling alleys and cool arcades, we've got the best ways to beat the heat during the hottest days of the year.

Check out even more refreshing activities in our Ultimate New Jersey Kids Summer Vacation Guide–and stay cool, NJ!

As summer weather sizzles, we're searching for the best things to do to beat the heat in New York City. There's no denying the heat and humidity can get under the skin of even the most tropical-weather-loving New Yorker. To beat the heat, my kids (and my inner child) insist any outing includes water, industrial-strength air conditioning, or a visit to a local ice cream parlor.

While we enjoy hitting NYC's FREE public pools and running around the sprinklers (oh yes, I get in there, too), lately, we've been longing for more diverse destinations. That inspired us to round up 50 ways to beat the heat in New York City this summer.

Water safety and swimming are critical skills, which is exactly why British Swim School uses a gentle survival-first approach to effectively teach kids and infants from 3 months and up how to swim.

Between busy school schedules and jam-packed weekends, I recently found myself staring down another summer with a 4-year-old and 7-year-old who still hadn’t learned the first thing about swimming. So, when I heard my kids had an opportunity to take a couple of lessons with British Swim School, I jumped at the chance to enroll them at a nearby pool.