Family Day Trips and Destinations in NY, NJ, CT, MA, and PA

UPDATED February 2020: Some say you never know what you'll find in your own backyard. The saying holds true for the New York metro area's proverbial backyard, where there is much to explore and discover with the family. We put together a list of some worthy attractions just outside your local radius, with no location more than 150 miles away. Indoors and out, from museums and parks to historical locations and beaches, this list has something for every family. Without having to go too far, you're bound to discover something new and share experiences you won't soon forget—all within easy traveling distance from the New York City area.

• Day Trip Destinations in New York 
• Day Trip Destinations in New Jersey
• Day Trip Destinations in Connecticut
• Day Trip Destinations in Massachusetts
• Day Trip Destinations in Rhode Island
• Day Trip Destinations in Pennsylvania

Day Trip Destinations in New York

Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum
895 Shore Road, Bronx
718-885-1461
Hours: Mansion: Wednesday and Saturday-Sunday, 12-4pm year-round. Guided tours at 12:15pm, 1:15pm, 2:15pm, and 3:15pm.
Admission: $8; $6 students and seniors; free for children younger than 6. Gardens open year-round and admission is free.

Thomas Pell bought this land from Native Americans as part of a 9,000-acre tract. The estate was reduced to 200 acres and eventually bought by Robert Bartow in 1836. The Grecian-style home with Greek Revival interiors became a museum in 1946. It is the last surviving architecturally important house overlooking Long Island Sound, out of more than a dozen that once existed.

Baseball Hall of Fame
25 Main St., Cooperstown, Otsego County
888-425-5633
Hours: Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day: daily, 9am-9pm; after Labor Day: daily, 9am-5pm
Admission: $25; $20 seniors ages 65 and older; $15 children ages 7-12; free for children ages 6 and younger

At this mecca for fans of the great American pastime, relive the history of Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and women in baseball, and take in the new display of historic baseball cards. Kids can visit the Sandlot Kids’ Clubhouse, an interactive educational area devoted to Little Leaguers who want to learn about the big league. There are also special events throughout the summer, including the Hall of Fame Induction Weekend.

Nearby attractions:

• Visit Doubleday Field to watch and play baseball where the sport was invented.
• Experience 19th-century rural and village life through demonstrations and interpretive exhibits at The Farmers' Museum.
• Just 3 miles outside Cooperstown is the Fly Creek Cider Mill & Orchard, where you can take a tour, enjoy lunch and daily tastings of more than 40 specialty foods, feed the ducks and geese on the pond, and relax while the kids play at Tractorland.
• Take the 8-mile drive out of town to Glimmerglass State Park, where you’ll find beaches, picnic areas, camping sites, hiking and nature trails, and the historic Hyde Hall.

Boscobel House & Gardens
1601 New York 9D, Garrison, Putnam County
845-265-3638
Hours: May 1-Oct 31: daily, 9:30am-5pm; June 11-Sept. 7, grounds open until 7pm Thursday-Sunday and Labor Day; Nov. 1-Jan 3, 2021: daily, 9:30am-4:30
Admission: $12-$18; $10-$15 seniors; $6-$9 children ages 5-18; free for children younger than 5; $35-$45 for a family of four.

This Federal-style home with scenic views of the Hudson River was conceived by States Morris Dyckman, a Loyalist who made his fortune working for British quartermasters during the Revolutionary War. The home was completed by his wife Elizabeth after Dyckman died in 1806. Boscobel was originally built 15 miles away in Montrose but, to avoid demolition, was taken apart and painstakingly put back together in its present location.

Dyckman Farmhouse
4881 Broadway (at 204th Street), Inwood, Manhattan
212-304-9422
Hours: Friday and Saturday, 11am-4pm
Admission: Pay as you wish

In the children’s book The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton, a home in the country watches over time as a city is built around and above her. The little pink farmhouse is eventually picked up and moved out into the country again. The Dyckman Farmhouse also witnessed a transition from farmland to city but amazingly survived the wrecking ball, becoming a museum in 1916. Visitors can now take a self-guided tour of this Dutch Colonial-style farmhouse and learn who lived there and how it survived when others houses of its time did not. Guided tours for groups of 10 or more are available by appointment only.

Fort Montgomery State Historic Site
690 U.S. 9W, Fort Montgomery, Orange County
845-446-2134
Hours: Museum: mid-April through Oct. 31: Wednesday-Sunday, 9am-5pm; November-March: by appointment. Grounds open year round
Admission: Entry to grounds FREE; $3 per person for group tour of museum

This scenic spot overlooking the Hudson River was the site of a revolutionary battle fought on Oct. 6, 1777. American Patriots, outnumbered 3-to-1, lost the battle to the British. Visitors learn more about this military post at the site’s museum, which displays artifacts, weapons, and large-scale models of the fort and the attack as well as a 15-minute movie recreating the battle.

Historic Richmond Town
441 Clarke Ave., Staten Island
718-351-1611
Hours: Through April 26: Wednesday-Sunday, 12-5pm
Guided Tours: Through April 26: Wednesday-Sunday, 2pm
Admission: $8; $6 seniors and students ages 12-17; $5 children ages 4-11; free for children younger than 4; free every Friday, and for members and active duty military with ID

Richmond Town was settled in the late 16th and early 17th centuries as a crossroads settlement among the scattered farms of Staten Island. Now a living history village, the site covers nearly 100 acres and features 45 historic structures, including homes and commercial and civic buildings, as well as a historical museum. All buildings are original and more than half of them remain in the same spot they were built. (One home is 350 years old!) At Decker Farm, the oldest continually operating farm in New York, take a self-guided tour and enjoy the organic, seasonal produce sold at the farm stand.

Howe Caverns
255 Discovery Drive, Cobleskill, Schoharie County
518-296-8900
Hours: Friday-Sunday, 10am-3pm

Traditional Tour: A 90-minute walking tour with boat ride: $25; $21 children ages 12-15; $13 children ages 5-11.

Family Flashlight Tour: A two-hour tour with flashlights and headlamps offered on Sunday evenings (for ages 5 and older): $45; reservations required.

Lantern Tour: A two-hour tour with lanterns on Friday and Saturday evenings (for ages 16 and older): $45; reservations required.

Signature Rock Discovery Tour: A 2½-hour spelunking tour that reveals a portion of the cave that was closed for more than 100 years (for ages 14 and older): $155; reservations required.

Journey more than 150 feet below the Earth’s surface, where you’ll take a tour of an underground cavern six million years in the making. You’ll see stalactites and stalagmites, limestone formations, and the underground Lake of Venus. Above ground, Howe High Adventure activities include a four-tower zip line, ropes course, rock wall, air jumper, and gem mine at the Howe Caverns Mining Company. The H2OGO Ball gets visitors rolling down a hill in a 12-foot inflatable ball filled with five gallons of water. With a café and motel on premises, visitors can turn their day trip into a weekend getaway.

Nearby attractions:

• Continue the underground theme at nearby Secret Caverns, where you'll see a 100-foot underground waterfall among cool rock formations.
• Learn about Native culture and art at the Iroquois Indian Museum, where the museum building is shaped like a longhouse and the outdoor amphitheater hosts storytelling, talks, and various performing arts. The grounds also include a 45-acre nature park with various trails.
• Down the road, the Gobbler’s Knob Family Fun Park features a miniature golf course, driving range, and nine-hole golf course, the Muscle Motors Speedway go-kart track, and a snack bar and ice cream parlor.

Lefferts Historic House
Prospect Park, Brooklyn
Hours: Closed through March except Feb 17-21, open 12-4pm. 
Admission: $3 suggested donation; free for children ages 16 and younger

This home is located in the park’s Children’s Corner, near the carousel and the Prospect Park Zoo. Families learn about life in colonial times through the homestead’s working gardens, historic artifacts and documents, period rooms, and exhibits. Visitors can try using traditional tools, churn butter, make candles, and play with old-fashioned toys.

Old Bethpage Village Restoration
1303 Round Swamp Road, Old Bethpage, Nassau County
516-572-8400
Hours: Wednesday-Sunday, 10am-4pm; last ticket sold at 3pm
Admission: $13; $8 children ages 5-12, seniors, and volunteer firefighters; free for children younger than 5

This 209-acre recreated village allows visitors to experience a typical, rural Long Island farm village complete with homes, farms, and businesses. The site hosts old-time “base-ball” tournaments throughout the year.

Old Westbury Gardens
71 Old Westbury Road, Old Westbury, Nassau County
516-333-0048
Hours: Opens April 1 for 2020 season, daily except Tuesday, 10am-5pm with final entry 4pm.
Admission: $12; $10 seniors and students with valid ID; $7 children ages 7-17; free for children younger than 6.

This Gold Coast mansion, located on the North Shore of Long Island, was occupied by the Phipps family for more than 50 years. It sits on 200 acres of formal gardens and is now a cultural destination spot for family programs and events, summer pop concerts, the annual Scottish Games, and educator-led talks and tours.

Philipsburg Manor
381 N. Broadway, Sleepy Hollow, Westchester County
914-366-6900
Hours: Closed for tours until May
Admission: $12; $10 seniors and students ages 18-25; $6 children ages 3-17; free for children younger than 3

Take a guided tour of the 300-year-old manor house, barn, and gristmill to experience what life was like for Dutch farmers living in the 18th century. Visitors learn how to thresh wheat, see how the rushing waters of the nearby river worked the mill, and learn about Northern slaves who worked the farm during this period.

Queens County Farm Museum
73-50 Little Neck Parkway, Floral Park, Queens
718-347-3276
Grounds: year-round: daily, 10am-5pm
Farm Store & Welcome Center: Monday-Friday, 12-5pm; Saturday-Sunday, 10am-5pm
Admission: FREE, except during public events

The Queens County Farm Museum occupies the largest remaining tract of undisturbed farmland in the city (47 acres) and is the longest continuously farmed site in New York state. The site includes historic farm buildings, livestock, farm vehicles, and an orchard and herb garden.

Van Cortlandt Manor
525 S. Riverside, Croton-on-Hudson, Westchester County
914-631-8200 (914-271-8981 on weekends)
Guided tours: Closed for tours until July
Admission: $12; $10 seniors; $10 students (18-25); $6 children ages 3-17; free for members and children younger than 3

Visit Van Cortlandt Manor, the home of a prominent New York family that settled here after the American Revolution. In addition to seeing period furnishings, you can watch costumed guides demonstrate old-fashioned trades such as blacksmithing, bricking, open-hearth cooking, spinning, weaving, and other crafts of the period. Visit the Ferry House, built before 1750, to see what a rural tavern was like for travelers during the late 18th to early 19th centuries. The tour also addresses social issues such as religion and slave emancipation.

Walt Whitman Birthplace
246 Old Walt Whitman Road, Huntington Station, Suffolk County
631-427-5240
Hours: June 15 to Labor Day: Monday-Friday, 11am-4pm, Saturday-Sunday, 11am-5pm. After Labor Day to June: Wednesday-Friday, 1-4pm, Saturday-Sunday, 11am-4pm.
Admission: $8; $7 seniors, military, and groups; $6 students; free for children younger than 5

Legendary poet Walt Whitman was born in 1819 at this Long Island farmhouse, which is now the only New York State Historic Site listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It contains many portraits of Whitman as well as his original letters, manuscripts, artifacts, and a rare recording of his voice. The house hosts poetry readings, lectures, concerts, and other special events throughout the year.

Washington Irving’s Sunnyside
3 W. Sunnyside Lane, Irvington, Westchester County
914-591-8763
Guided tours: Closed until May
Admission: $12; $10 seniors; $6 children ages 3-17; free for children younger than 3 and members

A costumed guide leads a tour through the home of the man who wrote The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle. Many of the furnishings in the house are original, making it one of the more authentic examples of 19th century life nearby.

Day Trip Destinations in New Jersey

Cape May Point State Park

The town of Cape May is a National Historic Landmark that features beautiful Victorian architecture (more than 600 buildings), plus beaches, a lighthouse ($10; $5 children ages 3-12; free for children younger than 3), and a ferry to Lewes, DE. Families can enjoy nature programs, surf fishing, nature and hiking trails, picnicking, beach scavenger hunts, and a World War II bunker. While you’re in town, stop by the Cape May Bird Observatory for bird walks and workshops and get FREE admission to the Cape May County Zoo, which features a range of animals, playgrounds, train rides, and carousel rides.

Day Trip Destinations in Massachusetts

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
1000 Hall of Fame Ave. (GPS: 1000 Columbus Ave.), Springfield, Hampden County
877-446-4752
Hours: Wednesday-Friday and Sunday; 10am-4pm
Admission: $25; $20 seniors; $16 children ages 5-15; free for children 4 and younger

Immerse yourself in the exhilarating history of one of the world’s most popular sports and participate in interactive exhibits. The three-level museum includes displays ranging from the original handwritten rules of play to a pair of Michael Jordan's shoes. 

Nearby attractions:

• While you're in Springfield, the birthplace of Theodor Seuss Geisel, visit some of the late author’s beloved characters in the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden.
• The Springfield Museums let you pay one admission price to visit five cool museums: Michele & Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts, George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, Springfield Science Museum, The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum, and Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History.
• Ride the coasters or kiddie rides, and cool off in the Hurricane Harbor water park at Six Flags New England.

Day Trip Destinations in Rhode Island

Block Island
800-383-2474
Nature Conservancy: 401-466-2129

Flickr/karlnorling/CC 4.0

With 17 miles of spectacular beaches, Block Island offers limitless possibilities for families looking for some outdoor fun. Rent a bike or moped, cast a line in the Old Harbor, charter a sailboat, or simply play in the sand and surf. The Nature Conservancy offers programs for kids, including scavenger hunts and “muck rucks.” Residents pride themselves on being free from big commercial chains, so you won’t find any McDonald’s on the island. But its mom-and-pop ice cream shops, historic lighthouses, magnificent bluffs, and winding trails offer a truly relaxing experience. The 75-minute ferry from Newport and Fall River, offers daily service from June through September.

Day Trip Destinations in Pennsylvania

Crayola Experience
30 Centre Square, Easton, Northampton County
610-515-8000
Hours: 10am-4pm, Monday-Friday. 10am-6pm Saturday-Sunday
Admission: $22.99 ($19.99 online); free for children 2 and younger

Discover the magic of color with 25 attractions at Crayola Experience. Kids can explore four floors of family fun to create custom crayons and markers, bring their drawings to life on the big screen, star in their own coloring pages, paint with melted wax, or “doodle in the dark” on an interactive floor. Grab a colorful concoction from Café Crayola and take home one-of-a-kind souvenirs from the official Crayola Store.

Nearby attractions:

• Ride the coasters, visit a dinosaur park, and get wet in the water park at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom.
• Take a tour of ancient underground caverns, then come back to the surface to picnic, hike the nature trails, and shop for gem stones at Lost River Caverns.
• Build and learn how to steer a canal boat inside the National Canal Museum, then head outside to ride a mule-drawn canal boat.

Pennsylvania Dutch Country
800-723-8824

This area, also known as Amish country, is home to several festivals and events over the summer, including the Day Out With Thomas at Strasburg Rail Road and the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire.

Attractions include:

• Meet some farm animals at the Amish Farm & House.
• Take a buggy or wagon ride through the countryside with Aaron & Jessica's Buggy Rides.
• Cherry Crest Adventure Farm is a working farm where you can explore a corn maze, take a wagon ride, race around the pedal kart tracks, meet and feed farm animals, learn about agriculture, and grab a homemade snack.
• Enjoy more than 35 family and kiddie rides, a water park, a miniature golf course, and kid-friendly shows at Dutch Wonderland Amusement Park.
• Tots will love the interactive exhibits at the Hands-on House Children's Museum.
• Catch a minor league baseball game at Clipper Magazine Stadium, home of the Lancaster Barnstormers.
• Visit the many train-themed attractions, including the National Toy Train Museum, Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, and Strasburg Rail Road.
• Learn how ice cream is made and brainstorm new flavors, climb aboard a milk truck, milk a mechanical cow, and more at Turkey Hill Experience.

Please Touch Museum
Memorial Hall in Fairmount Park, 4231 Avenue of the Republic, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County
215-581-3181
Hours: Monday-Saturday, 9am-5pm; Sunday, 11am-5pm
Admission: $19.95; $16 parking

Explore two floors of interactive exhibit zones including Roadside Attractions, Wonderland, River Adventures, and the Imagination Playground. The museum encourages touching the exhibits as a means of learning. Other programs include storytime, music and movement, STEM activities, and theatrical experiences designed with tiny tots in mind. 

Nearby attractions:

• Visit The Betsy Ross House to experience colonial Philadelphia and "meet" the woman who sewed the first American flag.
• The Franklin Institute hosts daily exhibits, shows, and demonstrations in the spirit of Benjamin Franklin’s passion for science and technology.
• Stop by the Philadelphia Zoo to meet nearly 1,300 animals, ride the carousel or PZ Express train, take a ride on the Zooballoon, and steer a swan boat.
• Take a tour of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell at Independence National Historic Park.

Sesame Place
100 Sesame Road, Langhorne, Bucks County
866-464-3566
Hours: 10am-8pm daily through June 21; 10am-9pm June 21-Aug. 4
Admission: $51.99; $30.99 April 4-19 for Elmo's Eggstravaganza; free for children younger than 2

Heading to this Delaware Valley attraction is a rite of passage for parents of toddlers, who bask in the glow of Abby Cadabby’s fairy spells and the warmth of Elmo’s hugs. Guests dance and sing along with some of the world’s best-loved characters in the daily Neighborhood Street Party Parade, cool off—and scream like banshees—in the expansive water play area, and are captivated during the changing rotation of shows. The lineup of PBS Kids Sprout characters—including Caillou, Max & Ruby, and Angelina Ballerina—also roam the park and are featured in special engagement shows throughout the summer (check website for dates). A Father’s Day barbecue and Fourth of July fireworks are popular (also: crowded) days to visit. Starting this year, Sesame Place offers box lunches that can be purchased online and picked up at Elmo’s Lunch Box Stop; and it has added more allergen-friendly foods to the menu. The ever-popular character dining options (extra fees apply, but your photo-op moments will increase exponentially along with your child’s smiles) have expanded to include Elmo's Rock 'n' Roll Dine and Cookie Monster’s Birthday Bash.

Nearby Attractions:

• Kids can design and build their own race car, go on a simulated hot air balloon ride, and discover lots of local history in the interactive exhibits at The Bucks County Children's Museum.
• Stock up on tokens and let the kids play in the Giggleberry Fair arcade before setting them loose in the area's largest indoor obstacle course, Giggleberry Mountain—it’s three stories of enclosed slides, mazes, and an exploding "berry fountain."
• Wander the winding brick pathways at historic Peddler's Village, where seasonal festivals and shopping abound.
• Hop aboard an authentic steam locomotive or historic diesel that traverses the rolling hills and valleys of Bucks County: the New Hope & Ivyland Railroad is a relaxing 45-minute ride including narration about the area’s history.

Day Trip Destinations in Connecticut

The 1750 Ogden House & Gardens
1520 Bronson Road, Fairfield, Fairfield County
203-259-1598
Guided tours: June-September: Sundays, 1-4pm
Admission: $5; $3 students and seniors; free for members and children 5 and younger

This mid-18th-century farmhouse provides a glimpse into the life of a middle-class colonial family. David Ogden built the house in 1750, and various members of the Ogden family lived there for the next 125 years. The Fairfield Museum and History Center, which operates the Ogden House, is located at 370 Beach Road (about a 10-minute drive).

Bush Holley House
39 Strickland Road, Cos Cob, Fairfield County
203-869-6899
Hours: March-December: Wednesday-Sunday, 12-4pm; January-February: Saturday-Sunday, 12-4pm; docent-led tours at 1pm, 2pm, and 3pm by appointment.
Admission: $10; $8 students and seniors; free for children younger than 18, members, and active military and their families in the summer; free admission first Wednesday of every month

Prosperous merchants built this home in 1730; it was later used as a boarding house and gathering place for prominent American artists and arbiters. A National Historic Landmark, it is one of 18 museums participating in the Connecticut art trail.

Dinosaur State Park
400 West St., Rocky Hill, Hartford County
860-529-8423
Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 9am-4:30pm ; exhibit center: Tuesday-Sunday, 9am-4:30pm
Admission (for exhibit center): $6; $2 children ages 6-12; free for children 5 and younger

Pack your sunscreen for a day of outdoor adventure. For a small fee, visitors can mine for gems and fossils or make their own cast of a dinosaur footprint. The Discovery Room includes a Connecticut Geologic Treasures exhibit, Life Through Time Fossil exhibit, and more.

Nearby attractions:

• Visit The Children's Museum for hands-on science and nature exhibits, a wildlife sanctuary, movie screenings, and planetarium shows.
• Soar over to the New England Air Museum to learn about the science and history of flight, take a cockpit tour of a vintage aircraft, virtually fly an aircraft, and view more than 65 aircrafts.
• See one of the largest collections of antique carousel pieces at The New England Carousel Museum, and take a spin on the Bushnell Park Carousel.
    

Essex Steam Train & Riverboat
1 Railroad Ave., Essex, Middlesex County
860-767-0103
Hours: Daily through Oct. 27
Cost: $30; $27 seniors; $20 children ages 2-11; free for children younger than 2

The 2½-hour journey begins at the historic 1892 Essex Station. From there, you’ll take a 12-mile, narrated round-trip journey into the Connecticut River Valley aboard a steam locomotive pulling vintage coaches through the quaint New England towns of Deep River and Chester. At Deep River Landing, you are escorted onto the Becky Thatcher riverboat for a 1-hour cruise on the river. After the cruise, passengers re-board the steam train for the return trip to Essex Station.

Nearby attractions:

• Visit a 24-room mansion that looks like a medieval castle in Gillette Castle State Park, where you can also hike the nature trails and have a picnic.
• Take a hike to see the waterfalls in Wadsworth Falls State Park and go picnicking, swimming, and fishing.

Lockwood Mansion Museum
295 West Ave., Norwalk, Fairfield County
203-838-9799
Guided tours: April-January: Wednesday-Sunday at 12pm, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm
Admission: $10-$20; $8-$18 seniors; $6-$16 for students ages 8-18; free for children younger than 8 and members

This Second Empire-style mansion with Victorian-era furnishings and interiors was once home to the Lockwood family and, several years later, the Mathews family. Now a National Historic Landmark, it has survived threats from bankruptcy, demolition, and I-95, and it stands today adjacent to the Stepping Stones Museum for Children.

Mystic Seaport
75 Greenmanville Ave., Mystic, New London County
860-572-0711
Hours: daily, 9am-5pm
Admission: $19; $22 seniors and college students; $16 children ages 3-17

Travel back in time to the heyday of American sailing at this maritime museum. Explore the recreated 19th-century village and swap seafaring stories with historical role-players. Cruise the picturesque Mystic River on the steamboat Sabino or rent a boat and sail yourself. Check the website for special events this summer.

Nearby attractions:

• The Mystic Aquarium is a must-visit—stop in and say hello to one of the resident Beluga whales, the only creatures of their kind in the New England area.
• On your way to Mystic, stop by the Mashantucket Pequot Museum to catch up on 18,000 years of Connecticut's Native and natural history.
   

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