New England Must See Sites with Kids

[winniedapooh]

In MA I second Sturbridge Village and love Southwick's Zoo in Mendon much better than Roger Williams in RI.

 

[AB6876]

Before we lived here with my son, we always took him to the coast in NH. Take 1A all the way up from Hampton, NH all the way to Portsmouth, NH. We stopped at the beaches and lookout points. Seashell hunting, sea glass hunting and tons of tide pools to explore. There is a beautiful park in New Castle, NH (a small island community). There is also the seacoast science center that has lots of ocean front to explore and a small aquarium inside. Depending on the weather and tides you could take a surfing lesson at Hampton or Rye beaches(most of the surf shops offer them) great beginner sized waves, or you can watch the surfers at the wall in North Hampton. Plus you can explore downtown Portsmouth.
Also Gloucester, MA (stage fort park) has a ton of huge boulders to climb and explore and follow it up with a trip to Rockport, MA.
I think that any trip to New England should include a trip to the rocky coast lines! That was always my sons favorite.
The other thing he liked to do is go bowling. It is candlepin bowling (small balls) and he always thought that was cool.
Depending on the time of year (usually summertime) most towns gave festivals going on especially in July and August. They always have fun things for the kids to do and a lot of the info is on their web sites.
I am not sure where you live but I always appreciated the simple things to do in New England.

 

[pocomom]

The science Museum in Boston is EXPENSIVE but it is also reciprical, so if you belong to a musuem by you bring your card and you'll get in free- It actually paid for our membership to our local science museum. If you like Sturbridge Village it also has some sort of deal with the reanactment village by the Mayflower and that place has a package with the Mayflower ship, which right off Plymoth rock. Don't remember the specifics. Oh and a cool activity near Hartford Con. the Dinasaur State Park. We got to make a casting of a dino footprint, and you can see preserved tracks - very neat ! Only a couple of hours worth of activity though so it is more of a on your way attraction. Salem Mass is fun if your kids like spooky stuff. Mystci aquarium is nice and the shops in the village are quaint. The seaport also has a reanactment place but we didn't go.

 

[brettgirl]

Vermont.....Shelburne Museum is right after The Vermont Teddy Bear Factory near Burlington, Vt. It is an awesome museum, young and old can find something they love there. If you do Ben and Jerry's (30 minutes from Burlington)-the cleanest factory I have ever seen-go to Stowe and do the mountain slide and then take Toll Road to to the top of Mount Mansfield and have a picnic lunch.

The other ideas presented have also been wonderful ideas!!!!

 

[3boymthr]

A PP mentioned Six Flags - Lots of fun but in no way shape or form would I call that cheap. Tix are expensive, parking is expensive, no outside food is allowed and food is pricey.

In MA there is lots to do that is cheap or free. I second the Freedom Trail and the Minuteman National Park in Lexington and Concord. If you do Minuteman NP there is also Walden Pond (not free but just a couple of bucks for parking) there are also a number of famous houses you can visit.

Plimouth Plantation is great. Last weekend we did an overnight there for cub scouts. Not cheap, but a lot of history and the kids had a blast there. The re-enactors at in the colonial village really really get into their roles and the wampanoag interpreters live in the current day but are really informative as well. Plimoth Plantation also owns the Mayflower II and the Jenney Mill. The only thing is before planning on doing the Mayflower II call to confirm it's there. When we were there last weekend it was in drydock for repairs. They have an exhibit on the pier but the boat itself it gone for a while.

We love the museums around here. Boston Museum of Science (aka MOS) is great as is Roger Williams zoo. Like the MOS, Roger Williams also takes reciprocal agreements. And if you are going to the MOS they have reciprocals with TONS of museums some of them in MA and RI. Even if you don't have a museum local to you that has a reciprocal with the Boston Science Museum and Roger Williams it actually pays to buy the membership at the MOS (because at last check it was only about $10 more than regular admission for my family of 5) and then use it to get into the other local museums with which the MOS has agreements (Roger Williams Zoo, Providence Children's Museum, Worcester Ecotarium, Woods Hole Oceanagraphic, plus 5 museums in CT, 5 in NH and 2 in ME).

 

[netrista]

New England is my neck of the woods, and we certainly have our fair share of fun things. For MA, I would recommend --

Sturbridge Village, Plimouth Plantation (Plymouth), Battleship Cove (Fall River), Edaville Railroad (Carver) -- These would appeal most to parents and kids with a real interest in history of various sorts.

Drumlin Farm (Lincoln), Joppa Flats (Ipswich) - These are Audobon preservation areas. The first one is a working farm. Both have lots of outdoor fun activities for kids. These are NOT boring.

Endicott Park/Farm (Danvers MA) - Tons of fun for about $5 a group. This is a working farm with animal petting/feeding opportunities, a huge outdoor play structure, hiking in the woods with self-guided exercise stations, picnic area.


Hammond Castle (Gloucester) - A real castle of sorts created by an eccentric who imported parts of real buildings from Europe. An enormous pipe organ is built into the walls, and it even has its own weather. Tons of cool activities here like Renaissance Faires.

Discovery Museum (Acton) - Two small museums (Science + Kids) on same lot. This is not a huge, state of the art museum by any means, but it is so much more relaxing, fun and cheap when compared to the Boston Children's museum. Age range would likely be 12 and under.

Salem is not just witches. There is certainly a Halloween aspect to it. However, there is pirate museum, a tall ship in harbor, art galleries, street vendors/performers, and the Willows; a strip along the ocean with arcades, greasy spoon restaurants, ferry rides and kiddie rides. There's also highly entertaining Ghost/Witch/History/Architecture-themed tours running continually. It's hard to go wrong with Salem.

As for New Hampshire... There's the weirdly fascinating "American's Stonehenge." There are tons of kitsch amusement parks like Storyland, Santa's Village, and Clark's Trading Post. Canobie Lake Park is a huge (for this area) amusement park. The Flume is a breath-takingly beautiful gorge that one hikes through.

Oh, and Maine... York Zoo is a zoo and amusement park that is very close to the MA border. It's quaint, but it is also fun, cheap and easy to manage when compared to huge, busy attractions like Roger Williams or Canobie Lake.

Hope this helps. ~ N

 

[sfromma]

I live in NY just 10 minutes from Saratoga Springs (Eastern upstate). As a Disney can you'll appreciate it and it's amazing in the summer. Between the horse racing, parks and really happening city, it's just awesome. About 20 miles north of Saratoga is Lake George. It sits at the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains and it's quite a tourist destination - beaches, amusement parks, hiking, biking etc.

 

[sfromma]

I live in NY just 10 minutes from Saratoga Springs (Eastern upstate). As a Disney can you'll appreciate it and it's amazing in the summer. Between the horse racing, parks and really happening city, it's just awesome. About 20 miles north of Saratoga is Lake George. It sits at the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains and it's quite a tourist destination - beaches, amusement parks, hiking, biking. And while we arent technically in New England, we aren't far. QUOTE]

 

[gjl]

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[Tree]

CitypassBoston gives CityPASS gives you admission to 5 must-see Boston attractions including Museum of Science, Aquarium and the MFA.

Also Boston duck tours has a living social deal on going now-tickets are only $35

 

[luvmy3]

In CT
http://www.dinosaurstatepark.org/

 

[lucyem]

There are a number of maple sugaring farms around in NH/VT/ME and some are open in the summer. Syrup is not in production in the summer but you can still see the equipment etc. I know a few with gift shops and small restaurants. I know of one off 89 in VT with the most amazing maple milk shakes