OT - New Jersey Fun Places

[Disneytwinz]

I realize you have already decided on a destination, but if you do happen to get down to Cape May to the zoo (which I agree is beautiful) I wanted to mention, they also have whale watching cruises off Cape May that are fun. We've gone on the Cape May Whale Watcher a few times and had a blast seeing dolphins and whales. Also the Cape May Lewes Ferry is a nice trip and sometimes you can see dolphins if the season is right. You can take the car or go on foot for a cost right over to Lewes Delaware. From there, they have shuttles to the beach.

 

[tmatthews]

I love hearing you all talk about the cape may county zoo....I live really close and hate the fact that sometimes I forget about it being here!! It is a great place and FREE (donations accepted) Lots of shore towns are opening up now...wildwood boardwalk starting to open now on weekends. I am sure time is limited.

Please touch museum is the best. My kids LOVED the supermarket. They would spend hours there if they could! We usually walk to a Fridays (or something like that) that is pretty close.

In lancaster, willow valley is awesome for the kids....you have strausburg railroad close and dutch wonderland.

have a great time!!! I think the circus is coming to Philly...is that this w/e?

 

[Eeyore4me]

Storybook Land is GREAT! It is minutes off of Parkway exit 37. It is pretty much a Nursery Rhyme based amusement park geared toward 10-under. The last 2 yrs we got season passes as I am just 5 minutes down the road. There is free parking, you can take in food and there are TONS of picnic tables. A lot of the park is trees, so even in the heat of the summer you're pretty good. It's very clean and even when it's crowded, it's not bad. Our schools do class trips there for the 1st grade It's definitely worth the trip! Check out their website too. And it's very close to AC & the beach.

Lauren

 

[katemomto3]

We moved to NJ in August with our three kids, DH and I are both teachers so we have not had much time to explore....Just wanted to say thank you for the list of where to start looking for stuff to do! Kate

 

[donac]

Kate Where did you move to. I live in monmouth county but dh has family in Ocean county , ds1 goes to school in atlantic county and my parents are in bergen county. Dh also does a lot of camping in the state so we have been to many places in the state. If you have any questions please ask. Also dh and I are both teachers too.

 

[LisaNJ25]

If you want to head up my way:

http://www.turtlebackzoo.com/
http://www.wildwestcity.com/
http://www.lomb.com/
http://www.fieldtrip.com/nj/13470900.htm
http://www.communitychildrensmuseum.org

 

[bellebud]

Van Saun Park in Paramus (Bergen Co.) Van Saun Park had pretty grounds, nice playgrounds, a train ride and pony rides. It would be a nice day, at least as I remember it.

Van Saun is awesome! It also has a zoo, which is small and perfect for little kids. There's buffalo roaming where you take the train ride. There's also a carousel. We live an hour from there and have gone for the day many times. Sometimes we picnic, sometimes we use their indoor cafeteria (not overly nice, but it's food). Don't know if it has only summer hours though.

 

[mom2aredhead]

PS - We would love to do the Cape May Zoo, but its like 2.5 hours each way. We usually go to the Bronx zoo, but we will save that for a later date - my girls just LOVE their animals!

Longstreet Farm in Holmdel Park is good for animal lovers...

It's an "old fashioned" working farm that(small) that you can wander around the animals and see how life used to be. Sometime in the afternoon, the kids are invited to help milk the cows. The park that its in is also beautiful in its own right...duck pond, 2 different playgrounds and lots of running arond room.

Best part, you can stop at Delicious Orchards on the way home and pick up lots of great stuff!

 

[bellebud]

there's also Space Farms Zoo outside of sussex, NJ (i don't know what town it's actually in, but it's northern NJ). Kind of old, but still neat because of the animals it has (an alligator, lions, tigers, bears, monkeys, kangaroo (we saw the baby in the pouch last spring - very neat!), emu's, etc. It has many antique collections, including cars, horse drawn sleds, old dolls and toys, etc. We go a couple of times every summer because it's not too far.

 

[Disneygirl26]

We go to Sesame Place all of the time. It's not Disney clean, but it's definitely not dirty. There is someone in the bathrooms cleaning them about every other visit, and we visit the bathroom quite a few times in a day. The park in general is pretty clean as well. I swear the residents in that area start those rumors because they don't like the extra traffic, especially on the weekends, but it really isn't true.

I have to agree we go a couple of times during the summer and I've never seen it dirty. I thinks its a great place for kids.

 

[tmatthews]

Kate Where did you move to. I live in monmouth county but dh has family in Ocean county , ds1 goes to school in atlantic county and my parents are in bergen county. Dh also does a lot of camping in the state so we have been to many places in the state. If you have any questions please ask. Also dh and I are both teachers too.

Teacher from cape may county here!!! Welcome!

 

[SharpMomOfTwo]

We went to Please Touch in Philly today - wasn't to impressed. Getting into Philly was the worst thing in the world!!!! SO MUCH TRAFFIC! Then DH made me make a wrong turn, and I had to go back and sit in the traffic again! The museum itself was cute, but not worth the long drive up there. The lady was nice though and only made us pay for once child - its $10.95 for anyone over 12 months! I don't see us going back ever, but the kids did have some fun, it was just to small for us. We did walk around South street when we were done - its a great street if you don't have 2 kids and a stroller! You can't go into any stores! Oh well, next big trip will probally be out to the Bronx Zoo - DD18m LOVES her animas!
Thanks again to everyone who replied with all your great suggestions!!!

 

[ricochett]

Does anyone know of a sprayground other then monmoth counth parK, in North Jersey or North east PA?

 

[SharpMomOfTwo]

Does anyone know of a sprayground other then monmoth counth parK, in North Jersey or North east PA?

Check out Dorbrook Park in Holmdel, NJ We were just there today and its great!

 

[justwinnie]

Does anyone know of a sprayground other then monmoth counth parK, in North Jersey or North east PA?

In North (East) Jersey, you can try Lyndhurst Town Park, Lyndhurst, NJ.

Here's more info:
http://www.njplaygrounds.com/blog-n-photos/?p=176

 

[meriface11]

Hi there I am right next to TInton Falls.

If you have a couple of little kids Red Bank is not for them. It is more of a teen hangout.

YOu could you to Brookdale Community College and on the campus is Monmouth Museum which has a children's section.

YOu could go up to Middletown and go to Poricy Park and go fosil hunting.

Or you could go to Holmdel and go to Longstreet Farms which is a working farm at Holmdel Park.

South of Tinton Falls is a place called Allaire State Park which has buildings from the 1800's.

Next to Tinton Falls is Eatontown and a large mall with a big movie theater if all else fails. It has a nice food court
Out in Freehold is Mounmouth Battlegrounds where there was an important battle from the revolution.

I hope I got the names of these places right. YOu could always take the kids to Seaside and let ride some rides but that gets expensive.

omg. I'm sure it was a lot different now than it was in the early 80's, but i used to LOVE field trips to the Monmouth Museum when I was a kid.

 

[DeeCeeSW]

omg. I'm sure it was a lot different now than it was in the early 80's, but i used to LOVE field trips to the Monmouth Museum when I was a kid.

Went to the Monmouth Museum a couple of months ago with my DS and his 2nd grade class. The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable. They have a "blow-up" planetarium (a little freaky for me) and lots of activities for the little ones.

Dorbrook Spraygrounds is great and the playground next to it is awesome. Not a lot of shade there, tho, so make sure you have plenty of sunblock.

 

[njplaygrounds]

wow you guys have some great suggestions, glad to find this board! I second van saun, you should definitely check out Watchung reservation The Loop Playground and Trailside, Turtleback zoo is great as well, with train, carousel and little playground. Pine Creek Railroad in Allaire was fun for my boys.. I'm going to go to Thompson park soon to check it out, hear you can feed the deer..