205+ Free Kids Activities for a Summer of Adventure
What’s inside: a HUGE collection of free kids activities for a summer full of adventure! Sponsored by Radio Flyer.
Summer is the time of year that many families travel, but what if you’re on a budget? Or those summers where life gets in the way of vacation?
You can still enjoy a summer to remember, full of exciting adventures — all without leaving your hometown!
To celebrate their 100th anniversary, Radio Flyer created the first ever kids travel agency: Radio Flyer Adventure Travel. Kids are encouraged to go out and adventure to anywhere their imagination will take them!
We’re excited to join Radio Flyer’s 100 Days of Summer challenge, and below are some of the activities we have planned. There are literally hundreds of free or low-cost ideas for the whole family, so your only limitation is time!
Our 10 Favorite Free Kids Activities
Free museum or zoo day — Did you know that many museums and/or zoos offer free or reduced-cost admission on a regular basis? Some of ours do it once a month or even once a week! Check with you local museums or zoo for their schedule and ask about free kids admission days.
Find a local summer camp — Churches and community centers are a good place to look for free or low-cost summer camps for kids. Craft stores also routinely offer complimentary or budget-friendly activity classes for kids (and grown-ups).
Library summer reading program — Beat the heat with a good book! Your town’s library may offer special summer activities for kids. It’s the perfect way to beat “summer slide” too!
Backyard movie night — You don’t have to own a fancy projector to create your own backyard movie theater! Try clever trick to turn your phone into a project! You can even make themed snacks to go along with your favorite flicks, like this Moana Fruit Punch recipe from In the Kids Kitchen.
Bubble party — Break out the baby pool and make giant bubbles with this awesome recipe from I Can Teach My Child. Or try this wild “rainbow bubble snake” blower from Housing a Forest!
Make your own summer camp at home — Growing up, a friend and I ran our own summer camp for the neighborhood kids, and it was a blast! You can do the same for your kids, and the possibilities are endless. These handy printables from Sunny Day Family can help get you started. Or check out this free 12 week Summer Camp activity series hosted by Wunder-Mom.
Scavenger hunt — Create your own scavenger hunt in your backyard, or take it to the neighborhood park for even more excitement. Check out this free printable playground scavenger hunt from Edventures with Kids for ideas.
Driveway bowling — Set up “pins” on a flat surface using recycled water bottles…then knock ’em down!
Shadow art — Use sidewalk chalk to take turns tracing each other’s shadow. Then decorate! See how it’s done here.
Wagon ride — I think I’m just as excited (if not more) about our new Radio Flyer 3-in-1 EZ Fold Wagon  as the girls! We take ours everywhere: the park, around the neighborhood, to the soccer field. It folds up for easy storage, so we can pop it in the trunk for easy travel.
Radio Flyer is the leading builder of kids wagons,wagons, tricycles, pre-school scooters and other ride-ons. My brother, sister, and I shared two Radio Flyer wagons growing up and I still own one of them. I have the funniest memories of our own childhood adventures involving rolling down the steep street next to our house and other things we probably shouldn’t have done.
As cool as I thought my own wagon was, can I just say that the new Radio Flyer wagons are out-of-this-world awesome?! I would have gone wild over this thing as a kid! Our wagon has a canopy (a must for sweltering Texas summers), two cupholders, a storage pocket, adjustable handle, and a zip-down side for easy access or to turn into bench seating.
Keep reading to find out how you can enter to win a $100 Radio Flyer gift card so you can pick one of your own!Â
More Free Kids Activities
- Go on a picnic
- Try birdwatching
- Take a hike
- Build towers with pencils
- Skipping stones
- Hopscotch tournament
- Make recycled crayons in a simple solar oven
- Volunteer
- Go for a walk
- Play foot golf with soccer balls
- Create a summer bucket list
- Make ice cream in a bag
- Build an obstacle course
- Climb a tree
- Dress up in costumes
- Hide and seek
- Imaginative play
- Celebrate one of these 105 unique holidaysÂ
- Go on a “bug hunt“
- Craft tin can lanterns
- Make a water bottle lava lamp
- Get creative with ice painting
- Run an “ice cream” cone race
- Create an “adventure kit”
Our adventure kit must-haves: bug spray, sunscreen, water, towel, and bubbles! Visit the Radio Flyer Travel Agency for more ideas for your summertime adventures, plus what to pack in your adventure kit.
175+ Free Kids Activities in Major Cities
30+ Free Activities for Kids in New York City
20 Free or Cheap Things to do with Kids in Chicago
10 Free Things to Do with Kids in Los Angeles (That Grown-Ups Will Love Too)
Free Things to Do with Kids in Houston
12 Things to Do with Kids in Dallas (5 Are Free!)
50 Free Things to Do with Kids this Summer in Boston
Free Things to Do with Kids in Miami
15 Free Things to Do in St. Louis
35 Free and Cheap Things to Do in Portland with Kids
100 Free and Almost Free Things to Do in Washington, DC
Plan Your Adventure and Enter to Win a $100 Radio Flyer Gift Card
I’m thrilled to partner with Radio Flyer to giveaway a $100 Radio Flyer gift card to one lucky reader!
To enter, share your real-life adventures with your own Radio Flyer (or your dream adventure if you won the prize) either on Instagram or Facebook (be sure to use the tag #radioflyer100) then enter your email address below. That’s it!
Check out this gorgeous wagon garden planter we made with my childhood Radio Flyer!
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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Radio Flyer. The opinions and text are all mine.
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#radioflyer100 Bring kids back to a simpler time
When my son was 4, he thought it would be a great idea to ride our classic Radio Flyer wagon down our hill. The hill is significant in size, and had an old stable at the bottom. I noticed after he was half way down. There were some scratches, a dent in the side of the wagon, some tears, but he still to this day claims he would do it all again. Haha!
My kids are grown now, but they had a Radio Flyer wagon and played with it for years. Now I have a 3 year old grandson, and we need to get him one. #radioflyer100
A long park stroll with my son and our pets enjoying the ride in a new rafio flyer wagon. Snacks and ice cold drinks, lots of nature to see. Birds chirping, people smiling..peace..
My boys always loved pulling their wagon around the yard. Either they would pull each other or fill it up with rocks to haul away. It was always fun watching them play.