The MOST FUN Things to Do with Kids in the Catskills
If you’re planning a trip to the Catskills and bringing your kids, you’ve come to the right place! After 5+ years of research, I’ve finally compiled all our favorite kid-friendly Catskill Mountain adventures—all of which are potentially more fun if you don’t have kids in tow. (Don’t be fooled by the joyous photos here—traveling with kids is hard for us, too!)
Anyway, this is the post you can send to your friend who is coming upstate for the first time or save for yourself to use as a Catskills day trip bucket-list. I hope it inspires many fun adventures in the months and years to come.
(Pictured above: Opus 40, a sculpture park worth a visit with or without kids.)
For Outdoorsy Art Lovers
At Storm King, the kids can climb right into some of the art—read the signs to see what’s hands-on and what’s off-limits!
Storm King Art Center (pictured above) is an awe-inspiring 500-acre outdoor art museum located just 60 miles north of NYC with lots of room to roam. If you haven’t been, check out our post, Everything You Need to Know Before Taking Kids to Storm King.
Opus 40 (pictured at the top of this post), the Saugerties sculpture park of swirling slate and labyrinthine paths, feels a bit like an M.C. Escher lithograph come to life. It’s a little tricky with wandering toddlers but great with a baby carrier or any school-aged kids. It’s truly a wonder for all ages.
Art Omi promises the kind of art that makes kids jump for joy. Here are mine with Olaf Breuning’s Clouds.
Art Omi (pictured above) feels like a less-traveled Storm King — and at 120-acres, it’s smaller and more manageable with kids. This colorful sculpture park is very kid-friendly and located close to Hudson, NY.
The Thomas Cole National Historic Site is the kind of place that reminds you of the magic all around your in the Catskills. Cole is remembered for his landscape paintings and (spoiler alert!) when you tour a certain room in his house, the window shades and framed paintings turn into movie screens, immersing visitors in his world. We love the gardens and grounds of this kid-friendly historic site in Catskill, NY.
Olana is the castle-like home of Frederic Edwin Church, a major player in the Hudson River School of landscape painting. We know the secret to visiting Olana with kids and it involves the 250 adventure-welcoming acres surrounding this historic home, which brings us to our next category…
For Adventurers of All Ages
Mountain Top Arboretum is especially fun for preschool-aged kids who just want to romp around the gardens.
Mountain Top Arboretum (pictured above) is a lush botanical garden and tree sanctuary where you can learn all about native and exotic plants—or just enjoy the scenery and look for fairies in the woods. (To this day, Ramona claims she spotted one here!) Our kids were 3 and 6 when we visited, and they were the perfect age to appreciate the splendor in the trees.
Howe Caverns offers the classic cave tour that every kid/human needs to experience, and Secret Caverns feels a little psychedelic and off-the-rails in the best way possible. Lester Howe started giving cave tours in 1843, and personally, I can’t think of a better/funnier tourist attraction than a weird cold cave with a giant gift shop.
Branches heavy with pick-you-own blueberries at Indian Ladder Farms.
Indian Ladder Farms, located outside of Albany, is my go-to spot for pick-your-own berries, and depending on the season, you can also pick plums, apples, and pumpkins here. Several parents have told me that they find no joy in fruit picking (fair enough!), but here, after supervising the kids in the field, you can sip some incredible hard cider and beer and eat delicious bar snacks in their relaxing outdoor space.
The Zoom Flume is the one thing on this list that I can’t guarantee adults will enjoy as much as kids. I loved it in the 80s and 90s, and my kids are presently obsessed with this Catskills water park, but let me be real here: As a grown-up, I’m not into walking around barefoot in a wet bathing suit, nor do I care to go barreling down a waterslide. We still go once a summer for the unfiltered joy it brings our children.
For History Buffs
A few times every year, you can book an epic boat trip to the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse.
The Hudson-Athens Lighthouse is not for babies. Don’t bring a small child that you might have to carry up the metal staircase from the dock or the slightly treacherous spiral staircases inside the lighthouse, but if everyone in your crew is at least 6 years old and game for a historical adventure, definitely go! It’s only accessible by boat and only open to the public 4 days per year, and the story of the family that lived here is fascinating.
The New York State Museum — which has its own carousel — is super fun, especially for little kids.
Albany’s New York State Museum (pictured above) is one of our favorite spots when the kids were very little — even though our 3-year-old had a breakdown in front of the whale skeleton (pictured in my favorite blog post ever), they still talk about how much fun they had there. Ramona loved the carousel, Archer loved the Mohawk Iroquois longhouse, and best of all, very few of the exhibits were trapped behind glass.
If you’re a history buff like my son, Archer, you might also be into the Martin Van Buren House and the FDR Museum. We all learned a lot at both spots, but they weren’t as much fun for our younger child, who is less enthused about Presidential history.
For Bigger Kids + Teens
The glorious Greenville Drive-In. Photo: Beth Schneck
The Greenville Drive-In is my #1 recommendation for anyone with tweens or teens who like to stay up late—the movies start after sundown, which can be late in the summertime. Their expertly curated line-up of super-fun classic films pairs well with themed cocktails (one of the owners is a serious spirits guy), great snacks, and absolutely gorgeous surroundings. It’s definitely a must-visit drive-in in the Catskills.
Hobart Book Village will charm anyone who could spend hours browsing a used bookstore—this tiny mountain town is filled with them! The vibe is sleepy, so it’s not ideal for rowdy little ones, but a quiet bookworm of any age could fall in love with this place.
Finally, K&K Equestrian at Ravine Farm is our go-to spot for pony rides and cute farm animals, and it’s horseback riding heaven for a teen or tween who’s comfortable taking a ride through woodland trails. My kids aren’t there yet, but I’ll be so excited when they are!
So, what have we missed? If I didn’t mention your favorite spot, please leave a comment and help me plan our next 5 years in the Catskills!
>>> Check out our top 10 kid-friendly hikes in the Catskills
