family kids
Animal Farm Petting Zoo
📍 Manorville
A zoo on Wading River Rd in Manorville. In its own words: “Discover Animal Farm Petting Zoo in Manorville, NY – Long Island's original family petting zoo since 1981.” (official site)
Official site ↗
✈️ TRAVEL MODE · METRO AREA
New York City Metro Area
Top things to do for visitors, each linked to its official source.
METRO AREA
New York City Metro Area
arts culture
Avon Theatre Film Center
📍 Stamford
Nonprofit two-screen 1939 cinema in downtown Stamford showing independent films and classics.
Official site ↗other
Churchill’s
📍 Rockville Centre
An American bar on South Park Avenue in Rockville Centre. Open every day but Monday. What sets it apart: live music (per its official site).
Official site ↗arts culture
Cinema Arts Centre
📍 Huntington
Long Island's nonprofit art-house cinema with indie premieres, classics and guest talks.
Official site ↗family kids
Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo
📍 Bridgeport
Connecticut's only zoo, with a rainforest building and a carousel.
Official site ↗arts culture
Danbury Railway Museum
📍 Danbury
Railroad museum in a restored 1903 station with train rides on a working rail yard.
Official site ↗arts culture
Holocaust Museum and Tolerance Center
📍 Glen Cove
A museum on Crescent Beach Road in Glen Cove. In its own words: “Founded over 25 years ago, the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County is the preeminent Holocaust resource on Long Island.” (official sit
Official site ↗arts culture
Jacob Burns Film Center
📍 Pleasantville
Nonprofit film center in Westchester screening independent, foreign and documentary films.
Official site ↗family kids
Long Island Aquarium
📍 Riverhead
Aquarium with sharks, seals and a butterfly exhibit.
Official site ↗arts culture
Paramount Huntington
📍 Huntington
Long Island concert and comedy venue in downtown Huntington.
Official site ↗arts culture
Stepping Stones Museum for Children
📍 Norwalk
A museum on West Avenue in Norwalk. In its own words: “The joy of discovery is at the heart of Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk, CT.” (official site)
Official site ↗arts culture
Storm King Art Center
📍 New Windsor
A art center in New Windsor. What sets it apart: large-scale sculpture and site-specific commissions shown outdoors across its landscape, under open sky (per its official site).
Official site ↗arts culture
Tarrytown Music Hall
📍 Tarrytown
Historic 1885 theater hosting concerts, comedy and films.
Official site ↗arts culture
The Capitol Theatre
📍 Port Chester
Restored 1926 concert hall in Port Chester.
Official site ↗arts culture
The Palace Theatre Stamford
📍 Stamford
Downtown Stamford theater with concerts, comedy and Broadway tours.
Official site ↗arts culture
The Ridgefield Playhouse
📍 Ridgefield
Ridgefield performing arts center with concerts, comedy and movies.
Official site ↗arts culture
Westport Country Playhouse
📍 Westport
Historic summer-stock playhouse with plays, concerts and films.
Official site ↗arts culture
All In Adventures West Nyack
📍 West Nyack (Palisades Center)
Five 60-minute themed escape rooms, including Treasure Island, Zombie Apocalypse and Sherlock's Library.
Official site ↗outdoorsFREE
Bear Mountain State Park
📍 Bear Mountain
Hessian Lake loop, the Perkins Drive overlook and Hudson Highlands trails. Walking in is free; the park charges a car fee on some dates. Trailside Museums & Zoo keep shorter daytime hours.
Official site ↗outdoorsFREE
Briarcliff-Peekskill Trailway
📍 Briarcliff Manor to Peekskill
A 12-mile unpaved county hiking trail.
Official site ↗arts culture
Bruce Museum
📍 Greenwich
Art and natural history museum with free parking, for all ages.
Official site ↗arts cultureFREE
Bruce Museum: Free Tuesdays
📍 Greenwich
Art and natural history museum in Greenwich, free for everyone on Tuesdays. Free parking on site. 1 Museum Dr.
Official site ↗outdoorsFREE
Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve
📍 Lloyd Harbor
Hiking and walking trails across a former estate on the North Shore. No pets allowed.
Official site ↗drinks tastings
Confetti Ristorante (Piermont)
📍 Piermont (Ash St)
Family Italian kitchen in riverside Piermont village, a short walk from the Piermont Pier at sunset.
Official site ↗arts culture
Cradle of Aviation Museum
📍 Garden City
Real planes and a lunar module in hangar-size galleries, with a planetarium dome.
Official site ↗painting crafts
Earth Arts Long Beach
📍 Long Beach
Walk-in paint-your-own pottery a block from the beach.
Official site ↗outdoorsFREE
East Rock Park
📍 New Haven
Red-rock cliffs with a summit view over New Haven Harbor and Long Island Sound; trails up from the park.
Official site ↗outdoorsFREE
East Rumbrook Dog Park
📍 White Plains (Greenburgh)
A one-acre fenced dog run at 600 Dobbs Ferry Rd, with separate small-dog and all-dog areas and a wooded trail for leashed walks.
Official site ↗arts culture
Hudson River Museum & Planetarium
📍 Yonkers
Art, a restored 1870s mansion and a planetarium on the Hudson in Yonkers. Weekend planetarium shows.
Official site ↗arts cultureFREE
Hudson River Museum: Free First Fridays
📍 Yonkers
Art, a restored 1870s mansion and Hudson views. Free on first Friday evenings.
Official site ↗outdoorsFREE
Jones Beach State Park boardwalk
📍 Jones Beach
Two miles of ocean boardwalk and 6.5 miles of beach. Walking in is free; a parking fee applies on some days.
Official site ↗outdoorsFREE
Kennedy Dells Park dog run & trails
📍 New City
A 179-acre county park at 355 N Main St with an enclosed off-leash dog run (the county says it is for residents) and a creekside hiking trail along Crum Creek.
Official site ↗arts culture
Long Island Children's Museum
📍 Garden City
Hands-on exhibits for younger kids. A family outing rather than a date.
Official site ↗family kids
Maritime Aquarium
📍 Norwalk
Long Island Sound aquarium with seals, sharks, jellyfish and a 4D theater. Good for families and all ages.
Official site ↗outdoorsFREE
Mianus River Park
📍 Stamford
Wooded river trails on the Stamford–Greenwich line, about 10 miles of paths.
Official site ↗arts culture
Nassau County Museum of Art
📍 Roslyn Harbor
Art museum in a Gold Coast mansion, with free sculpture grounds.
Official site ↗outdoorsFREE
Nassau County Museum of Art: sculpture garden & trails
📍 Roslyn Harbor
Outdoor sculptures, an arboretum and walking trails around the museum. The grounds are free.
Official site ↗arts cultureFREE
Neuberger Museum of Art
📍 Purchase (SUNY Purchase)
A big modern and contemporary art museum on the SUNY Purchase campus. Admission is currently free.
Official site ↗outdoorsFREE
North County Trailway
📍 Eastview to Baldwin Place
A 22-mile paved rail trail for walking and biking through northern Westchester.
Official site ↗outdoorsFREE
Nyack Beach State Park
📍 Upper Nyack
Flat riverside trail under the Hook Mountain cliffs, good for walking, biking and fishing. Walking in is free. 663 N Broadway.
Official site ↗outdoorsFREE
Old Croton Aqueduct Trail
📍 Yonkers to Croton
A flat 26-mile trail on top of the 1842 aqueduct, through river towns like Dobbs Ferry and Irvington.
Official site ↗arts culture
Old Westbury Gardens
📍 Old Westbury
Formal gardens and a Gold Coast mansion, for all ages.
Official site ↗outdoorsFREE
Piermont Pier
📍 Piermont
A walkway about a mile long that juts into the Hudson, popular for birding, fishing and sunsets. Village parks are free; non-residents need a day permit to park on the pier itself.
Official site ↗outdoorsFREE
Rockland Lake State Park
📍 Valley Cottage
A 3.2-mile paved loop around a lake on the ridge above the Hudson. 299 Rockland Lake Rd.
Official site ↗tours walksFREE
Sagamore Hill National Historic Site (grounds)
📍 Oyster Bay (Nassau)
Theodore Roosevelt's estate. Walking the grounds and trail to the beach is free; the house tour has a fee.
Official site ↗drinks tastings
Sidewalk Bistro (Piermont)
📍 Piermont (Piermont Ave)
Classic French bistro in Piermont village with a garden, Wednesday wine nights and Thursday trivia.
Official site ↗outdoorsFREE
South County Trailway
📍 Southern Westchester
A 14-mile county trailway for walking and biking.
Official site ↗arts culture
Stamford Museum & Nature Center
📍 Stamford
Farm animals at Heckscher Farm, 80 acres of trails, a nature playground and galleries. Family friendly.
Official site ↗