Just a week into summer vacation, and we’ve already crossed off some items from our bucket list! 
I have the privilege of being a teacher. Which means I also have the privilege of being “off” for the summer. Sure, I’ll go to a writing workshop and do some curriculum work. I’ll also read countless tween and young adult novels to bring back into my classroom. But I will also have a LOT of fun with my family.
Here’s our top 10 summer bucket list of things to do in/near Fairfield County!
- Island Beach/Great Captain’s Island, Greenwich. This is an annual trip for us and we always get the sunniest, hottest day. It means a short, and fun, ferry ride plus a day on the beach! Pack a picnic lunch and a large beach blanket and you’re set! Note: Non-residents need to purchase daily park passes before arrival.
Loving on Secret Agent 23 Squidoo! - Outdoor concerts, Westport. Last summer, we LOVED Wednesday nights. We packed a picnic dinner (don’t forget a drink for yourself!) and headed down to the Levitt Pavillion for some open-air kids concerts presented by Melissa and Doug. We met up with some other mommy friends, let the kids dance around and have some fun! The schedule hasn’t been published yet, but stay tuned…
- Hiking! Fairfield County has SO many great places to hike. We will be hitting up Bear Mountain/Anthony’s Nose for a day trip as well as some local trails. Stay tuned for my next post about our favorites or check out Elysa’s tips for hiking with little ones.
- Marine Life Cruise, Norwalk. Note: Passengers must be 42″ tall and reservations are recommended. We love the Maritime Aquarium and always go visit when they have fun new exhibits (butterflies! dragons! albino alligator!) but this is the first summer that my older son is tall enough to go on these awesome educational boat rides. I can NOT wait.
- Summer Running Series, New Canaan. Tuesday evenings at 7:00pm there are great trail runs at Waveny Park (one of my absolute favorite places to run!). Some weeks (6/14 and 7/26) include Kids’ fun runs.
Beardsley Zoo in nearby Bridgeport, CT - Beach Movie Nights, Fairfield. Jennings Beach offers four movie nights (6/24 – Peanuts Movie, 7/8 – Minions, 7/22 – Inside Out, 8/4 (Thursday) – Zootopia). A $20 parking pass will get you in for dancing at 6:30 and movies at dusk.
- Beardsley Zoo, Bridgeport. We love the Beardsley Zoo. It’s reasonable enough to do in a day and never terribly crowded even in the summer. I don’t even bring my stroller – just a backpack!
- Berry Picking, Shelton. We head over to the Hickories just up the road in Ridgefield, CT. We’ll do the summer CSA there which involves blueberry picking. There are also other farms in Fairfield County where you can pick your own summer fruit. Strawberries at Jones Farm are from mid-June to July and blueberries are mid-July to late August. Start Pinteresting those recipes!
- The Dinosaur Place, Montville, CT.
Outside of Fairfield County, but close by, we spent nearly six hours at the Dinosaur Place one day last summer. It has a nice shaded path where you can encounter life-sized dinosaurs plus an amazing playground and a huge splash pad. Bring a change of clothes and get a coffee for the ride home. Virtually guaranteed for little ones to nap on the way home. - LegoLand, Yonkers, NY. This was a favorite last summer and we will definitely going back. It’s located in the Ridge Hill shopping center (I could spend a week there!) and there’s conveniently a Starbucks between LegoLand and the parking garage…they have informational areas, a large play structure, spaces to build and race Lego cars and a special Duplo area for younger children. (Read here about why I love Legos so much).
What are your favorite summer activities?
I can second #1,7, 9 and 10! Great list. I am excited to try the Marine Life Cruise now that Ben is big enough. We went hiking at the Babcock Reserve in Greenwich last week and it has a great “storybook path” for kids where they can read a page per post along the pathway. Cute story and easy path for kids.