Fall Adventures with Kids

We pulled these 464 fall adventures out of our full catalog of kid-friendly spots in Texas, Hawaii, New York, Oklahoma, Florida, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands. Every listing has the ages it suits, what it costs, how long to budget, parking notes, and what to pack.

Showing 83 of 464 adventures — pick a state above for the full list

Bend, TX

Colorado Bend State Park

70-foot Gorman Falls waterfall with spring-fed swimming holes. Paid entry. Best from about age 4. Easily a full day. Dogs welcome.

  • Hiking
  • Ages 4+
  • ~5h
  • Paid

Fredericksburg, TX

Enchanted Rock State Natural Area

Iconic granite dome summit scramble with 360-degree Hill Country views. Paid entry. Best from about age 4. A half-day trip.

  • Hiking
  • Ages 4+
  • ~3h
  • Paid

Houston, TX

Space Center Houston

NASA's Houston visitor center - tram tours across the Johnson campus, a walk-through shuttle, moon rocks and Apollo capsules.

  • Science
  • Ages 3+
  • ~5h
  • Paid

Needville, TX

Brazos Bend State Park

Wild alligator viewing from boardwalks and stargazing at the observatory. Paid entry. Best from about age 3. A half-day trip.

  • Nature
  • Ages 3+
  • ~3h
  • Paid

Arlington, TX

River Legacy Parks

1,300-acre park with paved trails and mountain biking along the Trinity River. Free. Works from toddler age. A half-day trip.

  • Hiking
  • Ages 2+
  • ~3h
  • Free

Austin, TX

Emma Long Metropolitan Park

Sandy Lake Austin swimming beach and lakeside camping inside Austin city limits - entry $5-$10 per vehicle, campsites reservable online

  • Swimming
  • Ages 3+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

Boerne, TX

Enchanted Springs Ranch

Old West ranch with pony rides and rescued exotic animals. Paid entry. Works from toddler age. About two hours. Stroller-friendly.

  • Nature
  • Ages 2+
  • ~2h
  • Paid

Houston, TX

The Health Museum

Houston museum of the human body with a walk-through giant heart, a climb-in brain and a simulated operating room kids can try out.

  • Science
  • Ages 4+
  • ~2h
  • Paid

Johnson City, TX

Pedernales Falls State Park Camping

Shaded campsites and walk-in tent sites under some of the darkest night skies within an hour of Austin, beside the Pedernales River

  • Camping
  • Ages 3+
  • Overnight
  • Paid

McKinney, TX

Erwin Park

10 miles of DORBA-maintained mountain bike trails in McKinney TX with a beginner skills course, playground, and free primitive camping

  • Mountain Biking
  • Ages 4+
  • ~3h
  • Free

Waco, TX

Cameron Park

Dramatic blufftop trails and hidden grottos above the Brazos River. Free. Best from about age 4. About two hours. Dogs welcome.

  • Hiking
  • Ages 4+
  • ~2h
  • Free

Haleiwa, HI

Waimea Valley

Paved botanical garden walk to a swimmable 45-foot waterfall. Paid entry. Works from toddler age. A half-day trip. Stroller-friendly.

  • Hiking
  • Ages 2+
  • ~3h
  • Paid

Hana, HI

Road to Hana Bamboo Forest (Pipiwai Trail)

Magical bamboo forest hike to a 400-foot waterfall at the end of the Road to Hana. Paid entry. Best from about age 5. A half-day trip.

  • Hiking
  • Ages 5+
  • ~3h
  • Paid

Kapaa, HI

Wailua River Kayaking

Kayak Hawaii's only navigable river, then hike to a 120-foot hidden waterfall you can swim under. Paid, ages 5+. No kayaking on Sundays.

  • Kayaking
  • Ages 5+
  • ~5h
  • Paid

Koloa, HI

Poipu Beach Park

America's Best Beach with a protected keiki pool, monk seals, and sunny south shore weather. Free. Works from toddler age.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 1+
  • ~4h
  • Free

Haiku, HI

Maui Zipline

Family zipline course through tropical scenery with lines for kids as young as 5. Paid entry. Best from about age 5. About two hours.

  • Aerial Adventure
  • Ages 5+
  • ~2h
  • Paid

Hana, HI

Kipahulu Campground

Oceanfront bluff-top camping at the end of the Road to Hana, a short walk from the Pipiwai Trail and the Oheo Gulch pools

  • Camping
  • Ages 4+
  • Overnight
  • Paid

Honolulu, HI

Maitai Catamaran

A 44-foot catamaran sailing the water off Waikiki with Diamond Head astern. Midday Tradewind sails are the family slot. Paid.

  • Sailing
  • Ages 2+
  • ~2h
  • Paid

Honolulu, HI

USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park

Walk end to end inside a real WWII submarine at Pearl Harbor, past stacked bunks, torpedo rooms and a cramped control room.

  • Museum
  • Ages 5+
  • ~2h
  • Paid

Kaneohe, HI

Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden

Free 400-acre botanical garden with dramatic mountain backdrop and camping. Free. Works from toddler age. About two hours.

  • Nature
  • Ages 1+
  • ~2h
  • Free

Kilauea, HI

Anini Beach Park

Calm protected lagoon beach with the longest reef on Kauai, perfect for young kids. Free. Works from toddler age. A half-day trip.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 1+
  • ~3h
  • Free

Kula, HI

Polipoli Spring State Recreation Area

Cool mountain forest of redwoods and pines on Haleakala that feels like the Pacific Northwest. Free. Better for ages 6 and up.

  • Hiking
  • Ages 6+
  • ~3h
  • Free

Lahaina, HI

Ka'anapali Beach

World-class 3-mile beach with snorkeling at Black Rock and nightly cliff diving. Free. Works from toddler age. A half-day trip.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 2+
  • ~4h
  • Free

Beacon, NY

Beacon Sloop Club

Free evening sails on the Hudson aboard Pete Seeger's volunteer-crewed sloop Woody Guthrie. No charge, ever. Reserve by phone.

  • Sailing
  • Ages 5+
  • ~2h
  • Free

Castile, NY

Letchworth State Park

Grand Canyon of the East with three major waterfalls and a 600-foot gorge. Paid entry. Works from toddler age. A half-day trip.

  • Hiking
  • Ages 2+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

Lake Placid, NY

Mount Jo Trail

Short family hike with a spectacular High Peaks panorama above Heart Lake. Paid entry. Best from about age 4. About two hours.

  • Hiking
  • Ages 4+
  • ~2h
  • Paid

Tupper Lake, NY

The Wild Center

Natural history museum with a treetop Wild Walk and live animal exhibits. Paid entry. Works from toddler age. A half-day trip.

  • Nature
  • Ages 2+
  • ~3h
  • Paid

Cold Spring, NY

Clarence Fahnestock State Park

Hudson Highlands park with lake swimming, Appalachian Trail, and camping. Paid entry. Best from about age 3. A half-day trip.

  • Hiking
  • Ages 3+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

Eagle Bay, NY

Moss Lake Trail

Easy loop trail around a pristine Adirondack lake perfect for young hikers. Free. Best from about age 3. About two hours.

  • Hiking
  • Ages 3+
  • ~2h
  • Free

Gansevoort, NY

Moreau Lake State Park

Sandy lake beach, campground, and ridge trails near Saratoga Springs. Paid entry. Works from toddler age. A half-day trip.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 2+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

Garden City, NY

Cradle of Aviation Museum

Long Island aviation and space museum with seventy-plus aircraft, a real Apollo Lunar Module, flight simulators and a dome theater.

  • Museum
  • Ages 3+
  • ~3h
  • Paid

Indian Lake, NY

Snowy Mountain Trail

Challenging hike to the tallest peak in the southern Adirondacks with fire tower summit. Free. Better for ages 8 and up.

  • Hiking
  • Ages 8+
  • ~6h
  • Free

Ithaca, NY

Museum of the Earth

Ithaca fossil museum walking kids forward through geologic time past a hanging whale skeleton and a mastodon found in the Finger Lakes.

  • Museum
  • Ages 3+
  • ~2h
  • Paid

Middleburgh, NY

Vroman's Nose

Short hike to a cliff-top meadow with sweeping Schoharie Valley views. Free. Best from about age 5. About two hours. Dogs welcome.

  • Hiking
  • Ages 5+
  • ~2h
  • Free

Panama, NY

Panama Rocks Scenic Park

Ancient rock formations with caves, crevices, and passageways kids can explore. Paid entry. Best from about age 4. About two hours.

  • Hiking
  • Ages 4+
  • ~2h
  • Paid

Broken Bow, OK

Beavers Bend State Park

Oklahoma's premier family state park with trails and river access in the Ouachita Mountains. Paid entry. Works from toddler age.

  • Hiking
  • Ages 2+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

Broken Bow, OK

Broken Bow Lake

Crystal-clear 14,000-acre mountain lake with calm swimming coves and 180 miles of shoreline. Free. Works from toddler age.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 2+
  • ~3h
  • Free

Wilburton, OK

Robbers Cave State Park Camping and Cabins

Classic Oklahoma state park with campgrounds, cabins and a real outlaw cave in the sandstone bluffs of the San Bois Mountains

  • Camping
  • Ages 2+
  • Overnight
  • Paid

Broken Bow, OK

Cedar Bluff Nature Trail

Easy 0.8-mile river-view loop across from Dogwood Campground in Beavers Bend State Park - one of Broken Bow's best quick family hikes

  • Hiking
  • Ages 3+
  • ~0.5h
  • Free

Broken Bow, OK

Outlaw's Guided Adventures

Guided off-road UTV trail rides through 75+ miles of Ouachita Mountain trails. Paid entry. Best from about age 3. A half-day trip.

  • Nature
  • Ages 3+
  • ~3h
  • Paid

Broken Bow, OK

Riverman Trail Rides

Guided horseback riding through the Ouachita Mountains overlooking the Glover River. Paid entry. Best from about age 3. About an hour.

  • Nature
  • Ages 3+
  • ~1h
  • Paid

Broken Bow, OK

Rugaru Adventures

Top-rated six-line forest canopy zipline tour in the Ouachita Mountains. Paid entry. Better for ages 7 and up. About two hours.

  • Aerial Adventure
  • Ages 7+
  • ~2h
  • Paid

Broken Bow, OK

The Maze of Hochatown

Giant 29,000 sq ft wooden maze in Hochatown near Broken Bow - tickets sold at the gate, with checkpoint towers and stamp collecting kids love

  • Nature
  • Ages 3+
  • ~1h
  • Paid

Clayton, OK

Clayton Lake State Park Camping

Small quiet state park in the Kiamichi Mountains with lakeside campsites, a few cabins and some of the darkest skies in Oklahoma

  • Camping
  • Ages 2+
  • Overnight
  • Paid

Fort Towson, OK

Raymond Gary State Park Camping

Small shaded lakeside campground and swimming area east of Hugo, and a workable overflow option when Beavers Bend is booked solid

  • Camping
  • Ages 2+
  • Overnight
  • Paid

Valliant, OK

Pine Creek Lake Camping

Basic Army Corps campgrounds on a quiet reservoir west of Broken Bow, for families who want an empty boat ramp over restaurants

  • Camping
  • Ages 3+
  • Overnight
  • Paid

Crystal River, FL

Three Sisters Springs

The only place in the US where you can legally snorkel alongside wild manatees, plus a boardwalk view for families staying dry.

  • Snorkeling
  • Ages 6+
  • ~3h
  • Paid

Key Largo, FL

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

The first undersea park in the US. Snorkel boats run out to living coral reef, and two calm beaches work for kids not ready for the boat.

  • Snorkeling
  • Ages 5+
  • ~5h
  • Paid

Key West, FL

Dry Tortugas National Park

Seventy miles out from Key West: a vast brick fort on an empty island, ringed by the clearest snorkelling water in Florida.

  • Snorkeling
  • Ages 6+
  • ~12h
  • Paid

Stuart, FL

Bathtub Reef Beach

A worm-rock reef sits just offshore and turns the water inside into a warm, calm, waist-deep pool full of fish at low tide.

  • Snorkeling
  • Ages 3+
  • ~3h
  • Free

Apopka, FL

Kelly Park Rock Springs

A natural lazy river near Orlando: the spring run carries you gently for about twenty minutes, then you walk back up and do it all over again.

  • Tubing
  • Ages 3+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

Boca Raton, FL

Red Reef Park

Snorkel a shallow boulder reef twenty yards off the sand in water rarely more than six feet deep, with angelfish, parrotfish and green turtles.

  • Snorkeling
  • Ages 5+
  • ~3h
  • Paid

Chiefland, FL

Manatee Springs State Park

A first-magnitude spring running into the Suwannee River, with winter manatees, a boardwalk through cypress swamp and easy swimming.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 3+
  • ~3h
  • Paid

Dunnellon, FL

Rainbow Springs State Park

Swim in a wide, shallow first-magnitude spring with a sandy entry, waterfalls and a paddling run - one of Florida's easiest springs with toddlers.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 2+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

Fernandina Beach, FL

Fort Clinch State Park

A remarkably intact brick fort with costumed reenactors, plus shark tooth hunting on the beach and camping under live oaks.

  • Nature
  • Ages 4+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

Marathon, FL

Sombrero Beach

A free, shaded, sandy municipal beach in the middle Keys with calm shallow water, a playground and real palm-tree shade.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 1+
  • ~3h
  • Free

Riviera Beach, FL

Peanut Island Park

An island reached only by water taxi, with a rock-protected snorkel lagoon shallow enough to stand in and a campground on the far side.

  • Snorkeling
  • Ages 4+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

Silver Springs, FL

Juniper Springs Recreation Area

A seven-mile canoe run through narrow jungle-like creek in Ocala National Forest, plus a 1930s stone millhouse and a CCC-built spring pool.

  • Kayaking
  • Ages 8+
  • ~5h
  • Paid

Rio Grande, PR

El Yunque National Forest

The only tropical rainforest in the US National Forest system, with roadside waterfalls and a canopy tower a short walk from the car.

  • Hiking
  • Ages 4+
  • ~5h
  • Free

San Juan, PR

Castillo San Felipe del Morro

A six-level Spanish fortress on the headland, with tunnels, sentry boxes and the best kite-flying lawn in the Caribbean.

  • Nature
  • Ages 4+
  • ~3h
  • Paid

Vieques, PR

Mosquito Bay

The brightest recorded bioluminescent bay in the world - on a dark night, fish leave visible glowing trails under the kayak.

  • Kayaking
  • Ages 6+
  • ~3h
  • Paid

Arecibo, PR

Parque Nacional Cueva Ventana

Walk through a bat cave on a guided tour to a window-shaped opening in a cliff, framing a green view over the Rio Grande de Arecibo valley.

  • Hiking
  • Ages 6+
  • ~2h
  • Paid

Culebra, PR

Tamarindo Beach

Swim out a short way from a quiet Culebra shore and you are over turtle grass where green sea turtles graze most mornings. No facilities at all.

  • Snorkeling
  • Ages 5+
  • ~3h
  • Free

Fajardo, PR

Laguna Grande Bioluminescent Bay

Paddle a mangrove channel after dark into a Fajardo lagoon where every stroke of the blade lights up blue-green with living microorganisms.

  • Kayaking
  • Ages 6+
  • ~3h
  • Paid

Guanica, PR

Gilligan's Island (Cayo Aurora)

A tiny mangrove cay a short ferry hop off Guanica, where shallow turquoise channels between the roots work like natural swimming pools for kids.

  • Snorkeling
  • Ages 4+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

Isabela, PR

Playa Jobos

A limestone-framed bay on the north-west coast with a reliable surf break at one end and sheltered tide pools for children at the other.

  • Surfing
  • Ages 6+
  • ~3h
  • Free

Loiza, PR

Pinones

A coastal boardwalk and bike path through mangrove and palm, lined with kiosks frying the best street food on the island.

  • Biking
  • Ages 4+
  • ~4h
  • Free

San Juan, PR

Balneario El Escambron

A reef-protected cove minutes from Old San Juan with genuinely good snorkelling, lifeguards, showers and calm shallow water for young children.

  • Snorkeling
  • Ages 4+
  • ~3h
  • Paid

San Juan, PR

Castillo San Cristobal

The largest Spanish fort built in the Americas, with a tunnel system, a dungeon and centuries-old ship drawings scratched into the walls.

  • Nature
  • Ages 5+
  • ~2h
  • Paid

Vieques, PR

Sun Bay (Balneario Sun Bay)

A mile-long public crescent of calm turquoise water with picnic shelters, wild horses on the grass, and almost nobody on it.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 1+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

Christiansted, VI

Buck Island Reef National Monument

A marked underwater trail through an elkhorn coral barrier reef, on an uninhabited island reached only by licensed boat.

  • Snorkeling
  • Ages 6+
  • ~6h
  • Paid

St. John, VI

Trunk Bay

An underwater snorkel trail with signs mounted on the seabed, in shallow calm water inside Virgin Islands National Park.

  • Snorkeling
  • Ages 4+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

Christiansted, VI

Christiansted National Historic Site

A yellow Danish fort on the harbour front, with dungeons, ramparts and cannon, in a walkable eighteenth-century colonial town.

  • Nature
  • Ages 5+
  • ~2h
  • Paid

Christiansted, VI

Salt River Bay Bioluminescent Bay

Night kayaking in a glowing bay at the only documented place where a Columbus landing party came ashore on what is now United States soil.

  • Kayaking
  • Ages 6+
  • ~3h
  • Paid

Frederiksted, VI

Frederiksted Pier

Pier pilings encrusted with orange and purple sponge hold seahorses, frogfish and octopus in shallow, sheltered, unusually clear water.

  • Snorkeling
  • Ages 7+
  • ~3h
  • Free

St. John, VI

Annaberg Sugar Plantation

The best preserved sugar mill ruins in the Virgin Islands, on a hillside with a windmill tower and a view to the British islands.

  • Nature
  • Ages 5+
  • ~2h
  • Paid

St. John, VI

Hawksnest Bay

The closest good reef to Cruz Bay: elkhorn coral heads sit a short swim from the sand, with parking directly beside the beach.

  • Snorkeling
  • Ages 4+
  • ~3h
  • Free

St. John, VI

Maho Bay Beach

Green sea turtles graze the seagrass a few yards off the sand, in water so shallow and calm you can watch them standing up.

  • Snorkeling
  • Ages 3+
  • ~3h
  • Free

St. Thomas, VI

Coki Beach

The best shore snorkelling on St. Thomas - dense reef fish right off the sand, in shallow, protected, usually calm water.

  • Snorkeling
  • Ages 4+
  • ~3h
  • Free

St. Thomas, VI

Coral World Ocean Park

An undersea observatory tower sunk into a living reef so you look out at wild fish, plus turtle and shark pools and sea lion encounters.

  • Aquarium
  • Ages 2+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

St. Thomas, VI

Sapphire Beach

Reef within easy swimming range at both ends, a long shallow sandy middle for small children, and a straight view across to St. John from the sand.

  • Snorkeling
  • Ages 4+
  • ~3h
  • Free