Weekend Trips

This summer we wrote about some great day and weekend trips near New York City. From the farms of Westchester to the parks of Long Island and even places you can visit without a car. You can find more family friendly day and weekend trip ideas in our archives under the weekend trips category.

Here are our top 5 day and weekend trips posts from 2009:

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One of the things that makes NYC the ultimate place to live with kids is you don't have to travel far for great family recreational activities. And, since we finally got some snow, skiing with the kids sounds pretty good right about now. But, where are the best places to go skiing with kids near NYC? Well, that all depends on what kind of skier you are and whether you want to ski with your kids, drop them off at ski school and hit the slopes yourself, or you want to do something else altogether. Here's a rundown of the best family ski centers near New York. Read more »

After some pretty bad years for skiing, they say it's going to snow a lot this year. If it's true I'll feel pretty lucky to get a good ski year when my daughter is in fourth grade. Why? Because fourth graders get to ski for free. New York, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Vermont all have free ski programs for fourth, and sometimes fifth, graders and you can apply to all of them.

Click on the links below for applications and more information, but the basic deal is that you apply for a ski free passport and you will receive a booklet of 3 passes per participating ski resort that allow your child to ski free when accompanied by a paying adult. The applications cost between $10 and $19, or in the case of New Hampshire, they require a little school project about NH skiing history. The passbooks also usually include one free lesson also. Read more »

Fall brings lots of things with it: cool mornings and chilly nights, great colors and foliage, plenty of Holidays, and, it's a great time of year for getting out of the city to enjoy the crisp Fall air. So we're giving you a couple more reasons to hop on the LIE for some Fall Festivals worth a day trip this Columbus Day Weekend.

For more fall day trip ideas and Long Island fun check out our New York Halloween Guide. Read more »

[UPDATED: 9/21/08]

Growing up in New York City, one of our family traditions was going apple picking in the Hudson Valley every Fall. It's a tradition I've enjoying continuing with my own kids because it's a great day out in the country, it's economical (considering the price of apples from FreshDirect), and it's even trendy (if you're into the locavore thing).

It's a great activity for Columbus Day Weekend, but there are also a bunch of free Apple Festivals right here in NYC if you don't feel like taking the kids traveling. Read more »

Jeremy's "baby pumpkin", originally uploaded by cassandracox.

Summer weather is hanging around, but I'm still anticipating the coming Fall weather and Halloween. Soon it will be time to hop in the Zipcar and head out of the city for some pumpkin picking and Fall Farm Festivals. Here’s a list of some of the best pumpkin picking and Fall farms on Long Island with soe special reasons that it will be worth a trip. Read more »

You don't need to burn a lot of dough or fossil fuels (meaning even more dough) to have a great Labor Day Weekend. We've got 10 fun family activities that you can enjoy for cheap or even free.

Labor Day Weekend for me is all about having one last hurrah for summer, so these activities all focus on getting outside, either with an easy day trip from New York or doing something in the city that makes you feel like you're not. This isn't like most of my free and cheap lists. Some of these activities cost a bit of cash, but I figure, if I'm staying in the city or skipping the hotel, it's worth it to pay a little bit to feel like I'm getting some vacationing in.

Here's 10 ideas that will take you away, without getting too carried away: Read more »

In my post about the farms you can visit in Westchester, I mentioned that it is easy to get to Philipsburg Manor and Stone Barn Farms without a car, using public transportation. I thought it would be cool to write about some of the other day tips you can take from NYC using public transportation. There's really no reason to be stuck in the city just because you're carless (or want to save your gas money on, say, the down payment on an apartment). There are plenty of fun family day trips that can be easily accessed using Metro-North trains or busses.

The MTA actually has an entire section of their website dedicated to what they so romantically dub MTA Getaways . You've probably seen this advertised in the subway, but I know I never really looked into it before. Many of the trips you could do any time, but the MTA has also worked with local tours and groups to create specific event packages.

Dutchess County Fair
For instance, this weekend you could take Metro North up to the Dutchess County Fair and buy a discounted ticket that includes your train ticket and admission to the fair. The package costs about $30 per adult (children get in free to the fair and are only $1.50 RT on the train). I figure this out at about a $7 discount. Keep in mind that once you take Metro North to Poughkeepsie you have to take a one hour connecting bus ride to the fair grounds for a total travel time of almost 3 hours, so I don't know if I would recommend this unless you did it as an overnighter.

But here are some other ones that are definitely worth a try: Read more »

Last week Shea filled us in on the farms of Long Island. I'm happy to report that I've gotten to visit a couple of them and it's been a blast. More details on that later. But, did you know that there are also farms in Westchester that you can visit with kids? Seriously, in under an hour of New York City, your kids could be gamboling with sheep, rounding up chickens, and milking cows.

The first one we hit was Muscoot Farm. It's the furthest away (about an hour) in Somers, NY in Northern Westchester. I was amazed at how rural that part of Westchester is. It really feels like the country and it's so close. Muscoot is actually a Westchester County park and is free to visit. They also have free or inexpensive programs, workshops and occasional festivals. There is also a farmers market on Sundays with vendors from area farms selling produce, honey, baked goods and wool. There are also hiking trails and picnic areas available to everyone.

There are workshops for preschoolers (aged 3-5) and older kids that let children really get into and learn about farm work and the nature on a farm. For instance, Read more »

For many, Long Island conjures up images of beaches, malls and traffic and not much else.  But, Long Island is filled with hidden gems that have nothing to do with shopping or the sea (unfortunately traffic is always possible). Once a farming community, you can still find a lot of family farms throughout the Island and these days many have added pick-your-own fields, petting zoos, gourmet fresh markets, garden centers and kid activities. Each farm maintains its personal flavor, here are a few that are really worth the drive.

If you are looking to sink your hands into the soil or spend a day gorging on fruit, head to one of Long Islands many pick-your-own farms Read more »