by Justine Deputy, RN, MSN
Photo Credit: Siné Stabosz Photography
Looking for things to do outside as the weather gets nicer?! Here are some local places to visit and activities recommended by Birth Center Mamas!
- Gardening! Kids often love to garden. If your little one is still a baby, they might be a little young, but even young toddlers can have fun with a shovel in the dirt! Don’t have space for a garden? There are a number of community gardens in our area.
- Zoos! Brandywine Zoo is a great local zoo that also has some children’s programming throughout the week! Plumpton Park Zoo in Rising Sun, MD is not too far and a great place for young kids. Approximately half the animals are rescues. Philadelphia Zoo is another option. Let toddlers walk until tired and then have a nap on the car ride home.
- State Parks! Delaware has a number of awesome state parks. Wear your baby in a carrier, bring the stroller to stroller-friendly trails, or let your toddler get some energy out walking on their own!
- Hike it Baby! Hike it Baby is a great organization that has branches all over. Hike it Baby Delaware is an active branch with 3-5 hikes a week. It is a great way to get outside and meet other young families. Read a blog I wrote about Hike it Baby last year here. We love it!
- Delaware Nature Society! Delaware Nature Society has a number of locations. Coverdale Farm, Ashland Nature Center, and DuPont Environmental Education Center are locations in our area. Coverdale Farm has Farm Fun Days where kids can walk around, visit the animals, help with farm chores, and enjoy story time!
- Join a community pool! Have a community pool in your area? It can be a great place to spend time during the summer.
- Playgrounds! There are some awesome playgrounds in our area. I would say the two best are Glasgow Park and Can Do Playground. Both of these parks have different areas for kids of different areas and have options for older babies and toddlers. There are a number of others that are great too so make sure to check out ones local to you!
- Visit an Orchard! Linvilla Orchards and Millburn Orchards are both great. They have animals and play areas. Pick your own fruit is available at certain times of the year. There also have some special events.
- Carousel Park! Carousel Park has a number of fun things for kids. You can go for a walk, play on the nature-inspired playground, visit the farm animals, and stop by the ponds to see turtles and birds!
- Berry Picking at Berry Good Farm! This is a small farm with blackberries. They usually are open sometime in July to August. It is a fun activity for kids and you get delicious berries!
- Winterthur! This is a beautiful place to walk. Their Enchanted Woods is a children’s garden that inspires imagination and fun!
- Longwood Gardens! This is another beautiful place to walk. Longwood also has an indoor and outdoor children’s garden where kids can play!
- Woodside Farm Creamery! Get ice cream at the farm! Stop and say hi to the cows and grab some ice cream. They have a story time too.
- Mt. Cuba! A third beautiful garden in our area. You can go to story time; take a walk through the gardens; and stop by the pond to look for tadpoles, frogs, turtles, and fish. They also have events that have some fun kids activities!
- Delaware Forest Explorers! They are a group of families exploring nature in weekly year round, all weather, child-led meet-ups. This group was started and is organized by Birth Center Mamas!
- Beer Garden! Constitution Yards on the Riverfront and The Creamery in Kennett Square both have places for kids to play.
- Day trips! We live in a great area for day trips. Head to the beach, Philadelphia, Baltimore, or Washington DC for more adventures!