Trips within 2 hours of NYC for families with toddlers/little kids
June 12, 2017 11:43 AM

Our weekend camping trip is looking like it will be rained out. Do you have suggestions for five moms and seven kids between the ages of 2 and 5 within two hours of NYC? Can be a day trip or overnight or Friday through Sunday.

Open to anything - maybe hiking, amusement parks (Sesame Place?), museums, children museums, etc. I guess inside is good given the rain, but also willing to deal with a little rain during outside activities, just not cooking and sleeping in rain.

Have rented a car with a non-refundable deposit, so want to get out of the city - no staycation unless it's really unmissable and specific to the weekend of June 16 - 18.

Cheap is good - which means less than $300 per family - I think that means Great Wolf Lodge is out.

Thanks in advance!
posted by valeries to Travel & Transportation (6 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
I have no idea about costs, but:

Rocking Horse Ranch?
Rent a (ski) house at Hunter Mountain that would fit most or all of you and then hike around there?
posted by AugustWest at 11:54 AM on June 12, 2017


Fernwood Resort in the Poconos. I don't know about pricing though.
posted by Sassyfras at 11:57 AM on June 12, 2017


Sesame Place would be awesome for a group with kids that age. Everyone else there is little, too, so it's very family-friendly, and I would imagine they have the water park open for the summer.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 12:12 PM on June 12, 2017


New Haven has the Yale Peabody Museum (dinos are still popular with kids, right?). Also, the CT Children's Museum. Good hiking nearby at Sleeping Giant State Park. For parks, check out East Rock Park and Edgerton Park. If you get a patch of decent weather, there's Lighthouse Point Park for beach & bird watching & carousel or Silver Sands in Milford.
posted by carrioncomfort at 12:19 PM on June 12, 2017


You could look into the cabins at Croton Point Park. You wouldn't be sleeping or cooking in the rain, and if it doesn't rain the *whole* time, the kids could go buckwild outside.

The cabins range from 2 - 3 bedrooms apiece, so you'd need more than one. They have kitchens and bathrooms though. They're not exactly *nice* - they're camp cabins.

...which makes them supremely cheap. I think I got a 3 bedroom for 4 nights, for something like $250 for the whole time.
posted by functionequalsform at 4:09 PM on June 13, 2017


Thanks for all of your ideas! We ended up at Harriman in cabins - AMC Outdoor Center. They seem to be booked for most of the summer, but must have had a cancellation as there was a cabin that was perfect for us. It did rain some (okay, a lot), but we had a blast hiking, swimming, kayaking, and exploring / finding worms and spiders and mushrooms, etc. So much fun.

Thanks again!
posted by valeries at 8:36 AM on June 19, 2017


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