KICKS FOR KIDS

Boston-By-Little-Feet
Congress Street
617-367-2345
Price: $6.00 for 60 minutes of fun!
Times: Saturdays and Mondays at 10 a.m.
Sunday at 2 p.m

This summer adventure offers families with children ages 6 to 12 a fun walking experience and introduction to Boston’s history and architecture. Families begin at the statue of Samuel Adams, located at the front end of Faneuil Hall for a one hour guided tour, which includes the major section of the Freedom Trail. The program provides an interesting Explorer’s Map with footprints directing the children to each location. Program offered rain or shine. Keep in mind, an adult must accompany their child.

Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park

A short walk from the North End along Boston’s waterfront is this large green which includes a delightful playground. There is plenty of climbing activities to challenge your child, including the crow’s nest. But stay clear of this challenge with a young toddler who will not be able to make it back down. The park is also the perfect spot for a family picnic, and not far from Fanueil Hall where you can pick up sandwiches to go. The area also boasts a beautiful rose garden, a dedication to Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy who was born nearby.

Franklin Park Zoo
One Franklin Park Road, Boston
617-442-2002
Hours: Daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Admission: Adults $ 6, children $3, seniors $5 , under four are free

Not far from Boston, families can take part in the excitement this seventy-two acre zoo. A highlight of the Franklin Park Zoo is its three-acre African Tropical Rainforest. Here, children will experience the humidity and sudden rainstorms of a real tropical rainforest. There are plenty of hippopotamuses, gorillas, crocodiles, and exotic birds to see in this tropical sanctuary.

Young children will especially love the hands on experience of the zoo’s New England petting barn. Other exhibits include an aviary and a bird pond. Special events occur throughout the year including a family favorite, the annual Zoo Bash when Sesame Street characters come to visit and perform songs and shows. Call the zoo for details on this and other events, as well as, directions and parking.

Blue Hills State Reservation and Trailside Museum
Rte 138, Milton
Reservation: 617-698-1802
Museum: 617-333-0690
Reservation Hours: Dawn to dusk
Museum Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 10a.m. – 5 p.m.
Rates: Adults, $3; seniors, $2, children 3-15 $1.50, children 2 and under free

Only ten miles south of Boston, you can take in the beauty of this 7,000-acre reservation with its enormous granite monad nocks climbing more than 635 feet. Families can take advantage of 150 miles of hiking, biking and riding paths. In winter months, the trails are ideal for cross-country skiing.

Kids will enjoy hiking up the trails that lead to the Great Blue Hill Overlook. Be sure to pack a camera and take advantage of its panoramic view. For those with young children stick to the flatter terrain trails. The reservation’s two ponds, the Houghton Pond for great swimming, and the Ponkapoag Pond for fishing, are both part of this unique land just a short distance from the skyscrapers of Boston.

Children will also enjoy learning the natural history of these hills at The Trailside Museum, run by the Massachusetts Audubon Society. Among the exhibits are native animals to the area and a Native American wigwam, and a hands on crawl-through log.

 

Larz Anderson Park and Museum of Transportation
15 Newton Street, Brookline
617-522-6547
Park open year round
Museum: Tues-Sunday 10-5
Adults: $5, seniors $3, children: 5 to 16 years, $3, under five are free

Just 15 minutes west of Boston is the sixty-acre Larz Anderson Park offering a vast lawn, rolling hills for children to stretch out on, practice their somersaulting, or their skill at kite flying. Make sure to visit the park’s Museum of Transportation, housed in the beautiful 1888 carriage house. Here children can climb on cars and motorcycles or try out riding an antique bicycle. Adults and older children will enjoy the restored antique carriages, rare automobiles, and trolleys on exhibit. Special exhibits take place throughout the year, including ‘Cars of the Stars’, ‘Wild in the Streets’ and ‘Touring in America,’ which illustrates the chronology of American transportation.

Pack a picnic to enjoy on the hill behind the Museum, considered to be best kite flying hill in the Boston area. At the bottom of the hill is wonderful playground and duck pond with an additional picnic area.