Things to do with kids in Cambridge
Cambridge is a city you can cover on the Red Line: the nature playground on Cambridge Common and the specimen-filled Harvard Museum of Natural History by Harvard Square, the MIT Museum at Kendall, and the Main Library between Central and Harvard with its glass wall onto the lawn. By car, the Fresh Pond loop and the Danehy spray deck are the local parents' backyard.
The sunny-day combination is sand and water on Cambridge Common, a walk through Harvard Yard, then dinosaurs at the natural history museum (free for Massachusetts residents on Sunday mornings); on a rainy day, the children's room at the Main Library or the Museum of Science. Summer means the Danehy spray deck, winter means sledding on the Danehy hill, and spring means birds and the tower at Mount Auburn Cemetery. LEGOLAND and Assembly Row in Somerville are 10 minutes away.
- 16 places
- 11 free
- 16 stroller-friendly
- closest is 5 min away
16 places
Drive times from Cambridge
Cambridge Common nature playground (Alexander W. Kemp Playground)
5.0Cambridge · 5 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Harvard Square parking is hard; take the Red Line to Harvard and walk 3 minutes, or use a Harvard Square garage
Cambridge Public Library main branch children's room
5.0Cambridge · 5 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Small garage under the library (time-limited, often full), street parking on Broadway; or Red Line to Harvard and a 10-minute walk
Harvard Museum of Natural History
4.0Cambridge · 5 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
$ · Parking: Street parking on Oxford St or the Harvard campus visitor garage (weekend discount); or Red Line to Harvard and a 10-minute walk
Cypress Street Playground
5.0Brookline · 10 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Street parking on Cypress St and Franklin St (watch Brookline's time-limit signs)
Brookline Public Library main branch children's room
5.0Brookline · 10 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot behind the library (2-hour limit), or street parking in Brookline Village
Fresh Pond Loop
5.0Cambridge · 10 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lots on Fresh Pond Pkwy and at Kingsley Park; easy on weekend mornings
Danehy Park playground and spray area
5.0Cambridge · 10 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lots at the Sherman St and New St entrances
Charles River Esplanade and Charlesbank Playground
5.0Boston · 10 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Easiest is the Red Line to Charles/MGH and a 3-minute walk; by car use the MGH garage (expensive) or the temporary Esplanade spaces under Storrow Dr
Boston Common: Tadpole Playground and Frog Pond
5.0Boston · 10 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Green Line to Park St puts you right there; by car use the Boston Common underground garage (from about $20)
Boston Public Library Central Library children's library (Copley)
5.0Boston · 10 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Green Line to Copley puts you right there; by car use the Prudential or Copley Place garages (expensive)
Public Garden Swan Boats
5.0Boston · 10 min drive
1 h · stroller-friendly
$ · Parking: Green Line to Arlington puts you right there; by car use the Boston Common underground garage
Boston Public Garden and the Make Way for Ducklings statues
5.0Boston · 10 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Green Line to Arlington puts you right there; by car use the Boston Common underground garage (from about $20)
Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park
5.0Boston · 10 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Blue Line to Aquarium and a 2-minute walk; by car use the Harbor Garage or Parcel 7 garage (discounted with a Haymarket purchase)
Rose Kennedy Greenway carousel and fountains
5.0Boston · 10 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
$ · Parking: Blue Line to Aquarium or Orange/Green Line to Haymarket and a 3-minute walk; by car use the Parcel 7 garage
Ferry to Charlestown and the USS Constitution
5.0Boston · 10 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly
$ · Parking: Board at Long Wharf (by the Blue Line Aquarium station); by car use the Harbor Garage or Parcel 7
New England Aquarium
5.0Boston · 10 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly · reservation needed
$$$ · Parking: Blue Line to Aquarium puts you right there; by car use the Harbor Garage (aquarium discount, still about $20+)
💡 Good to know
- Parking in Harvard Square and Kendall is hard and expensive; take the Red Line, or park free at Fresh Pond or Danehy and walk.
- Most Cambridge street parking is resident-only, so read the signs; meters are free on Sundays.