Free things to do with kids around Boston
A good weekend doesn't have to cost $30 per kid. Everything here is free to enter (a few state parks charge for parking, noted separately), and several are among the highest-rated places on the whole site.
Top picks: the Arnold Arboretum and the duckling statues in the Public Garden; planes at Castle Island and the Battle Road trail at Minute Man National Historical Park; two free farms, Wright-Locke in Winchester and Gore Place in Waltham; the boardwalks at the Boston Nature Center; and the USS Constitution, free to board, with a donation-based museum beside it. For a swim, Houghton's Pond and Wollaston Beach. And the libraries, of course: the children's areas in Newton, Cambridge and Lexington are all excellent, and they lend museum passes too.
- 41 places
- 41 free
- 38 stroller-friendly
- closest is 5 min away
41 places
Drive times from Newton
Cold Spring Park woodland trail
5.0Newton · 5 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot at the Beacon St entrance, busier during the summer Tuesday farmers market
Newton Centre Playground
5.0Newton · 5 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free street parking on Tyler Terrace, or park in the Newton Centre business district and walk over
Newton Free Library children's department
5.0Newton · 5 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot in front of the library, busier on Saturday mornings
Larz Anderson Park
5.0Brookline · 10 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lots inside the park (entrances on Newton St and Goddard Ave)
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 · 15 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lots on Fresh Pond Pkwy and at Kingsley Park; easy on weekend mornings
Jamaica Pond Loop
5.0Boston · 15 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free street parking along Perkins St and the Jamaicaway, fine on weekend mornings
Beaver Brook Reservation falls, duck pond and spray deck
5.0Belmont · 15 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lots at the Mill St and Trapelo Rd entrances
Danehy Park playground and spray area
5.0Cambridge · 15 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lots at the Sherman St and New St entrances
Cambridge Common nature playground (Alexander W. Kemp Playground)
5.0Cambridge · 15 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 · 15 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
Wellesley Free Library children's room
5.0Wellesley · 15 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot in front of the library, easy on weekends
Arnold Arboretum
5.0Boston · 15 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free street parking along the Arborway and Bussey St; or Orange Line to Forest Hills and a 5-minute walk
Lexington Center playground (Center Recreation Complex)
5.0Lexington · 20 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot off Worthen Rd
Charles River Esplanade and Charlesbank Playground
5.0Boston · 20 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 · 20 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)
Cary Memorial Library children's room
5.0Lexington · 20 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lots behind the library and in Lexington Center (time-limited)
Boston Public Library Central Library children's library (Copley)
5.0Boston · 20 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)
Boston Public Garden and the Make Way for Ducklings statues
5.0Boston · 20 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)
Horn Pond Loop
5.0Woburn · 25 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lots on Lake Ave and Arlington Rd
Boston Nature Center
5.0Boston · 25 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot at the Walk Hill St entrance
Wright-Locke Farm
5.0Winchester · 25 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free farm lot (Ridge St)
Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park
5.0Boston · 25 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)
Martin's Park accessible playground (Seaport)
5.0Boston · 25 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Red Line to South Station and a 10-minute walk; by car use the Farnsworth St garage by the Children's Museum or the Stillings St garage
Thomas Crane Public Library children's room
5.0Quincy · 25 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot beside the library; or Red Line to Quincy Center and a 5-minute walk
Castle Island and Pleasure Bay loop
5.0Boston · 25 min drive
2.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Large free lot at the end of William J. Day Blvd, fills by midday on summer weekends
Houghton's Pond beach (Blue Hills)
5.0Milton · 25 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot on Hillside St, arrive before 11am on summer weekends
Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (Concord)
5.0Concord · 30 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot at the end of Monsen Rd
Lake Waban Loop (Wellesley College)
4.0Wellesley · 15 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Wellesley College visitor lots, free on weekends (check the college website); street parking in Wellesley Square also works
Mount Auburn Cemetery and Washington Tower
4.0Cambridge · 15 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free beside the main gate on Mount Auburn St; you can also park along the roads inside
Gore Place farm and grounds
4.0Waltham · 15 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free estate lot
Minute Man National Historical Park: Battle Road Trail
4.0Lincoln · 20 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot at the Minute Man Visitor Center (Route 2A); Hartwell Tavern has a small lot too
Wollaston Beach
4.0Quincy · 25 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free spaces along Quincy Shore Dr plus several free lots
USS Constitution Museum
4.0Boston · 25 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Pay lot inside the Navy Yard (about $15 on weekends); better to take the MBTA F4 ferry from Long Wharf or the Orange Line to North Station and walk 15 minutes
Middlesex Fells: Sheepfold meadow and Spot Pond
4.0Stoneham · 30 min drive
2 h · carrier recommended
Free · Parking: Free Sheepfold lot (by I-93 exit 33), easy on weekend mornings
Revere Beach
4.0Revere · 35 min drive
2.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Blue Line to Revere Beach or Wonderland puts you on the sand; by car use the metered spaces along Revere Beach Blvd or the Wonderland garage
Nantasket Beach and the Paragon Carousel
4.0Hull · 45 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: DCR lot with a fee (about $10–15/day in summer), plus metered street parking
Lowell National Historical Park: free trolley and canal boats
4.0Lowell · 45 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Lot beside the visitor center (246 Market St), downtown garages cheaper on weekends; check the website
Hemlock Gorge and Echo Bridge
3.0Newton · 10 min drive
1 h · carrier recommended
Free · Parking: Small lot at the Ellis St end of the bridge (about 10 spaces); street parking on Chestnut St when full
Ward Reservation: Holt Hill and the bog boardwalk
3.0Andover · 40 min drive
2 h · carrier recommended
Free · Parking: Free lot at the Prospect Rd entrance
💡 Good to know
- A Newton, Brookline or Cambridge library card gets you free or discounted museum passes; ask about your library's museum pass program and book the popular ones weeks ahead.
- Free places get busy early on weekends; for Castle Island and Houghton's Pond, plan parking and arrive before 10. Massachusetts residents get into the Harvard Museum of Natural History free on Sundays from 9 to noon.