Where to go with kids when it's hot around Boston
July and August in Boston are hot and humid, and 90°F weekends are not rare. There are three options: get in the water, find a spray deck, or find shade. This list has all three, and most of it is free.
Freshwater beaches come first: Houghton's Pond in Milton is shallow, lifeguarded and shaded, and Walden Pond in Concord is the clearest water around but fills early. Spray decks are free and effortless: the Frog Pond spray pool on Boston Common, Danehy in Cambridge, Beaver Brook in Belmont, and the Rings Fountain on the Greenway. For a walk, head under the big trees at the Arnold Arboretum or Cold Spring Park, and the sea breeze at Castle Island, Crane Beach and Singing Beach runs ten degrees cooler than downtown. When it's truly too hot, the aquarium and the Children's Museum have air conditioning waiting.
- 55 places
- 34 free
- 48 stroller-friendly
- closest is 5 min away
55 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
Ride the Green Line D into the city
5.0Newton · 5 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
$ · Parking: MBTA pay lot by Newton Centre station, or the big lot at Riverside (cheaper on weekends)
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
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
Elm Bank gardens and Weezie's Garden for Children (Mass Hort)
5.0Wellesley · 15 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
$ · Parking: Free lot inside the grounds; admission about $12 adults, kids cheap or free, check the website
Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary (Mass Audubon)
5.0Natick · 20 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
$ · Parking: Free sanctuary lot; admission about $8 adults, about $6 kids, free for Mass Audubon members
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)
Public Garden Swan Boats
5.0Boston · 20 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 · 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)
Boston Nature Center
5.0Boston · 25 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot at the Walk Hill St entrance
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
Rose Kennedy Greenway carousel and fountains
5.0Boston · 25 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 · 25 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 · 25 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly · reservation needed
$$$ · Parking: Blue Line to Aquarium puts you right there; by car use the Harbor Garage (aquarium discount, still about $20+)
Boston Children's Museum
5.0Boston · 25 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly · reservation needed
$$ · Parking: Red Line to South Station and a 10-minute walk; by car use the Farnsworth St garage (museum discount)
Discovery Museum
5.0Acton · 35 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Parking: Free museum lot
Davis Farmland
5.0Sterling · 55 min drive
4 h · stroller-friendly
$$$ · Parking: Free farm lot
New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill
5.0Boylston · 55 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Parking: Free lot inside the garden; admission about $20 adults, about $8 kids, check the website
Lake Waban Loop (Wellesley College)
4.0Wellesley · 15 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Wellesley College visitor lots, free on weekends (check the college website); street parking in Wellesley Square also works
Mount Auburn Cemetery and Washington Tower
4.0Cambridge · 15 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free beside the main gate on Mount Auburn St; you can also park along the roads inside
Harvard Museum of Natural History
4.0Cambridge · 15 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
$ · Parking: Street parking on Oxford St or the Harvard campus visitor garage (weekend discount); or Red Line to Harvard and a 10-minute walk
Minute Man National Historical Park: Battle Road Trail
4.0Lincoln · 20 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot at the Minute Man Visitor Center (Route 2A); Hartwell Tavern has a small lot too
Museum of Science
4.0Boston · 20 min drive
4 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Parking: Garage under the museum (about $25+); or Green Line to Science Park/West End, right at the door
Walden Pond
4.0Concord · 25 min drive
2.5 h · carrier recommended
$ · Parking: State park lot with a fee (about $8 for MA plates, more for out of state); often full and closed on summer weekends and may require advance reservation, check the DCR website
Wollaston Beach
4.0Quincy · 25 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free spaces along Quincy Shore Dr plus several free lots
Ferry to Spectacle Island (Boston Harbor Islands)
4.0Boston · 25 min drive
5 h · stroller-friendly · reservation needed
$$ · Parking: Board at Long Wharf (by the Blue Line Aquarium station); round-trip ferry about $25 adults, about $17 ages 3–11, free under 3, check the website
Garden in the Woods (Native Plant Trust)
4.0Framingham · 25 min drive
1.5 h · carrier recommended
$ · Parking: Free lot inside the garden; admission about $15 adults, about $7 kids, check the website
USS Constitution Museum
4.0Boston · 25 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Pay lot inside the Navy Yard (about $15 on weekends); better to take the MBTA F4 ferry from Long Wharf or the Orange Line to North Station and walk 15 minutes
Middlesex Fells: Sheepfold meadow and Spot Pond
4.0Stoneham · 30 min drive
2 h · carrier recommended
Free · Parking: Free Sheepfold lot (by I-93 exit 33), easy on weekend mornings
Revere Beach
4.0Revere · 35 min drive
2.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Blue Line to Revere Beach or Wonderland puts you on the sand; by car use the metered spaces along Revere Beach Blvd or the Wonderland garage
Nantasket Beach and the Paragon Carousel
4.0Hull · 45 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: DCR lot with a fee (about $10–15/day in summer), plus metered street parking
Singing Beach
4.0Manchester-by-the-Sea · 55 min drive
3 h · carrier recommended
$ · Parking: No non-resident parking in summer: the standard approach is the Commuter Rail Rockport line to Manchester and a 10-minute walk; non-resident summer entry fee about $7 (check the website)
Crane Beach (Trustees)
4.0Ipswich · 60 min drive
4 h · carrier recommended
$ · Parking: Fee per car, about $30–45 for non-members on summer weekends, cheaper and guaranteed before 9am; discounts for Trustees members
Hemlock Gorge and Echo Bridge
3.0Newton · 10 min drive
1 h · carrier recommended
Free · Parking: Small lot at the Ellis St end of the bridge (about 10 spaces); street parking on Chestnut St when full
Boston Duck Tours
3.0Boston · 20 min drive
1.5 h · carrier recommended · reservation needed
$$$ · Parking: Departs from the Prudential Center (Green Line Prudential / Copley), with departure points at the Museum of Science and New England Aquarium too; garage parking is expensive
LEGOLAND Discovery Center Boston
3.0Somerville · 25 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly · reservation needed
$$$ · Parking: Assembly Row garage, first 1–2 hours free (check current rules); or Orange Line to Assembly and a 5-minute walk
MIT Museum
2.0Cambridge · 15 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Parking: Red Line to Kendall/MIT puts you right there; by car use the garages around Kendall (cheaper on weekends)
💡 Good to know
- Pond and beach lots fill by 11am on hot summer weekends; arrive before 10. Walden Pond simply closes when the lot is full.
- Spray decks generally run from mid-June to early September; bring swimsuits, towels and sunscreen. From mid-July to early August, check the greenhead fly report before Crane Beach.