Place to Go to With Baby in Westchester

– Entertainment/Activity Centers –

Photo by Ken Gabrielsen

Rockin' Jump

With Westchester locations in Mount Kisco and Yonkers, Rockin' Leap trampoline park is the perfect place for your kids (and you, if so inclined) to work information technology out. Whether they choose jump on the trampolines, play dodge ball, tug of war, or calibration the climbing wall, your children volition leave tired and happy.

It's also a can't-go-wrong venue for parties and a slap-up place to spend a rainy mean solar day.

G Prix Racing & Amusement

A mega-entertainment center in Mount Kisco (next door to Rockin' Jump), One thousand Prix offers something for every age. Teens and grown-ups tin get their race on and striking the go-kart runway, and the young ones (and grown-ups) can play both new and old-school arcade games and accrue tickets to redeem for prizes. If bowling is your matter, Spins Bowl resides within the circuitous and features 12 family unit lanes.

Yous'll probable get hungry with all this entertainment, so have a time-out and grab a seize with teeth at Fuel, a eating place/bar within the complex that offers annihilation from tacos and pizza to burgers and hot dogs (the smoked gouda mac 'n' cheese is a palate pleaser).

Spins Hudson

At 40,000 square feet, Spins Hudson is the largest entertainment center on the Hudson. Located inside Factoria at Charles Point in Peekskill, Spins Hudson offers a host of spectacular adventure that only a venue of its size can, including its centerpiece — the sole indoor/outdoor aerial ropes grade in the Northeast.

But that'southward not all, folks: Spins Hudson boasts a ii-story light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation tag arena, stone climbing, shuffleboard, a redemption arcade with over 50 games, a brewery and eatery, and all with a magnificent view of the Hudson.

The Cliffs At Valhalla

Kids climbing up the walls? Take them to The Cliffs At Valhalla, where they can literally do just that. With thirteen,000 feet of climbing, 40-ft. walls to scale and tons of climbs for all ages and all levels of feel (including none whatever), your kid can climb to the moon and back.

Choose from three types of climbing: Bouldering, Toprope Climbing, and Lead Climbing, the latter two requiring an introductory class, which is offered onsite. The Cliffs offers altogether parties for 6-year-olds and up, youth programs and a winter break camp.

Sportime Usa

You lot will probable find whatever amuses you and your kids at Sportime United states of america, a mega indoor-amusement center in Elmsford. Features include an arcade, laser tag, bumper cars, billiard tables, indoor playground, rides, and something yous aren't going to find in other indoor amusement centers — batting cages.

While one could contend that Sportime USA is a bit dated and could use an upgrade, information technology even so delivers, and your children are sure to relish themselves.

– Parks/Nature Centers –

Wikimedia Commons/Daderot

Lasdon Park & Arboretum

Open vii days a calendar week year-round (except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New year's day's 24-hour interval), the 235-acre Lasdon Park has much to offering. If you have kids in the unmarried-digit age range, the biannual train shows — Halloween and Christmastime — are simply not to be missed.

During Halloween the chief house becomes a haunted ane and the set that the trains ride through is ghostly (remember cemeteries and witches), while the trains during the Holiday on the Loma Train Show cruise through a winter wonderland.

Some permanent features of Lasdon include the Arboretum, which consists of 30 acres of flora and animate being from all over the globe, stunning formal gardens, and drinking glass conservatory housing rare plants. A recent addition is the dinosaur trail, which is a charming path in the wood lined with, well, dinosaurs.

hiking

Photograph past Ken Gabrielsen

Ward Pound Ridge Reservation

Purchased past the canton in 1938, the 4,315-acre Ward Pound Ridge Reservation is the largest park in Westchester. The proper noun Pound Ridge originated from Native Americans who used to alive in the surface area, and "Ward" is the name of county leader William Lukens Ward, who held court at the turn of the 20th century.

Open up yr-round, the reservation offers seasonal activities including camping, fishing, skiing, and the family unit-favorite Annual Firefly Festival, held on a July evening, during which you and your kids can catch fireflies (nets supplied) and release them. Bring chairs or a blanket, a bottle of wine, and kick back and sentry the nighttime illumine.

Gedney Park

While on the smaller side with 126 acres, Gedney Park has pretty much everything a bigger park has, but on a manageable scale. The lake in the middle is full of fish and ducks (a turtle sighting is all but guaranteed) and line-fishing is permitted. There are several nature trails, fantastic slopes for winter sledding, and a recently renovated, pinnacle-notch playground.

Walk or wheel forth a beck to the far side of the park, where you volition find a soccer field, baseball diamond, picnic tables and grills. Oh, and dog-owners rejoice! In that location is an off-leash area where your pups can romp until their heart's delight, and during designated times your four-footed pals can become leash-gratuitous on hikes and swim in the lake.

Teatown Lake Reservation

With its mission to "inspire our customs to lifelong environmental stewardship," the one,000-acre nature reserve offers twelvemonth-round programs and events, 15 miles of hiking trails, and is home to the breathtaking Wildlower Island, a 2-acre sanctuary with over 250 species of wildflowers, copse and shrubs.

Teatown also hosts the spectacular Teatown Hudson River EagleFest at Croton Point Park in Croton-on-Hudson. The annual February festival celebrates the return of this royal bird to the Hudson Valley, with live birds-of-prey shows, educators with viewing scopes to observe wild eagles gliding over the Hudson, food trucks, and heated tents filled with 25+ environmental organizations offering information, products for sale, freebies, and kids' activities.

Photo by Stefan Radtke

Greenburgh Nature Centre

Who would call up that right off of Central Avenue in lower Westchester you could find 33 pristine acres of nature reserve? Well, you tin.

Greenburgh Nature Center is truly a jewel. Worthy of many return visits, the center has both indoor and outdoor attractions certain to please kids and grown-ups of any age. Roam the serene woodlands and hiking trails, play on the one-of-a-kind playground gear up in the heart of the forest, explore a replica Native American hamlet, hang with the butterflies in Butterfly Arbor (summertime just) and then head inside the Manor House and get upwards-close and personal with the center's impressive collection of exotic and native alive animals.

At that place are programs and events year-round, including guided walks through the center'south woodland wood and the self-explanatory "Feeding Fun."

Wolf Conservation Heart

A place like no other, the Wolf Conservation Center in Southward Salem guarantees an extraordinary and unique experience for visitors. The Center'due south mission is to brainwash people about wolves's relationship to the environment and how people tin can help to protect their future, and it offers yr-round programs and events for all ages.

When you visit the Center (pre-registration required; no drop-ins) you lot will learn a great bargain about wolves, with particular accent on the critically endangered species, and you will get to observe the center's three "ambassador wolves," Alawa, Zephyr, and Nikai. While you lot shouldn't look to trip the light fantastic toe with the wolves, you can sleep with them! The Center'southward "Sleeping with Wolves" program allows participants to camp overnight with more than twenty wolves in their ain habitat. Howl cool is that?

Muscoot Farm

A Westchester gem, Muscoot Farm truly delivers. Per its mission statement, Muscoot aims to "preserve and interpret, for the public benefit, the agricultural, cultural and natural heritage of a Westchester county farm, circa 1880 – 1930."

Many of the original buildings withal stand, and you lot can explore them all. In that location are seasonal activities, including a world-class farmers market from spring through the fall, craft fairs, bird-watching hikes and Christmas caroling, and the seven miles of trails provide hiking and nature walks yr-round.

And the animals! Sheep, goats, horses, cows, turkeys, pigs (really big ones), chickens, and if you are lucky, yous might encounter some babies (baby animals, that is). If you go in the summer, be sure to get some ice cream at the iconic King Kone, which is all of a mile or two upward Route 35, where it has stood for over 60 years.

– Shops –

Scattered Books

Books and bunnies! How can yous go wrong with this winning combination? This family-owned, independent bookstore in Chappaqua has a great selection of children's books for all reading levels, unique gifts and a decent, albeit small, pick of developed-reads. Bunnies!

Scattered also offers periodic author signings and themed birthday parties Oh, did I mention bunnies? Beautiful, fluffy bunnies? Resident rabbits Acorn and Oatmeal are sure to warm the hardest of hearts.

Little Joe's

Role java store, role newsstand, office gift shop, part water ice-cream parlor, by and large bookstore, Little Joe's, situated across the street from the Katonah railroad train station, is a popular spot for commuters and little readers akin.

Popular in and grab yourself a strong loving cup o' joe and a paper or head up the stairs lined with petty toys and gifts with your kiddos and explore the packed shelves of books for all reading levels on the 2d floor. While Joe's is by and large kids' books, it carries a small option of adult books as well, including cookbooks, non-fiction, and bestsellers.

Photo by Doug Schneider

Penny & Ting

If you find yourself in Ossining or are looking for a reason to visit, be certain to check out Penny & Ting, a charming toy and gift shop right on Master Street. Here you will find a wonderful array of thoughtfully curated toys, puzzles, books, stuffed animals, and crafts, all handpicked by the store'due south possessor, Mary Howard, who worked every bit an educator for 25 years before opening upward shop. The store's mission is to "look to provide toys that support family time, babyhood development, aesthetics, design, and nearly importantly, joy," and information technology delivers in spades.

The shop offers a wide range of items, including top-brand items and onetime-fashioned toys sure to accept you back to your ain childhood (marbles, anyone? How well-nigh a tin Grand Prix Racer?). Practice yourself a favor — take a break from online shopping and pay Penny & Ting a visit: both your inner-kid and existent children volition thank you.

The Westchester

Who doesn't dearest a day at the mall? The Westchester has got everything for the perfect mall experience for anybody in your family. With over 150 stores and eateries, it is hard to imagine something you won't discover hither.

Kids are well-covered with Build-A-Bear, LEGO Store, Claire's, Justice, Newbury Comics and a bully play area, and grown-ups will discover pretty much every high-end, proper noun-make retailer all under 1 roof, including (only hardly express to) Banana Republic, Motorbus, Apple, Crate & Barrel, Pes Locker, Gucci, J. Crew, and even Tesla, if you're looking to bandy the equus caballus you came in on. Even the most fickle eaters (your kids) will notice something to satiate their appetites, whether it be something melty (Cook Store) or something melty (Haagen-Dazs).

– Crafts –

D.I.Y. Slime

Sick of cleaning glue, baking soda, shaving cream, and contact-lens solution from every surface of your business firm? Or possibly y'all're sick of rinsing out, if not throwing abroad every mixing basin in your kitchen.

Well, ii Westchester moms have come to the rescue and opened D.I.Y. Slime in Larchmont. With xl different types of slime and pretty much everything your trivial goo-addicts might want to mix into it, D.I.Y. has got you covered. Cheque their website for drop-in hours or plan a party and put those scrubbing days (and slime-induced rage) behind y'all.

The Pottery Factory

If yous and your breed are in a crafty mood, head on over to The Pottery Factory in Mountain Kisco. Walk in anytime (during business hours) and cull from a number of craft activities, including painting your own pottery, candle-making, glass fusing (I had to look it up, too), and lather-making, and then you lot can conveniently wash all the paint off the kids with soap they've made themselves. And keep an center out for periodic events like sock-gnome workshops and Princess Pottery breakfasts with the Snow Queen herself.

– Museums/Performance Venues –

Hudson River Museum

Often flying but under the radar, the Hudson River Museum is a wonderful, multifaceted institution with points of involvement for all ages.

The museum houses the Andrus Planetarium, the only public planetarium in Westchester, which offers shows every Saturday and Sun yr-round (exist sure to check the schedule before heading over equally each time-slotted show is designed for a different historic period subclass), and the Hudson Riverama, a easily-on, interactive, multimedia educational gallery that volition teach you and your kids just about everything about the coolest river in the world (no bias here).

Bout the art galleries, where you lot will see stunning paintings from the famed Hudson River Schoolhouse, and spend some time browsing the shelves of "The Bookstore," a permanent life-sized art installation created by iconic creative person Cherry Grooms. If old houses are your affair, tour the Glenview Mansion, an 1877 estate with a one-half-dozen rooms featuring period furniture and decor.

Performing Arts Center at Purchase Higher

Be certain to periodically check the agenda of events at the Performing Arts Centre at Purchase, a earth-class, 4-theater complex on the SUNY Purchase campus. With dance, music and theater events all year-round, there is no shortage of opportunities to innovate your children to the world of performing arts.

Witness Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar come up to life through fantastical puppetry and black calorie-free, or relive your own childhood through the eyes of your kids with the latest offering from MUMMENSCHANZ (yep, that MUMMENSCHANZ).

Photo past Peter T. Michaelis

Bedford Playhouse

Since recently undergoing a major renovation, the Bedford Playhouse has emerged as a go-to venue for film, music and community events. The Playhouse contains three theaters, which offer screenings of first-run movies, classics and family unit-oriented films, too equally frequent events like concerts, author-readings and speaker engagements featuring celebrities and cultural figures.

Because the largest donor for the renovation is music legend Clive Davis, the theaters are equipped with country-of-the-art sound and projection equipment, ensuring an immersive and unparalleled cinema feel. If your kids are budding film buffs, consider renting a theater for a altogether political party.

Place to Go to With Baby in Westchester

Source: https://westchestermagazine.com/life-style/family/the-top-spots-for-kid-and-family-friendly-activities-in-westchester/