With 5 kids I’m “kinda” the go-to expert when coming up with cheap things to do with kids near me. I feel like throughout my entire motherhood experience I’ve been able to find some fun activities and places to go that are either free or super cheap. I love having fun with my kids and I know how important it is to get “out and about” in the summer.

Cheap Things To Do With Kids Near Me

I live in Rhode Island, so I know sharing cheap things to do with kids near me will be “locally” driven, but I do know that there are so many things that are “like” these things in different towns and cities across the country. I feel like when we find some great activities and fun things to do, we need to share because so many of us moms and dads are looking.

When it comes to really trying to find cheap things to do with kids near me I like to make sure I’m covering 3 things:

1. Will ALL of my kids have fun (my kids range in age from 7-15 years old).

2. Is it close enough to me to make sense to get to (if anything is over an hour, I just feel like it might not be worth it).

3. Will memories be made from doing this activity with my kids? I know time is fleeting as kids get older, so I like to make sure whatever we do now leaves an impression. It’s important to me.

If activities with my kids check all of these boxes, I’m happy and I’m so excites to share. I know it’s now always easy to find cheap things to do with kids near me, but they can be found and they can be discovered. I feel like it does take a little time and patience to get out there and explore your town or city or state. There’s so much to be had right at our fingertips.

This summer with COVID and quarantining, we’ve HAD to get creative. We’ve been lucky enough to have our pool club open this summer, but I love to do more with the kids than just watch them swim. I like to get out and about and find things that we can explore and do together. I was shocked to find so many cheap things to do with kids near me in our state of Rhode Island.

I’m going to list out some of the best cheap things to do with kids near me, but I also want you to remember that you can find things like this in your own town or city or state, too. Also – I know “cheap” is relative for so many people. I have 5 kids in my family, so “cheap” for me is probably different than it is for someone with 1 child. I just didn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars heading out and about (I will add ballpark prices next to each activity we did!).

4. Beach Trips – I know that this might be a tough one for some families that don’t live near a beach, but maybe try a pond or lake or river nearby. It’s so fun bringing the kids to the beach and just letting them play in the water and run around on the sand.

I love seeing them laugh and run around just having a ton of fun together. We sometimes bring Spikeball with us for the kids, too. We bring pails and shovels and boogie boards. The beach is free in many areas in the evenings, but during the day it can be around $25-30 depending upon where you’re going.

5. Biking – The expense here is buying the bikes, but once you have them – you can go for years! When I was a kid we would go on bike rides every Saturday. We had bike paths around us and would spend hours with each other biking and exploring new places. This is a fun activity to do with your family.

6. Visit Local Aquarium – We live near Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, CT. We haven’t been there in years and it’s one of the best places to enjoy with kids if they love aquatic life. The expense here for us is about $100 for our family, but I will say – it’s worth it if you’re there for the entire day.

7. Audubon Nature Centers – It all depends on where you live and if you have these centers ear you, but we have one in Bristol, RI and it’s wonderful to tour and visit with the kids. I love that you can get “lost” for hours and just walk around. You can look inside a 33-foot life size Right Whale, discover life in a tide pool, observe Narragansett Bay’s marine life, visit our rare orange lobster, or even explore a cornfield at night. The Center’s interactive exhibits feature local habitats and offer many fun ways to enjoy nature. You donate when you head there.

8. Head to a Carousel – Even as teenagers my kids still love a carousel! They go round and round and LOVE the music and the thrill of it! These are always cheap things to do with kids near me because the places are on the older side. I bet you have one near you that’s cheap and fun, too!

9. Picnic in the Park – This is an easy one to do with your kids. Pack a lunch and head out to a local park and enjoy a wonderful afternoon at the park together. You can sit and relax and if you’re able to, you can feed birds and ducks while you’re there, too.

10. Local Farm – If your kids love animals, find a local place where you can visit animals and tour the farm. This is cheap to do with your kids and they will love it. What I also love about a farm is that many of them offer strawberry picking and apple picking and pumpkin picking, there is an expense with this, but it’s not crazy. It’s definitely affordable.

I hope these ideas help you out when you’re looking for cheap things to do with kids near me, it’s important to have ideas lined up and things to do. I think it’s wonderful to try as much as you can with your family, but make sure you’re keeping it affordable and fun!

I also just wrote a blog post on 101 Things To Do With Teenagers you might like, too!