Outdoor Activities for a Family of 7

Have you heard of this group? It is full of nothing but outdoor ideas for famileis!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SoCalOutdoorsFamilies/

Lots of Love,
Linda
www.RivieraPlaySchool.com

Go online to Meetup.com and look for groups that get together to do things you like. I have starred hiking and meeting with people that have common interests. It is free and fun!

Bonnie Springs up at Red Rock has a free animal petting zoo. If you want to feed the animals, they have little machines like gumball machine that dispense food for 25 cents. There is also a duck pond up there and a cute little restaurant with pretty good food. The prices are reasonable at the restaurant, but if you want to conserve you could definitely pack a picnic and eat out in the beautiful scenery.

I suggest Irvine Park in Irvine. It's amazing and very inexpensive. It's a huge park with everything. Train, petting zoo, bike/boat rentals, fishing, picnic sites, and more. It's $5 per car and an additional (small amount) for zoo ($2) and train (not sure). You can look it up and get more details and info. Have fun with your brood!!! Sounds like fun to me!!

Red Rock Trails, Calico Basin, Floyd Lamb Park, Lake Mead with a bag of popcorn or bread, and my husband takes my little girl to the Bass Pro Shop for a free day of looking at fish.

Letterboxing! I cannot recommend this enough. I saw a few people mention geocache's and this is similar but no GPS needed.
You follow clues that lead you to the hidden letterbox. Inside will be a logbook and stamp to mark in your own logbook. In turn, you stamp their logbook you have brought. Go to atlasquest.com or letterboxing.org for details, clues, locations, etc. Letterboxes are all around the world.
We do this often and have stumbled upon many amazing sites, views and places we wouldn't have normally. The Atlas Quest site gives detailed info regarding the walks/hikes about difficulty level and length.
Each of my kids have a compostion book to log the date, place, letterbox stamp, a few thoughts about the trip and pictures when we have the camera along.
The vast majority are free but sometimes you have to pay park entrance fees and things like that.

When we visit Vegas, the kids like to have a "picnic" on the road that parrallels the airport runway to watch the planes land and take off. I can't recall the name but there is a parking lot next to the runway.

WOW~ What feedback!
I have a couple of book suggestions. One is called Fun (and educational) Places ti go with kids in Southern California and it is broken down by county. Also, 101 things to do before you are 12 & 101 Places to Go before you are 12 are both terrific at getting ideas. You 8 year old will probably really enjoy researching. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b_5_23?url=search-alias...

good luck

If you would like to get a gps and check out GEOCACHING online there are some wonderful sites you can download coordinates of treasures all over the world where ever you live or visit hidden under and around different locations. it is kind of like a treasure hunt/hide and seek game for adults and kids. each is truly unique the only requirement is the desire to be outdoors and have fun, when you find the GEOCACHE box as we call it, you take an item out and put any item you bring into it for the next person and then log your item and experience online to share with others. We are a family of nearly 7 and have been playing this game since we were a family of 3 love it and it is always fun because the sites are endless no matter what ity state or province you live in. Beleive it or not..Have fun...

I know that it is hard to think about wanting to spend time outdoors when temperatures are in the triple digets during the summer and near freezing in the winter. Here are some things that you can do with your family that won't break the bank:

Hiking at Red Rock Canyon (on more temperate days or way early in the morning during the summer).

Visit Boulder City. There's some great older parks there with play ground equiqment that is similar to the ones that I remember when I was a kid, and with these lovely more mature shade trees. Pack a picnic lunch for the day and just hang out.

The Henderson Multi-Gen Center has some outdoor pools that cost practically nothing to get in. And there are lounge chairs for the moms to relax in while the kids play. Pack a cooler and some sunscreen and let the kids wear themselves out splashing around all day. I believe that Desert Springs Park also has pools available for public use as well.

Go up to Mt. Charleston for the day. During the summer, the weather up there will be in the 80's. The Lee Canyon area has some flat terrain for the kids to run around on and for you to set up a picnic lunch.

And then, you can always do what the tourist do and go see the tigers at the MGM, the while lions at the Mirage, the flamingos at the Flamingo Hilton, etc.

Okay, that's about all that I can give you right now. Can't wait to see the other suggestions because I'm looking for fresh ideas as well. Have a good weekend.

If you have a GPS unit, you can go Geo-Chaching! My brother does this with his 6 and 4 yr olds, and they LOVE it. They go to the geocache website to find the coordinates of geocaches in their area that are kid-friendly. Then they grab a few trinkets from home (marbles, crayons, McDonalds happy meal toys, etc.) and hike out to find the treasure box. Once they are in the coordinates (on the GPS unit) they start to look around for the box - hidden under a rock or in the crook of a tree) Then they open it and trade their treasures for one in the box. They stamp the log book and put the box back where they found it. It is a great way to take a hike and have a treasure hunt at the same time!

Hi there - I see you live in Vegas so I am not familiar with that area. I know we go to the park alot...but not just a regular park. We have one by us with a duck pond, a butterfly garden and hiking trails, and a small playground area. We take food for the ducks and a little lunch (we are about to be a family of 6) and it's a great 3-4 hours, at no cost. Fun for all ages!!

Good luck!

Camping.
Hiking.
Picnic on the beach.
To a park (with or without playground.)
Or a different park every outing to see what's out there.
road trip to... ?
Grand canyon, joshua tree, whatever is around.
Ghost town (Calico?)

Hi, D.,
I'm assuming you live in Southern CA? We love to go to the tidepools up near Point Fermin, San Pedro, etc. Also the Cabrillo Marine Museum up that way. There are also tidepools down by Laguna Beach somewhere. When my son was in preschool, we would take many trips (it's about 20-30 minute drive) to Irvine Regional Park in the city of Orange. It's a beautiful old park, great for picnics, and they have a small zoo there with animals native to the Pacific Southwest. They also have a train ride, and paddle boats, and a fishing lake. There is a small fee for those activities. Don't forget about the Nature Center at El Dorado Park in Long Beach. It's free! (except for parking.)
Good luck and have fun,
B.

Visit various parks and have a pic nic! Bring the ball one time, bubbles the next? Do a local narure trail, turn over rocks, jump on leaves......whatever entertains! You could visit somewhere like Seaport Village (not sure where you live) and walk and eat ice cream on the grass and watch the boats/kite flyers. If finances are not tight, ride the carousel. All kinds of fun things! Enjoy your family time!

D. Y.

When my children were little, even as Y. as 8 months, we would take them camping and show them how enjoyable the outdoors are. There are places where children can play within the camp sites and still be safe. Teaching them about nature at this age can be lots of fun, also teaching them safety within nature is also very interesting as Y. children are very curious and lots of fun when they can use their imagination. They will learn how to spend more time outdoors when at home as well. Back yard camping trips will teach them how to behave during a camping trip also. Have fun!

Short hikes are great. Try Eldorado Nature Center. I also like Atlantis park. Its fun for all ages. Not a hiking place but has some cute little trails and little climbers etc.
S.

Hi D.,
Check out gocitykids.com. YOu can sign up for newsletters from different cities. It gives all kinds of events and activities for kids - many of them free. Also, LA Family and LA Parent magazine - which you can get free usually in front of the supermarket - give lots of ideas for fun things to do.

One fun thing might be to go to Huntington Library and Gardens. I believe it is free admission on the first Thursday of each month. You can take all the kids in there - it's really fun! They have a small kids area where the kids can run through sprinklers, duck/fish pond, all kinds of gardens.... we love it.

The Annenberg Beach House is opening this Saturday in Santa Monica. A great beach experience with community pool, etc. It's FREE and open to the public. Check it out online.

Hi D., Remember when you were growing up and you had time to just explore? Different public parks will be fun to let your kids just be with nature, you don't have to create something to do...just let them be! Bringing balls and a bucket and old spoons, or sand toys are always good. We dont let our kids have minute that isn't planned and organized, they will make up something and it's good for them to create their own fun too.
good luck, D. ps. remember saying I'm bored!! and then making up stuff to do that was so fun?

Hi We vacation in Vegas a lot and like to go to the Ethel M Cand factory for the tour and they have a cactus garden that is fun to look at. We also like to watch the circus acts at Circus Circus but if you play a lot of midway games it can get expensive. Last summer we took the kids to Lake Mead in Laughlin had a blast on the water all day then stayed in a hotel at night and back on the lake during day wasn't very expensive at all. We also like spending time checking out the Bass Pro Shop. We live in CA and here we send lots of days at the park we try and go to a different one each time for variety. Bring a waffle ball & bat for fun bubble are cheap we play with sand toys & bring our own lunch. Do you have a zoo around another fun day. Go to the visitor center and get all the free coupon books and check out the tourist sites. Good luck!!

Travel Town in Griffith Park can be a lot of fun for little ones and adults. We pack a lunch and picnic there.

Hi there...you've got a lot of great responses, so I hope I don't repeat...You didn't say where you are located, so I'm assuming that you are in the Southern California area. Some great outdoor areas...any pier along the coast is a lot of fun. (In fact that's what we did with our 16-month old son this morning; went to breakfast and then for a walk/run on the pier.) At Santa Monica pier they have a mini amusement park and arcade. Bring along a blanket and some sand toys and the kids can run around on the sand and chase birds, even if they don't go in the water. Also, try exposition park in LA...they've got a new exhibit opening in the rose garden next week for earth day; it's 50 large globes decorated by local artists about different ways to live "green." It's free to the public through June or July. Go to the Getty Museum. Admission is free, you just pay for parking. Bring a picnic lunch. It's gorgeous and they often have music on the weekends. Wilson Park in Torrance has free train rides one Sunday every month. Check the city of Torrance website. There is also a railroad museum in Lomita and I think they also open to the public for free rides once a month. Ports of Call in San Pedro is a great place to walk around, look at boats, and have a great seafood meal at the fish market. On the weekends there are kids rides and usually mariachi bands playing...tons of families. Don't forget the zoo and Griffith Park too! I hope you get some good ideas from your post and have a great time!

Kite flying.

bike riding

beach

I do not know where you live, Irvine regional park

Aloha

We have a family of 6 so I know what you mean by not spending a fortune.
Here is Hawaii the Honolulu Zoo has a family pass for a year for $25.00. What a deal!! Pack a lunch and drinks and you have a family fun day. Also we go to a local Park, Kakaaako and we grass slide on cardboard. There is lots of shaded trees and the babies are not in the sun. Again pack your Lunch, make a day!!
I also had the Childrens Musuem family pass when my kids were younger. The age range of interest would be from 1---10 years. But I am not sure on the family annual pass cost?
Another favorite outing of course in Hawaii is the beach. Everyone, any age group enjoys the beach.
Camping is also great. Get a group of friends and go. The hardest part is setting up and breaking down. But for 3-4 day, sharing the meals, was awesome. I would only cook 1 meal for the entire weekend!! The kids loved it. All the friends, family, crab hunting, swimming, playing in the sand etc,
It doesn't have to cost a fortune for a family to spend time together.

Hey from a family of 8! Kite flying is great. You can start w/ cheap ones, and if they like it invest in the higher price ones. Costco get them in at summer time for about $20, and they are NICE for the price. We have invested in quads now, took a while to save, but so worth it. We all have fun,(13y-15m) (start saving now couple dollars a month) in a year or 2, get one) kids will be old enough then to really go on their own (3 of them at least) go hiking, back pack carriers for the babes.(used ones at thrift stores work great and $$is good I put hand towles or cloth diaper over the "teething" portion..but they scrub in the tub just fine. pick-nik lunches, scavanger hunt. make a list of things to find out side on a walk or in the mall(in another month) silly things kids can look for color of a sign, letters together, give them a list w/colors or what ever they are looking for age appropriate and HAVE FUN!! Catch bugs at the park. get a cheap set of "equipment" big lots get them in now/spring for CHEAP. kids LOVE BUGS...examine take a book from library with you and figure out what they are/eat etc. Plants/trees the same thing. Enjoy.