*This post was created in partnership with Fatface Lynnfield, MA. All content was written and created by me but the topic was prompted by my friends at Fatface. We want to show you the coolest family friendly activities in and around the north shore of Massachusetts!
As a mother who spends a lot of time with her kids, it's usually up to me to find things for us to do together, getting out of the house rather than just plopping them in front of the TV, day in and day out. With my oldest finishing up Pre-K in a couple weeks and my youngest hitting his adventurous stride, it'll be up to me to keep this Summer as interesting and fun as possible for them. I've compiled some of my favorite family friendly activities in and around the North Shore of Massachusetts. While this is just my list, you can be sure to check out local moms groups, the
North Shore Patches, the
Baystate Parent, and your local libraries and parks and rec departments events calendars!
One Stop Properties
The reason we thought to write this article is because I usually visit
FatFace at
Marketstreet Lynnfield while also doing some shopping and visiting my favorite kid friendly shops and often while attending an event geared towards kids. I can't tell you how amazing it is to stop, park the car one time and get all the things done. Marketstreet Lynnfield has some of my favorite shops (
Fatface, Pia, Amazon Books, LOFT, and Whole Foods), great places to grab kids food (
Panera, Boloco, Sweetgreen, JP Licks etc) and has a series of events for kids and family that runs all year on their green area. Just this week, I'll be headed to a
Wiggle Worms story time with ice cream for the kids with an after party at Fatface. Both the kids and I will love this day spent out at one place!
We love visiting the Stone Zoo so much that we have a
Zoo New England Membership! The zoo is convenient to both Boston and North Shore communities so if your kids love animals, this isn't a far trek whatsoever. They've been working on bringing in new exhibits, animals and events throughout the year. It's not a big, grand, over the top zoo but it's accessible, affordable, clean and usually not overly crowded, which is something I steer clear of when attempting activities with just me and the two tornadoes I call sons!
Beach Visits
Singing Beach in Manchester by the Sea is my favorite beach to visit on the North shore though there are plenty of options. With all the beaches, you'll want to do your due diligence as parking, admission and accessibility will be different for all of them. Singing Beach doesn't have consistent parking close to the beach itself (you might luck into street parking) but there is a lot of two within reasonable walking distance so bring the wagon and pull all your gear back and forth for the day! You can check out the beaches that are part of Massachusetts State Parks (
like Nahant Beach and the Lynn Seashore), snagging info and
parking passes before you go! There are tons of great beaches up and down Massachusetts, there's no need to go to the Cape every time you need some sand and sea.
Additional Outdoor Options
In addition to the beach, we can't forget about
state parks and the
Mass Audobon! The Mass Audobon has tons of spaces on the Northshore like the
Nahant Thicket Wildlife Sanctuary,
Marblehead Neck,
Endicott Wildlife Sanctuary,
Eastern Point and more! We love exploring the outdoors in places designed to be enjoyed by families. Learning is a bonus as well so anything they glean from visits to the Mass Audobon is like a nice pat on the back to the mom!
Indoor Options
In addition to your local libraries (
which is always a great default for my kids), there are some great indoor activities in and around the north shore.
The Children's Piazza in Beverly is a family favorite which provides enclosed fun (
key!) with the options to sip some coffee while the kids play. We also, on a whim, stopped in
Vinkari Safari in Woburn, which isn't technically the north shore but it offered TONS of space and new and exciting things for the kids to play with. They loved it! We might hit up
Kings at Marketstreet this Summer since my kids love Bowling! Finding options on a cold and rainy day is pretty easy, no matter what you like to do with your kids. Salem, MA offers tons of activities, not just around Halloween! Older kids may enjoy the
Peabody Essex Museum, though I visited when Teddy was just a baby and was thrilled to find that they had an extremely nice nursing room there which made the whole trip worth it. I totally enjoyed that day! Check out some other options for
Northshore fun whether you're looking for a Witch Museum or an
indoor waterpark!
Leave me a comment if you are looking for other spots and recommendations! I have a network of Moms that I hang with, whether through friendship, blogging or both... I would gladly tap another mom for advice or recommendations so that we all have the most successful Summer possible! Let me know what you think of my picks and give me your recs, I love trying new things with the kids!
Thanks to Fatface Lynnfield for prompting me to share my favorite family friendly things to do on the north shore!
