100 Things to Do with Your Kids on Long Island Before They Grow Up

I'm a Long Islander born and bred. I love and appreciate all that Long Island has to offer year round. My husband, however, is a Brooklynite at heart and constantly needs to be reminded and persuaded that Long Island can be cool too, and more important, that there's really no better place in the world to raise children. This has essentially become my life's mission, as I am endlessly pointing out all that's fun and cool and exciting on the Island. In fact, this mission has turned into a bucket list of sorts of all the things we must do on Long Island with our kids before they grow up. We're having a ball going through the list, and I'm having the best time introducing him to things out here that he could never have in NYC. And while I'm definitely getting through to him, I don't think I will ever 100 percent convince him that Long Island is better than the city (though that is definitely one of the pluses of living on Long Island—we've got all the Island has to offer, AND New York City is just a train ride away). But he is realizing that with all of its vast parks, beautiful beaches, rich historical culture, and ample opportunities for fun, life is good here on Long Island, and this is a great place to raise our family.

Here's our list of 100 things we love to do or want to do with our kids while they're still young.There are, of course, at least 100 more great activities for kids on Long Island, but we had to cut it somewhere. Please feel free to share the activities you'd add to the list.

1. Spend an entire carefree day at any of Long Island’s beautiful beaches with a cooler full of food, snacks, and drinks, with no watches or cell phones.
2. Take the ferry to Fire Island.
3. Check out a Long Island Ducks game.
4. Take a ride on the LIRR into Penn Station.
5. Visit the Big Duck in Riverhead.
6. Spend a day at the races at Belmont Raceway.
7. Indulge in some hot dogs at an Islanders game.
8. Enjoy a concert at Jones Beach Theater.
9. Take a trip back in time at Old Bethpage Village Restoration.
10. Spend the day at Splish Splash Water Park.
11. See the camels at the Animal Farm Petting Zoo in Manorville.
12. Check out the penguins at the Long Island Aquarium and Exhibition Center.
13. Go on a seal hike.
14. Gaze at the stars at the Vanderbilt Planetarium.
15. Grab a blanket and a picnic basket and enjoy an alfresco concert at Old Westbury Gardens.
16. Lose yourselves in the Clark Botanic Garden.
17. Attend the Shinnecock Pow Wow during Labor Day weekend.
18. Enjoy an ice-cream cone on the Jones Beach Boardwalk.
19. Make kid-sized bubbles at the Long Island Children’s Museum.
20. Take surfing lessons (or just watch the surfers) in Long Beach.
21. Scream as loud as you can on the roller coasters at Adventureland.
22. Stuff yourselves at the all-you-can-eat buffet brunch while watching the planes take off from Republic at the 56^th Fighter Group in Farmingdale.
23. Go fishing in Captree.
24. Go kayaking down the Nissequogue River.
25. Take out a couple of paddleboats at Belmont Park.
26. Go camping at Hither Hills State Park.
27. Visit the Heckscher Museum of Art.
28. Walk for a cause in the Long Island 2-Day Breast Cancer Walk.
29. Have a backyard barbecue for your kids’ friends.
30. Spend a weekend at Gurney’s.
31. Go ice-skating at the Rink at RXR Plaza.
32. Get a taste of history at Sagamore Hill.
33. Play the day away at the Children’s Museum of the East End.
34. Check out the Maritime Explorium.
35. View one of the $15 “Not Just for Kids” offerings at the beautiful Staller Center.
36. SAFETY TOWN!
37. Go horseback riding in Hempstead Lake State Park.
38. Explore Port Jefferson’s waterfront.
39. Tour the Cradle of Aviation Museum.
40. Build a snowman!
41. Visit Walt Whitman’s birthplace.
42. Climb a tree at Planting Fields Arboretum.
43. After the kids have read The Great Gatsby, check out Gatsby’s Gold Coast on the North Shore.
44. Tour Fire Island’s Sunken Forest.
45. Sample the wares at a strawberry festival.
46. Climb to the top of the Montauk Lighthouse.
47. Visit the Sag Harbor Whaling Museum.
48. Visit the Nassau County Museum of Art.
49. Pet the animals at White Post Farm.
50. Go pumpkin picking.
51. Go apple picking.
52. Tour Long Island’s Wine Country (it’s not just for grown-ups).
53. Visit the Long Island Science Center.
54. Visit the Nassau County Firefighter’s Museum.
55. Check out the trains at the Railroad Museum of Long Island.
56. Take a seal cruise from the Riverhead Foundation of Marine Research.
57. Peruse the Shinnecock Nation Museum.
58. Sing happy birthday to the trout at the Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery.
59. Check out the nation’s oldest cattle ranch.
60. Tour the Fire Island Lighthouse.
61. Visit the Jericho Cider Mill—and don’t leave without some cider and a pie.
62. Enjoy a show at the Gateway Playhouse.
63. Take a whale-watching cruise from CRESLI.
64. Go hiking in Caleb Smith State Park.
65. Go cross-country skiing in Wildwood State Park.
66. Enjoy a concert at the world-class Tilles Center.
67. Visit the African-American Museum of Nassau.
68. Enjoy a sundae or egg cream at the counter at Coyles Ice Cream shop.
69. Have some finger-lickin’-good ribs at Smokin’ Al’s.
70. Get lost among the shelves at the Book Revue.
71. Celebrate Cinco de Mayo at Pancho Villa's.
72. Eat your way through the Long Island Fall Festival in Heckscher Park.
73. Pitch a tent and go camping…in your backyard. (And don’t forget the s’mores!)
74. Rake the fallen autumn leaves in your yard into neat little piles…and then dive in!
75. In the middle of a snowstorm, go out and shovel the walkway together, adding in lots of breaks for snowball-throwing and angel-making (and enjoy some hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows when you’re done).
76. Go for a bike ride in Belmont Park.
77. Go on a scavenger hunt in your neighborhood.
78. On a hot summer day, turn on the sprinkler to give your lawn a drink...then grab the kids and dance through the water like nobody's watching!
79. Watch the surfers in Montauk.
80. Shake your groove thing to live music under the stars at Jones Beach.
81. Celebrate Arbor Day at the Planting Fields Arboretum.
82. Rent a house for a week (or a weekend) on Fire Island, and ride your bikes and haul your stuff in red wagons around the carless island.
83. Take in the Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach.
84. Feed the ducks as you walk the trails at East Hampton’s Duck Pond on David's Lane.
85. Ride the antique carousel in Greenport’s Mitchell Park.
86. Ride the Peconic County Miniature Railroad.
87. Enjoy a unique theater-in-the-round entertainment experience at NYCB Theatre at Westbury.
88. Ride the carousel at the LVIS Fair in East Hampton.
89. Learn about Long Island’s rich whaling history at the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum.
90. Marvel at the trucks at the Long Island Antique Power Association's Annual Engine Run and Tractor Pull.
91. Decorate seashells on Fire Island.
92. Grab a cone at Big Olaf Ice Cream Shop in Sag Harbor, then take a walk down Long Wharf and admire the yachts.
93. Decorate your house and yard for Halloween.
94. Have a blast at the beach.
95. Go strawberry picking at Harbes Family Farm.
96. It snowed all night; school’s closed—grab a sled (or a cafeteria tray) and head to the nearest hill and go sledding.
97. Foster a deeper appreciation of nature at the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary & Audubon Center.
98. Ride the bumper boats at Bayville Adventure Park.
99. Go minigolfing at Tiki Action Park.
100. Drive around the Island checking out the holiday lights.