The Great Big List of Summer Day Trip Ideas in New Jersey and Beyond!

Friday, July 19, 2024
Looking for Summer day trip ideas in and around New Jersey? I got ya covered!! Here's my great big list of over 100 fun places to visit with your family this Summer, as well as an interactive map to help you find what you're looking for.

**This post has been updated for 2024! HAPPY SUMMER!


I update this post every year, so be sure to Pin it so you can check back for new additions or use it as your handy Summer reference guide!


If you read my Great Big List of Spring Break DayTrips, this one is similar, with added seasonal locations that might have been closed in Spring. Each destination has different operating hours so be sure to call ahead or check their websites for details before you travel. If the listed location is one I have visited, I linked it to my post so you can see a first-hand account of my visit. They are in no particular order, so don't think that the last venue listed is not worth visiting!

**Be sure to call ahead or check websites for the most accurate info before visiting! 

1.  Turtle Back Zoo - West Orange, NJ
2.  Ort Farms - Long Valley, NJ
3.  Valley Shepherd Creamery - Long Valley, NJ
4.  Branchburg Sports Complex - Branchburg, NJ
5.  Space Farms Zoo and Museum - Wantage, NJ
6.  Brookhollow's Barnyard - Boonton Township, NJ
7.  Duke Island Park - Hillsborough, NJ
8.  Morris Museum - Morristown, NJ
9.  Alstede Farm - Chester, NJ
10. Jenkinson's Aquarium - Point Pleasant, NJ
11. Sandy Hook Lighthouse - Sandy Hook, NJ
12. Lucy the Elephant - Margate, NJ
13. Van Saun Park and Bergen County Zoo - Bergen County, NJ
14. Clementon Park and Splash World - Clementon, NJ
15. Popcorn Park Zoo - Forked River, NJ
16. Storybook Land - Egg Harbor Township, NJ
17. Six Flags Great Adventure - Jackson, NJ
18. Diggerland USA - West Berlin, NJ
19. Big Kahuna's Water Park - West Berlin, NJ
20. Grounds for Sculpture - Hamilton, NJ
21. Frelinghuysen Arboretum - Morris Township, NJ
22. Montclair Art Museum - Montclair, NJ
23. Sterling Mining Museum - Ogdensburg, NJ 
24. Sussex Sunflower Maze - Sandyston, NJ (check their calendar for opening, usually mid-August)
25. Lakota Wolf Preserve - Columbia, NJ
26. Cape May County Zoo - Cape May, NJ
27. Jersey Shore Alpacas - Cape May, NJ
28. Insectropolis - Toms River, NJ 
29. Asbury Park Splash Park - Asbury Park, NJ
30. Mountain Creek Water Park - Mountain Creek, NJ
31. Land of Make Believe and Pirate's Cove - Hope, NJ
32. Wild West City - Stanhope, NJ
33. Northlandz Train Museum - Flemington, NJ
34. Liberty Science Center - Jersey City, NJ
35. Mad Lavender Farm - Milford, NJ
36. Spruce Run Recreation Area - Clinton, NJ
37. Round Valley Reservoir - Lebanon, NJ
38. Merrill Creek Reservoir - Harmony Township, NJ
39. The Raptor Trust - Millington, NJ
40. Battleship New Jersey - Camden, NJ
41. Adventure Aquarium - Camden, NJ
42. Field Station Dinosaurs - Leonia, NJ 
43. Hacklebarney Farms Cider Mill - Chester, NJ
44. Hacklebarney State Park - Chester, NJ
45. Presby Memorial Iris Gardens - Montclair, NJ
46. Jenny Jump State Forest - Hope, NJ
47. Orchard View Lavender Farm - Port Murray, NJ
48. Black River and Western Railroad - Flemington, NJ
49. Whippany Railway Museum - Hanover, NJ
50. Peony's Envy - Bernardsville, NJ
51. Fantasy Island Amusement Park - Long Beach Island, NJ
52. Morey's Piers - Wildwood, NJ
53. Waterloo Village - Stanhope, NJ
54. Howell Living History Farm - Lambertville, NJ
55. Imagine That! - Florham Park, NJ
56. Adventure Crossing USA - Jackson, NJ
57. Thomas Edison Center - Menlo Park, NJ
58. Newark Museum - Newark, NJ
59. Camden Children's Garden - Camden, NJ
60. Franklin Mineral Museum - Franklin, NJ
61. Garden State Discovery Museum - Cherry Hill, NJ
62. American Dream Mall - East Rutherford, NJ 
63. Old Barracks Museum - Trenton, NJ
64. Oasis Family Farm - Robbinsville, NJ
65.Island Beach State Park and Barnegat Lighthouse - Barnegat, NJ
66. Anchor Golf Center - Whippany, NJ
67. Nickelodeon Universe at American Dream - East Rutherford, NJ 
68. Dreamworks Waterpark at American Dream - East Rutherford, NJ
70. Tac Ops Tactical Laser Tag - Fairfield and Florham Park, NJ 

The map below is an easy way to find your trip destinations. Zoom in, zoom out, or click on the little icon for more information about each venue. Scroll down for more day trip ideas in Pennsylvania and New York!



Don't click away just yet! Here are more choices for Summer fun in Pennsylvania and New York, not far from New Jersey!

(*please check ahead to see if these venues are open and what their protocols are!)

70. Crayola Experience - Easton, PA
71.  America on Wheels Auto Museum - Allentown, PA
72. Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom (Planet Snoopy) - Allentown, PA
73. Mercer Museum - Doylestown, PA
74. DaVinci Science Center - Allentown, PA
75. Knoebel's - Elysburg, PA
76. Dutch Wonderland - Lancaster, PA
77. Hersheypark - Hershey, PA
78. Hershey Gardens - Hershey, PA
79. Hershey's Chocolate World - Hershey, PA
80. Hershey Story Museum - Hershey, PA
81. Crystal Cave - Kutztown, PA
82. Lost River Caverns - Hellertown, PA
83. Lehigh Valley Zoo - Shnecksville, PA
84. LEGOLAND Discovery Center Philadelphia - Plymouth Meeting, PA
85. Philadelphia Zoo - Philadelphia, PA
86. Philadelphia Museum of Art - Philadelphia, PA
87. The Franklin Institute - Philadelphia, PA
88. Sesame Place - Langhorne, PA
89. Kids Castle Playground - Doylestown, PA
90. Peddler's Village - Lahaska, PA
91. One World Observatory - New York, NY
92. Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum - New York, NY
93. Long Island Aquarium - Riverhead, NY
94. Coney Island - Brooklyn, NY
95. Bronx Zoo - Bronx, NY
96. Central Park Zoo - New York, NY
97. New York Aquarium - Brooklyn, NY
98. American Museum of Natural History - New York, NY
99. The Ride NYC - New York, NY
100. LEGOLAND Discovery Center Westchester - Yonkers, NY
101.The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island - New York, NY
102. Madame Tussauds Wax Museum - New York, NY
103. New York Botanical Garden - Bronx, NY
104. Children's Museum of Manhattan - New York, NY
 105.The Museum of Modern Art - Queens, NY
106. Harry Potter Store NYC -New York, NY 
107. Little Island NYC - Pier 55, New York 
108. RiseNY - near Times Square, NY
109. LEGOLAND New York - Goshen, NY
110. Ross Mill Farm (Home of the Pet Pig) - Jamison, PA (Guided Farm Tours and Piggy Paloozas- reservations needed - call in advance)


Happy Summer!!












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