31 FUN Free Summer Activities for Families 2025

There’s a lot of fun things you can do with the kids in the Summer months that are free or cost very little! I think you’ll love these 31 FUN Free Summer Activities for Families with kids right here! I’m here to give you some fun ideas to keep the kids busy and you on budget!

Speaking of budget…food can break the bank during the Summer months…so check out my Budget Friendly Recipes!  

Summertime is such a fun time of year. No more busy school schedules…just time to relax and enjoy your kids. Even if you work outside the home, taking the stress out of making sure your kids have their homework done, is enough to jump for joy about…don’t you think?!

I’m all about adventure with the kiddos and making memories for cheap…so read on! You’ll find lots of great ideas and fun activities to keep your family busy all Summer long…in a good way! Here’s another post for How To Have The Best Adventures At Home With Kids! 

Best things for families to do in Summer for free or cheap! 

Summer can quickly become an expensive time of year too, as we try to find things for the kids to do. Entertaining those kiddos can be overwhelming. Families all over the country are wondering “Where can I take my kids for cheap?”

Thankfully many companies are empathetic toward families with young kids and teens during the Summer months and offer lots of fantastic free activities or very very inexpensive!

31 Free Activities to do during the Summer!

One thing that’s important to remember…we don’t need to entertain kids every single moment of the day. It’s good to get out of the house and go on adventures, but it’s also good for your kids to be “bored” on occasion.

We’ve enjoyed many of these fun activities over the years and I do many of them with my grandkids now! I hope you’ll try each one!

1. Go on a City Park Discovery in Your Area

 Many have splash pads these days! Get a city map and pick 1 park each week. Nature hunt while you are there! Many have splash pads these days too!

2. Go Bowling

Yep! 15 and under Kids Bowl Free all over the country!

3. Go to the Movies for ALMOST Free

Regal Cinemas Updated 2025: they now charge $1.00 per person. That’s still a great deal! This price is actually down from last year!

4. Go on a Scavenger Hunt

Some super fun ideas and different creative ways to hunt!  Do several over the summer! Can I come?  So fun!

5. Make Homemade Ice Cream

Here are three easy Homemade Ice Cream that are delicious and easy to make!

• Cantaloupe Ice Cream
• Banana Ice Cream
• Almond Coconut Ice Cream Bars 

6. Go Skating

Updated 2025! You must now buy a membership for each child. A membership costs $4.99 for the year. Each annual membership allows one child up to 2 skating sessions per week at a participating rink. If you have a skating rink near you, I still think this is a great deal if you’ll use it several times during the Summer.

7. Go to the lake

Spend the day…make sure you are prepared for littles! Lots of snacks and water and shade.

8. Build a Backyard Camp

You can make this as simple or as complicated as you’d like. Brings chairs outside if you don’t have a little tent. You can get little 1 and 2 person tents at garage sales.

9. Join a FREE Library Program

These aren’t just for reading books (although that is tons of fun), many have fantastic programs like Lego building, Science Projects and so much more! Definitely check out what’s at your local library.

10. Vacation Bible School (VBS)

Send your kids to a free Bible-believing VBS! Do more than one if you’d like. These are usually free of charge or have a very small fee for the blessing and fun (umm and little break) your family will receive!

11. Go on a Field Trip

Call your local Bakery, Fire station, or Police Station and go on a field trip with another family. These are super fun and the kiddos usually get a little prize too!

12. Visit Your Local Museums

Visit on a free day! Most Museums have a free day every month.

13. Sidewalk Chalk

Find a place where you can do a fun sidewalk chalk mural. If you have a big driveway, make a town with roads for your kids to ride their bikes/scooters/trikes around.

14. Create a Little Garden

Creating a little garden can be as simple as putting seeds into a clear little container. I say clear because then the kids can see the roots grow…it’s facinating to them! Teaching kids the basics about growing a garden is so important! Here are 15 Fun and Creative tips for teaching kids how to Garden.

15. Play Outdoor Games

Some of these might be Badminton, basketball, Bean bag toss, croquet, and volleyball. There are so many…find what fits your childs age.

16. Go to a Beach and Collect Seashells and Rocks

Kids LOVE to collect things…as I’m sure you know. Let them start a collection! There are lots of things they can do with their collections. Sort by color, types, shapes!

17. Paint Rocks

Paint the rocks as funny characters, rainbows or anything! If you have super little ones..let them paint with water.

18. Go Hiking

This is a super cool app by TrailLink to find hiking trails in your area.  If these hiking trails are in a National Forest, you can go on a Free Entrance day.

19. Volunteer

There are lots of volunteer opportunities to do with kids. Try your local food bank, shelter, or retirement home.

20. Make a Birdfeeder

There are lots of instructions on the internet or Pinterest for simple birdfeeders that anyone can make.

21. Make Giant Bubbles

Blow and make homemade bubbles ~ Giant Bubbles are the most fun!

22. Learn about Bugs

Kids LOVE bugs…most of them. A magnifying glass costs very little and will create hours upon hours of FUN!

23. Bake Cookies

Bake a batch or two of cookies and give them away…and eat some too!

24. Swim at a Local Pool

Swimming pools are pretty cheap and many are free or discounted on certain days and times.

25. Have a Water Balloon Fight

ONLY if your charges can be nice to one another in good fun. Or you could just have fun challenges with your water balloons.

26. Go Geocaching!

It’s free and so fun, all you need is your phone.  This is super fun to do with your Teens! Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure-hunting game using GPS-enabled devices. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (container) hidden at that location.

27. Sign your kiddos up for workshops!

Home Depot’s Kids & DIY workshops! These are so fun but super popular, so think ahead and sign up ahead of time…they fill up fast! They also cost a very small fee…but not always!

28. Make a Lemonade Stand

Kids LOVE to make Lemonade Stands. Use a simple cardboard box and dress it up. Teach your Kids to give to a Charity too! You can purchase this Lemonade Stand Kit in the Faith-Filled Printables shop.

29. Stargazing!

Get a book about the stars and lay out under the stars at night to see what constellations you see! Lay out under the stars in your backyard camp!

My First Book About Outer Space (Dover Coloring Books for Children)Smart Kids Space: For Kids Who Really Love Space!The Solar System (TIME FOR KIDS® Nonfiction Readers)Smart Kids Space: with more than 30 stickersIndescribable: 100 Devotions for Kids About God and ScienceMoon: A Peek-Through Picture Book

30. Have Lego Challenges

Ad: Almost everyone loves Legos. Create simple Brick Challenges and encourage each other! Did you know that Lego has a FREE magazine delivered quarterly? The next one to be delivered is September 2024…but it’s worth it!

31. Go on a Picnic

You can go anywhere for a fun picnic or you could have a themed picnic in your backyard…How about a teddy bear picnic or a prince/princess picnic!

I hope you will find these Free Kids Activities to Do During the Summer to help you save a little money this Summer and still have fun, all at the same time!

Blessings!

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