For Shore: What To Do With Kids in the Hamptons This Summer
Headed out the the Hamptons with the kids and wondering what to do with them? Relax! The villages of the Hamptons are packed with family-friendly activities for all ages. (That’s right, there’s more than party-hopping and celeb sightings). Whether you’re there for a weekend or a few weeks, here are more than two dozen ways to have fun with the kids in the Hamptons, both inside and out. (Because yes, sometimes it rains in the Hamptons, too.)
1. Learn, Play, and Create – Young minds can run wild at the Children’s Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton. The CMEE’s Long Island-themed indoor play space and an outdoor playground. CMEE also hosts a variety of toddler and kid classes including Baby & Me, Cooking, Chess, Sensory Play and Gardening.
2. Take in a Ballgame – Grab the crackerjacks and cheer for your local baseball team from the Montauk Mustangs to the Westhampton Aviators or Sag Harbor Whalers! The Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League features seven teams with college players from around the country. Most games take place nearly every evening at 5pm in July. Youth clinic also available this summer, held in Peconic Lake.
3. Kid-approved Library programs – Take a break from the sun and join a summer reading club at one of the many East End public libraries. East Hampton Library has a spacious indoor kids space offering programs for babies through school-age kids that includes LEGO Club, Chess, Toddler Time, Music Exploration (Miss Riley’s Melodies) and more. Also check out Amagansett Library for baby and toddler programs, such as Rhyme Time, and Hampton Library in Bridgehampton, which offers Pre-school story time and more.
4. Perfect Your Swing – Play a round of mini-golf at Southampton Golf Range, Whale’s Tale on Shelter Island, Puff ‘n’ Putt in Montauk or The Children’s Museum of East End in Bridgehampton. Note: Whale’s Tale also has an on-site cafe with delicious ice cream. Keep that in mind when you’re seeking a sweet reward after a long day of mini-golf.
5. See a Puppet Show – Put down the iPad and be entertained by The Wizard of Oz, Sleeping Beauty, and more playing at Goat on a Boat Puppet Theatre in Sag Harbor all summer long. Or check out free outdoor puppet shows hosted by Southampton Arts Center such as The Three Pigs.
6. Enjoy the Music – Take the kiddos to a concert series hosted by Southampton Cultural Center in Agawam Park and Cooper’s Beach in Southampton. Most concerts are held on Wednesdays and start at 6:30 PM. Concerts that are held on Saturdays start at 5:00 PM. Young ones can frolic and play as you relax on blankets listening to live music.
7. Cool down with a Treat – Celeb fave BuddhaBerry in Sag Harbor offers serve your own fro-yo in flavors like caramel sea salt pretzel or sweet peach from Georgia, plus a endless toppings to choose from, such as dinosaur gummies. They’ll even offer you a large cookie to top off your fro-yo. Or, indulge the kids at the long time favorite Sip ‘n Soda in Southampton with old-fashioned root beer floats, banana splits and milkshakes.
8. Bond with Nature – Kids can learn all about living the farm life by visiting Amber Waves Farm in Amagansett, which hosts summer workshops and events, such as Farm Chores for Kids, Cooking Classes, Foraging at the Farm, and more. It’s the mission of Amber Waves farm to produce organic, healthy food for the local community and to reintroduce wheat to the local East End of Long Island food shed.
9. Quack Like a Duck – Grab the cracked corn (it’s better for the ducks than bread) and head to the duck pond on David’s Lane in East Hampton. Located on the edge of a nature preserve, there are plenty of trails to explore here after you give the ducks a snack.
10. Take a Spin – Take your soul to a new level and rent bikes for the whole family (including toddler seats and youth bikes) and roll around town. Check out Amagansett Beach & Bicycle Company, Montauk Bike Shop or Rotations Bicycle Center in Southampton (631-283-2890). You’ll also find endless bike trails to explore.
11. Act Out – Check out a family-friendly theatre performances at Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center and weekly music theatre camp performances in which kids ages six to 16 become part of the show or work behind the scenes.
12. Explore Long Island’s Nature – Learn about the local eco-system and touch amphibians and reptiles native to Long Island at the South Fork Natural History Museum and Nature Center. Meet owls, falcons, and eagles at the Quogue Wildlife Refuge.
13. Discover History – Visit Quogue’s oldest schoolhouse built in 1822 at the Old Schoolhouse Museum. Then tour the area’s oldest operating water mill and colonial crafts at the Water Mill Museum. Don’t miss Long Island’s whaling heritage displays of whale jaw bones and harpoons at The Sag Harbor Whaling & Historical Museum; explore the blacksmith and cobbler shops at the Southampton Historical Museum.
14. Eat like a Kid – Who doesn’t love burgers and pizza?! Our picks for Hamptons patties and pies are Bay Burger, LT Burger, Conca D’oro, La Capannina, Cafe Crust and American Pie Pizzeria.
15. Go on Safari – The largest combined children’s zoo and wildlife park on Long Island, the Long Island Game Farm in Manorville will entertain kiddos of any age with a giraffe, red kangaroos, lemurs, zebra, alligators and much more. Plus, “Old McDonald’s Farm Petting Zoo” lets kids reach out and touch furry friends.
16. Hit the Beach – Choose from the calm waters on the bay side or the roaring waves and white sands of the ocean side. Try the low-key, family-friendly Indian Wells Beach in Amagansett with food trucks and restrooms, or the sprawling Cooper’s Beach in Southampton which has a concession stand, chair and umbrella rentals, bathrooms and fresh water showers. Little ones will appreciate the gentle waters at Foster Memorial Long Beach in Sag Harbor — it’s a little rocky but the waters are warmer and you won’t find waves here.
17. Saddle Up – If you love horseback riding, you’ve come to the right place. Stony Hill Stables in Amagansett welcomes all ages for pony camp and competitions. For the Western experience, visit Deep Hollow Ranch, the oldest working cattle ranch in Montauk, which offers horseback riding and a petting zoo. Another option is Rita’s Stables in Montauk, which adds farming and arts and crafts to the pony camp experience.
18. See Where the Pollock-Krasner Magic Happened – You might say that visiting the home/workshop of one of America’s foremost abstract expressionists is a bit high-minded for kids, but we’re guessing that at some point your child has returned from school/a workshop/a camp with artwork inspired by Pollock’s splatter method. At the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center you can see the preserved house where they lived, tour the grounds, and inhabit the actual workshop space where Pollock created his large-scale works.
19. All Aboard – Make a stop at the Railroad Museum of Long Island, which has locations in both Riverhead and Greenport. Train-loving tots will freak over the model train exhibits, historic rail cars and locomotives.
20. Join a Team – East Hampton Sports Camp, Super Soccer Stars, and YMCA East Hampton RECenter among others give little athletes a chance to perfect their swing, kick, shot and stroke all summer long.
21. Build a Castle – Take part in weekly sand castle building contests at Hither Hills State Park in Montauk every Thursday morning. All ages build their best castle using sand, water, and natural materials found on the beach. State Park hosts additional family-friendly events like magic shows and musical performances. Check out the calendar here.
22. Get Cultured at Guild Hall – East Hampton’s Guild Hall is an epicenter of arts of all disciplines for all ages, including free art exhibitions and installations throughout the year. Highlights for young ones this summer include Kidfest Workshops (crafting all kinds of cool stuff); shows such as Teatro SEA’s La Cucarachita Martina, performances by the Fly Dance Company and Doktor Kaboom and The Wheel of Science, and theater and filmmaking camps for older kids. Click here for info on all its kids and family programming!
23. See Montauk via MonTiki- Tour The End of the island like you never have before via a catamaran crafted in the style of a Polynesian boat with Sailing Montauk. Do a simple day sail, sunset sail, sail & swim and more.
24. Climb to the Top – Kids 41 inches and taller can climb the 137 iron steps to the top of the tower of the Montauk Point Lighthouse, the oldest lighthouse in New York State.
25. Where Arts, Animals and Science Collide – Kids plus animals, need we say more? Check out The Art Farm in Bridgehampton for summer camps and classes for kids from six months to school age. Little animal lovers can get hands-on with furry friends, learn about nature, try cooking, play sports and enjoy water fun.
26. Grab a Paddle – Take the family on a stand up paddleboarding adventure with rentals from Adventure Paddleboards in Hampton Bays, Sag Harbor Sailing or Plaza Surf N Sports in Montauk. You can also rent paddleboards, canoes, kayaks, pedal boats at Puff ‘N’ Putt at Fort Pond in Montauk or from Main Beach Surf & Sport on Georgica Pond in Wainscott.
27. Find Your Creative Side – Participate in sneaker decorating, toddler, and kids art at Studio Art in Sayville–artist Karen Hogan will also bring the crafts to kids for private parties in the Hamptons area. Still feeling crafty? The Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill offers open studio time for families and summer arts camps.
28. Slip and Slide- If you prefer your water play with chlorine not salt, head to the the area’s popular waterpark Splish Splash for a totally tubular time. (Last season, the park added two new extreme slides, Bombs Away and Riptide Race!)
29. Watch Horses & High-profile Peeps – Head to the annual Hampton Classic Horse Show in Bridgehampton to see some stallions jumping and the rich and famous who make the scene (and hobnob in the VIP tent). Running from August 25 – September 1, it’s seven days of sport, shopping, and food. Plus, pony rides and Kids’ Day on September 1.
30. Park Playtime – Seems obvious, right?! Enjoy the great outdoors! Climb, swing and slide at the playgrounds at Herrick Park in East Hampton, Mashashimuet Park in Sag Harbor, Agawam Park in Southampton or Ria Del Bene playground in Westhampton.
main photo: via Children’s Museum of the East End Facebook page
—Ashley Grzyb and Rachel Sokol
