Some families are skipping the long-haul flights and choosing to stay stateside in 2025, thanks to rising economic and political uncertainty. From mural-spotting in Richmond’s art-filled neighborhoods to digging for dinosaur bones in Grand Junction, Colorado, kid-friendly options abound and offer getaways that are equal parts educational and adventurous. Whether you’re seeking a hands-on historical experience, an immersive nature escape, or a really excellent taco, these six places prove you don’t have to cross an ocean to blow young minds in 2025.
Villatel Orlando Resort offers a wide array of water-based fun for kids after the parks—and some nicely shaded play structures.
Photo by Christine Gatti
Orlando, Florida
The Theme Park Capital of the World adds another big notch to its belt on May 22 when the city opens the fantastical new Universal Epic Universe, Orlando’s first new theme park in more than 25 years. There are five immersive “worlds” to explore here, including Super Nintendo World, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter—Ministry of Magic, How to Train Your Dragon—Isle of Berk, Dark Universe, and Celestial Park. With more than 50 rides spanning 750 acres, there’s something for every age, including character meet-and-greets for the starry-eyed toddlers and a comet-inspired coaster at Celestial that zooms up to 62 miles per hour.
In other park news, two new stage shows—one inspired by The Little Mermaid and another featuring love-’em-or-hate-’em Disney villains such as Cruella de Vil and Captain Hook—are coming to Hollywood Studios this summer, and Disney’s Magic Kingdom is getting its first nighttime parade since 2016.
Parents who pry their kids away from the parks can join guided kayaking tours through cypress forests with The Paddling Center at Shingle Creek or watch for alligators while whizzing atop the Central Florida Everglades on an airboat tour with Boggy Creek Airboat Adventures, both in nearby Kissimmee. If the sun really heats up, the emerald springs at Wekiwa Springs State Park in Apopka (reservations required) offer a cooling respite with temps hovering around 72 degrees.
When hunger strikes, zip over to Boxi Park Lake Nona, a clutch of repurposed shipping containers turned food kiosks serving lobster rolls, street tacos, ice cream, and more. Live music is a given, but check the calendar for Family Fun Days, which also bring in face painters, balloon artists, and bouncy houses.
Where to stay
Villatel Orlando Resort fully opened in March and houses the country’s first Apartments by Marriott Bonvoy Resort. There are currently 96 apartment-style suites, with another 160 units slated for the end of the year, and 270 four- to nine-bedroom villas that sleep even the largest multi-generational families of up to 26 guests. In addition to full kitchens, some villas have wizard- and castle-themed bunk bed rooms, private pools, movie theaters, and game rooms. The resort has a water park with multi-story slides and a lazy river, and perks like shuttle transportation to and from the theme parks.
Entrace to the Philadelphia Museum of Art costs $30 for adults; kids visit for free.
Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Museum of Art
Philadelphia
The U.S. will celebrate its 250th anniversary in 2026, making 2025 the best year to visit the birthplace of American democracy if you want to beat the crowds. Steeped in history, the City of Brotherly Love offers interactive experiences at the National Constitution Center, Independence National Historical Park (home of the Liberty Bell), the Philadelphia Zoo (America’s first!), and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which offers family-specific art tours, an art studio for kids, and, of course, those Rocky-famous steps. Big news for soccer fans too: Lincoln Financial Field, home of the Philadelphia Eagles, is one of 12 U.S. venues tapped to host group-stage matches and a round of 16 tie ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Then there’s the name-says-it-all Please Touch Museum, with a deep-sea adventure exhibit based on Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea; the Franklin Institute, a slam-dunk science museum that touches on everything from rocket launches to roller coaster design; one of only two Sesame Place amusement parks in the country; and Franklin Square, an urban goldmine featuring a carousel, a splash pad, and miniature golf. Choose your own food adventure at Reading Terminal Market, spend the afternoon swinging in a riverside hammock at Spruce Street Harbor Park, or watch the kids go wild on the pirate ship–themed playground at Craft Hall, an indoor-outdoor beer hall and garden that welcomes children till 9 p.m. For families open to venturing farther afield, the newly revitalized Longwood Gardens near Kennett Square, less than an hour west, is a must-see with its gleaming glasshouse conservatory and bonsai courtyard. Note for the not-too-distant future: Calder Gardens, a stunning new gallery and sculpture garden showcasing the work of artist Alexander Calder, will open this September on Benjamin Franklin Parkway, while King of Prussia Mall is set to get one of two Netflix House locations, an immersive fan experience center launching in fall.
Where to stay
The boutique-y, Euro-leaning Hotel Anna & Bel in buzzy Fishtown occupies what was once an 18th-century women’s asylum. Today the historic space has a seasonal heated pool in its courtyard, a Sardinian-Corsican restaurant and piano bar cocktail lounge, plus 50 rooms and suites tricked out with vintage-inspired furnishings and kitchenettes or minibars. Travel cribs are available upon request and larger rooms offer pull-out sofas. For the best view of the city, request the two-bedroom, two-bath suite on the top floor.
Cheyenne Frontier Days lasts for nine days, with events including bareback riding, bull riding, saddle bronc riding, and team roping.
Photo By Lincoln Rogers/Shutterstock
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Located where the grasslands and rolling prairie of the Great Plains give way to the rising foothills of the Rocky Mountains, this corner of southeastern Wyoming is Big Sky beautiful. Sightings of pronghorn antelope and hawks are common in Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests; for a more controlled wildlife experience, Terry Bison Ranch offers train tours and trail rides to observe its herd of more than 2,500 American bison, plus a petting zoo for the littlest wranglers. The 129th annual Cheyenne Frontier Days, the world’s largest outdoor rodeo and Western festival, is slated for July 18 to 27 this year. Attendees will be treated to a full slate of rodeo and slack events, plus a grand parade, carnival, concerts, gunslinger reenactments, pancake breakfasts, and more. (Hell on Wheels, a family-friendly rodeo-and-chuckwagon dinner series running from June to September, is an option if you’re traveling outside the festival window.)
Wyoming is getting its first full-sized horse racing track, Thunder Plains, this August. Sixteen live races are already on the docket, along with an equestrian center and entertainment venue. Families with kids 9 and younger should check out the new $3 million, 4,400-square-foot Cheyenne Children’s Museum, which opened in March and offers hands-on exhibits about science, math, robotics, engineering, and art. The four-month-old Derby Lanes entertainment complex is another big draw with its various bowling lanes (traditional, quarter-pin, and pony), three escape rooms, laser tag, an arcade, an indoor playground and dedicated playspace for toddlers, and a full-service bar for the parents who’ve had it up to here. The vast menu at old-timey restaurant the Albany, meanwhile, serves burgers, stuffed potato skins, and deep-fried bull nuts, which some daredevil kids may try just for the bragging rights.
Where to stay
Unless you’re a fan of generic hotels, a house rental is the most comfortable way to roll with family. Airbnb offers some charming options, from this elegantly rehabbed two-bedroom, one-bath cottage with a fire pit to this three-bedroom, two-bath manor, beloved by families thanks to its bunk beds and back porch slide.
White River State Park in Indianapolis hosts IMAX movies, baseball games, concerts, and more.
Photo by Eileen_10/Shutterstock
Indianapolis, Indiana
To honor its 100th anniversary this year, the world’s largest children’s museum, the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, has added new displays (including the first-ever Mickey Mouse Clubhouse exhibit, a Disney collab) and a 110-foot Ferris wheel to its 7.5-acre sports experience park. But that’s not the only reason Indy deserves serious consideration from families. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, tucked inside the Indy 500 racetrack, reopened this month following a $61 million renovation. It now features racing simulators, a pit crew experience, and a STEM lab for learning about the physics of racing. Indianapolis is also undergoing one of the largest river redevelopment projects in the country. The best way for families to get on or near the water is to rent a canoe, kayak, or stand-up paddleboard from Frank’s Paddlesports Livery or head to White River State Park, where the 250-acre spread includes a canal walk, sculpture park, urban wilderness trail with the city’s first monarch butterfly sanctuary, the NCAA Hall of Champions, and the Indianapolis Zoo, which just unveiled a new international chimpanzee complex housing 30 residents, including a new baby orangutan.
If the kids haven’t tried mohinga yet, this is the place to do it: Indianapolis is home to the largest Burmese population in the U.S. A one-mile radius on the southside of town has seven Burmese restaurants; the hot bar at Khambawi Restaurant & Grocery is a fine place to start. For less adventurous eaters, there’s the 20-vendor Garage Food Hall in the snazzy mixed-use Bottleworks District or build-your-own burgers at Baby’s, which also happens to have a modern outdoor playspace and Magna-Tiles for kids to play with while they wait.
For families with time to spare, Fort Wayne—just two hours north—is worth the side trip. There you’ll find sea lions and harbor seals in a new Coastal Cove exhibit at the Fort Wayne Zoo, recently designated a Certified Autism Center; the region’s only public planetarium, coming this year to Science Central; and a tree-top canopy trail and rock-hopping kids’ canal at Promenade Park, which also has a bouldering mound, hammock grove, and wheelchair-accessible kayak launch in the works. To close, you can’t go wrong with classic Midwest eats and a spirited game of duckpin bowling at Ducky’s.
Where to stay
InterContinental Indianapolis, newly opened in the historic Illinois Building after a $120 million restoration, is well located for exploring kid-approved attractions. The 170-key hotel also happens to be the first luxury property to open in Indianapolis in two decades. The devil is in the details here, including the Murano chandeliers and the rooftop bar with its striking views of Monument Circle.
Tacoparty’s fillings include hot fried chicken, rockfish tempura, and twice fried yam.
Photos by Adam Evarts
Grand Junction, Colorado
Fossil Fever will rock every household with a dino-obsessed kid when the new Jurassic World Rebirth movie hits theaters this July. When that happens, get the brood to Western Colorado, where T. rexes & Co. roamed millions of years ago. All that remains these days are their skeletons—along with 15,000 other cool specimens—on display at Dinosaur Journey Museum in Fruita. Run by the Museums of Western Colorado’s Paleontology Division, half- and full-day Dinosaur Digs and Expeditions from June through September invite children ages 5 and up (or 7+ for the full day) to participate in real-life excavations, prospecting, fossil prep, and more. Digs take place in the nearby Mygatt-Moore quarry, where apatosaurus and allosaurus bones have both been unearthed.
For the siblings who don’t know a pachycephalosaurus from a parasaurolophus, there are extant creatures too: Venture on foot, ATV, or guided horseback to the Little Book Cliffs Wild Horse Range, a 36,113-acre reserve for a chance to see bands of wild mustangs and possibly elk, mountain lions, and black bears. Or bounce over to family-friendly Dos Rios Park, where there’s a playground with a climbable humpback chub, a splash pad, and a bike park with tracks for riders of all ages and abilities. Also a hit with the whole fam: Josh Niernberg’s Tacoparty, where the menu leans in on all things seasonal and local, highlighting the bounty of Colorado’s Grand Valley.
For tweens and teens, there’s paddleboarding, kayaking, and tubing along the riverfront at Las Colonias Park (hit up Grand Junction Adventures for your rental gear); the newly minted Emerson Skate Park for practicing their ollies and kickflips; and splashy public art murals, part of the 40-years-running Walls in the Wild program, to background their TikTok dances. The outing they’re most likely to post about though is off-roading in Rattlesnake Canyon, home to the world’s second-largest concentration of arches. (You don’t need to sweat a few dings on the rental car; Adrenaline Driven Adventures books Jeep and RZR tours to handle the heavy-duty driving.)
Where to stay
Book one of 18 Instagram-friendly tiny homes or vintage Airstream trailers at Camp Eddy, an RV park and glampsite on the banks of the Colorado River. The tinies have full kitchens and sleep two to six people; the Airstreams are gut-renovated and sleep two and four. The property is walkable to Las Colonias Park and GJ’s new zipline, with Camp Eddy guests receiving a 15 percent discount on rides.
The Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is running an outdoor exhibition entitled Homes & Habitats through September 28, 2025, featuring large-scale works by seven regional artists.
Photo courtesy of Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden
Richmond, Virginia
Kings Dominion, the region’s go-to amusement park, turns 50 this year—and what better way to cheer for half a century than with the grand unveiling of Rapterra, the world’s tallest and longest launched wing coaster (guests must be at least 48 inches to ride). Other park pulls include a big mix of kiddie rides and Soak City, a 20-acre water park with thrilling slides, a wave pool, and a lazy river.
Plan a visit to the 30-year-old Metro Richmond Zoo if you want to ogle the internet-famous Poppy the Pygmy Hippo while she’s still a baby, plus some 2,000 other creatures from around the world (think Galapagos tortoises, African penguins, and Moluccan cockatoos). Besides the tulips and Virginia bluebells that would make great backdrops for holiday cards, the lovely Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden has a dedicated children’s garden with a century-old climbable mulberry tree, a wheelchair-accessible tree house, and a brand-new splash pad for hot summer days.
Flora and fauna aside, Richmond is known for its colorful street art and there’s no better way to see some of its poppiest murals than from a six-person, electric-powered tuk tuk. RVATukTuk leads a 90-minute private mural tour that visits some of the city’s most iconic works; other micro-themed outings go deep on Richmond’s Civil War history, its most haunted sites, or its best bakeries (what kid would say no to that?). For a jolt of nostalgia, the newly reopened Boulevard Burger and Brew diner dishes up mini corn dogs, craft beer, and boozy milkshakes. Virgin ones are available, too, for the minors in your party.
Where to stay
Graduate by Hilton, just steps from Virginia Commonwealth University, has a rooftop pool and family suites with a king-size bed in one room and bunks in the other. The mini-fridge is helpful for families traveling with young children, while free high-speed internet will keep older kids happily connected. It’s also a 10-minute (or less) drive to pretty much everywhere a family would want to be downtown, including the Science Museum of Virginia, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and the Children’s Museum of Richmond.
Looking for even more family-friendly travel ideas?
Read our 2024 2024 family travel list featuring several top destinations including:
- Buffalo, New York
- Santa Fe, New Mexico
- Denver, Colorado
