With the whole summer ahead of us, we wanted to put together a guide full of easy, family-friendly outdoor activities you can enjoy almost anytime throughout the season. Whether you're looking to add a little variety to your days, discover a new favorite spot, or simply get the kids out of the house, we hope this gives you plenty of ideas for summer fun around the Madison area.
We’ll also continue sharing weekly ideas for cheap family fun, local events, festivals, and seasonal activities on our regularly updated calendar all summer long!
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A big thank you to Havens Petting Farm for sponsoring this guide. Look for a coupon to check them out below.
Havens Petting Farm
Havens Petting Farm in Blue Mounds is a fun family destination where kids can get up close with animals, explore the farm, and enjoy plenty of outdoor space to play. Between the friendly animals, outdoor play areas, and hands-on farm experiences, it's an easy way to spend a few hours making family memories. This has been an annual family-favorite of ours and our son talks about it all year long!
Don't miss special events throughout the season, including:
- Storytime on the Farm: Every other Wednesday at 10am
- Father's Day (Sunday, June 21st 11a-5p): Coffee and food truck in attendance for this special day; kids 2 and under are free (always)
- Goat Yoga on the Farm: Every last Sunday of the month at 9am
- Farm & Artisan Market: Saturday, July 18th 11a-5p
- Back to School Barn Dance: Saturday, August 15th
- Fall Fest: Saturday Sept 19th-Sunday Sept 20th 11a-5p
Outdoor music and family hangouts - We love summer nights where the kids can run around, parents can relax a little, and everyone can enjoy being outside together without a super strict schedule. Many local spots have open space, food, drinks, and live music that make for such an easy family outing. Some of our favorite spots:
- The Olbrich Biergarten - Plenty of fun for all ages, from the small sandbox to the giant sandbox (better known as the beach). Bring your own snacks or grab food and drinks there, enjoy lawn games, open space for kids to run, and some of the best summer views in Madison.
- Nearby is the Olbrich After Hours on Tuesdays or Garver Feed Mill Fridays.
- Seven Acre Dairy, Paoli - Not that far south, in a beautiful spot along the Sugar River, they've got specials every night of the week with pizza on Mondays, burgers on Tuesdays, and kids eat free on Wednesdays! Read about Aaron's visit and Melanie's overnight stay.
- And if you like cows - Sassy Cow Creamery has regular tours with the animals, along with great food and ice cream in their cafe.
- Check out the “Parks Alive” events, plus outdoors movies and music throughout the summer.
- The Memorial Union Terrace – One of the ultimate Madison summer experiences. Grab food or drinks, listen to live music by the lake, rent boats, explore nearby trails, make Terrace art, and enjoy all the family-friendly events and activities happening throughout the summer.
- Other Breweries/Biergartens - Wisconsin Brewing Company in Verona has a huge outdoor space with fire pits, live music, and room for kids to move around. Capital Brewery in Middleton is another longtime favorite for outdoor music and summer evenings, and Doundrins Distilling in Cottage Grove even has a play structure for kids. Sun Prairie also hosts regular pop-up events throughout the summer, and Stone Horse Green in Middleton is another fun family-friendly spot to keep an eye on this season.
Don't forget to check out our Guide to Live Music!
Semi pro sports - the Madison area teams make games fun with plenty of promotions, competitive but laid back feel, silly contests, easy parking/biking access, and surprisingly good stadium foods. Our favorites:
- At Warner Park, the Madison Mallards baseball (so many between-inning activities) and new Night Mares softball
- At Breese Stevens, the Forward FC Soccer and Madison Radicals Ultimate Frisbee
Pools, splash pads, and parks -
- Splash + play - Splash pads are one of our favorite low-stress summer activities. They're free, easy, and perfect for those days when you don't want to commit to a full beach or pool outing. We especially love splash pads that also have great playgrounds nearby, so kids can switch back and forth between playing and cooling off.
A few of our favorites: Fireman's Park in Verona (also next to a beach and bike trail), Mckee Park Fitchburg, Bakken Park splash pad in Cottage Grove, Elver Park in West Madison, and Lakeview Park Middleton. All are free with lots more to see nearby. - Pools - The Goodman pool in Madison and the Aquatic Center in Verona have zero depth-entries. Monona has a little pool and hours for littles-only, plus Middleton and Sun Prairie’s public pools. Sun Prairie's is under renovations but expected to be open July 2026.
- Madison lakes aren’t always the cleanest (understatement), but Troll Beach in Stoughton and Ripley Park in Cambridge have nice, clean beach spots.
Outdoor adventures - boats, bikes, and hikes - See our guide to all the swim spots!
- Whether or not you're planning to jump IN the lake, there are plenty of ways to enjoy time ON the water. Madison Boats offers rentals at Wingra, Brittingham, the Edgewater, and Marshall, making it easy to get out on a kayak, canoe, paddleboard, or boat. Keep an eye out for fun seasonal events too, including Burgers on the Bay, Ice Cream Boat Floats, and other special outings throughout the summer.
- Want to get your family ready to explore? The Lussier Center offers classes for kids to learn to fish and bike.
- Explore nearby state parks, or stay closer to home:
- North - Governor's Island or Cherokee Marsh for wooded trails and lots of side options to add variety.
- South/East - Edna Taylor (connected to Aldo Leopold Nature Center) and Lake Farm Park
- West - Indian Lake and Donald County park - with options for hills or flat by the lake
- Central - UW-Arboretum start at the nature center, or off Seminole Hwy for nice wooded hikes with different loops, and while Picnic Point gets all the pictures, there’s plenty more to see at the Lakeshore Nature Preserve on campus.
Indoor activities - museums, gyms, arts, and arcades - With unpredictable heat, storms, haze, or bugs - it's always great to have some indoor options.
- Library programs - Madison area libraries (see our guide) offer reading programs with prizes and incentives for kids, plus they have special science, arts, and music programs with great guests (who you often would pay for elsewhere) - all free. And look for the Dream Bus at parks, festivals, and more this summer.
- On Tuesdays, check out Lakeside Kids at the Monona Terrace
- Each Saturday- (just down State St. from the farmer's market...) check out the free Art Lab for kids at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art
- Indoor gyms - some of our favorites are Boulder's, Wisco Kidz, Little Gym of Middleton (now with a Sun Prairie location too), KEVA sports, Play N Wisconsin, and Prairie Kids Club.
- Arts and Crafts - we love the Curious Crafter for great prices, a super friendly team, and regular special events - you can make there or take home!
- UW students are mostly gone, so campus traffic is easier. The geology museum, and the physics museum (with lots of hands-on experiments/experiences) are both free, and Union South has cheap bowling, games, and climbing.
- Childrens museums: check out Madison Children's Museum, and more intimate experiences in Black Earth and Sun Prairie.
- Kids Bowl Free – One of those programs that sounds too good to be true, but isn't. Sign up and your kids can bowl free all summer at participating locations. Perfect for rainy days, heat waves, or when everyone just needs to get out of the house.
- We've got some DIY family fun ideas!
Weekend getaways - Weekend getaways can be a great way to break up the summer and make a few memories along the way. We've shared some of our own family adventures, including a two-night stay in Viroqua, and we're always looking for new places to explore.
Later this summer we'll be staying at Casacampo in Wisconsin Dells and reporting back!
Of course, Wisconsin Dells, Door County, Milwaukee, and Chicago are popular for a reason and offer plenty to see and do. Looking for smaller crowds or somewhere a little different? Check out these ideas:
- Bay Beach amusement park (Green Bay): Run by the city, the prices are amazing, plus there’s a nearby children’s museum and wildlife sanctuary.
- New Glarus: This Swiss town in the rolling hills is just southwest of Madison. In addition to the famous brewery, there’s a state park, public pool next to a big park, and some nice food options for kids. Plus cute stores, and a toy store on the main street if kids need some motivation.
- If you're considering a trip to the Baraboo and Wisconsin Dells area, be sure to check out Melanie's website, Sauk County Mom Collective, for local recommendations including Timbavati Wildlife Park, Riverside & Great Northern Railway, Aquavia Lumina, Country Bumpkin Farm Market, farmers markets, live music, festivals, and more.
We've got more ideas for you in our guide here.
What did we miss? You can add events to our calendar (it's free!) and contact us about promoting your event or organization.
