From forest walks to free museums, these kid-friendly attractions in the Lehigh Valley are perfect for weekend excursions.
You don’t have to spend much—or anything at all—to enjoy a day out with kids in the Lehigh Valley. Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, and the surrounding area are filled with interesting, free activities for families, from checking out the fish at Lil’-Le-Hi Trout Nursery and the bison at Trexler Nature Preserve to visiting museums and stellar playgrounds. Here’s a list of 10 ways you can enjoy family time in the Lehigh Valley for free.
1. Li’l-Le-Hi Trout Nursery – Allentown
Of Allentown’s many public park attractions, perhaps the most distinctive can be found in the Lehigh Parkway at Li’l-Le-Hi Trout Nursery, home to thousands of fish at one of the country’s oldest continuously operating trout nurseries. Kids can check out more than a dozen tanks filled with fish raised to stock local streams. It’s completely free to visit and walk the grounds—self-guided tour markers provide information about the fish’s lives—though you can pay a small fee for food to feed the fish.
Plus, don’t miss the wishing well located on the trout nursery grounds.
2. Covered Bridge Park – South Whitehall Township
Covered Bridge Park in South Whitehall Township is located between two historic covered bridges along Jordan Creek. While the bridges certainly draw visitors to the park, kids will be especially interested in the park’s state-of-the-art playground. The 20,000-plus-square-foot space boasts separate play areas for toddlers and children between ages 5 and 12, ensuring that kids of all ages can enjoy the park. The main playground area has a bunch of fun features, including a three-story slide, climbing structures, swings, and even a zipline.
3. Allentown Art Museum
The Allentown Art Museum is always free and always worth a visit for the whole family. Introducing kids to the museum’s paintings, sculptures, and installations can encourage a lifelong appreciation for art, whether you’re visiting its permanent exhibitions of American paintings, textiles, and Tiffany windows or its special, rotating collections.
You can also seek out free programming especially designed for kids and families, like ArtVentures held every Saturday and Sunday between 11:30 am and 3 p.m. at the Art Ways Interactive Family Gallery. Here, kids can take part in the creative process themselves and make art, guided by museum staff and inspired by the institution’s exhibits.
4. Historic Moravian Bethlehem’s free first Sundays
Historic Moravian Bethlehem is a collection of preserved buildings and museums that tell the story of Moravian settlers. These members of a Protestant denomination, with roots in Bohemia and Moravia in the modern-day Czech Republic, first came to the Lehigh Valley and established Bethlehem in 1741. In 2024, the historic district became a World Heritage Site, one of just 27 in the United States.
Historic Moravian Bethlehem isn’t just for adult history buffs; the district offers plenty of attractions for children and their families. While it usually costs money to visit many of the sites, between February and November, admission to the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts, Moravian Museum of Bethlehem, and the Grist Miller’s House is free on the first Sunday of the month—and each Sunday includes a free family craft session at each museum, like making your own paper lantern at the Kemerer Museum or painting wooden ornaments at the Grist Miller’s House. Note that online registration is recommended to reserve session seats.
5. Mack Trucks Historical Museum – Allentown
Kids who love vehicles and wheels of all kinds will be thrilled to visit the Mack Trucks Historical Museum, home to antique trucks, vintage Mack models, and even the real truck that portrayed Megatron in the movie “Transformers: Dark of the Moon.” Young kids (and adults, we’re sure) will also be wowed by the giant bulldog statue, an homage to the Mack Trucks mascot.
Admission is free, though a $5 donation is suggested for visitors over 12.
6. The Enchanted Forest at St. Luke’s Hospital’s Anderson Campus – Easton
The playground known as the Enchanted Forest, located within the arboretum and gardens of St. Luke’s Hospital’s Anderson Campus, is a special place for kids to play in nature. The free, natural play space allows kids to connect with the outdoors through rugged equipment that promotes imaginative play, like a mushroom table, a stone tunnel, tree stump seating, and forts built out of branches. There’s also a seasonal pumpkin house built with reclaimed wood and covered with gourds, perfect for autumn photo ops.
Plus, the Enchanted Forest is located near a few short trails if you’re looking for a nature walk within the arboretum.
7. Trexler Nature Preserve – Schnecksville
With its forests, rolling hills, and more than 18 miles of trails, Trexler Nature Preserve is a Lehigh Valley gem begging to be explored. Kid-friendly nature trails abound, offering short and easy hikes, including some with panoramic views of the surrounding valley.
Families may also see Trexler’s bison in their pasture in the Central Range, as well as an elk herd, which you can view from trails like the moderate, 1.5-mile Elk Viewing Trail. For an accessible path, take the easy, 1.2-mile Covered Bridge Trail, which is great for visitors with wheelchairs or strollers.
8. Klein Farms Dairy & Creamery – Easton
For kids who love animals, it’s completely free to head to Klein Farms Dairy & Creamery and visit the cows as well as the farm’s goats, pigs, mules, sheep, and ducks. You can see the cows in their barns on weekends between noon and 4 p.m., but you can hang out with the rest of the animals—located closer to the dairy store and farm pavilion—anytime the farm is open.
Though it doesn’t cost anything to check out the farm and its furry and feathery residents, you might want to spend a few dollars at the dairy store for some farm-fresh ice cream from Happy Holstein Ice Cream.
9. Hoover-Mason Trestle – Bethlehem
Get in touch with the Lehigh Valley’s vast steelmaking history by checking out SteelStacks’ Hoover-Mason Trestle, an elevated pathway 46 feet above the ground that allows visitors a close look at the massive, historic blast furnaces that were once key to production at Bethlehem Steel. The walkway-cum-park was converted from a rail trestle that transported raw materials for the company. Today, the pedestrian path stretches a third of a mile and has benches and self-guided tour plaques describing the steelmaking process.
10. Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center – Nazareth
A Pennsylvania state park, Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center is what the park system calls a “living outdoor classroom,” where both kids and adults can explore and learn about the natural world. The center has roughly 19 miles of trails—including a path through Henry’s Woods, a patch of old-growth forest that feels otherworldly—as well as a wildlife-watching area and butterfly garden.
Free public programs regularly offer more interactive exposure to nature, with many geared toward kids and families, like seasonal hikes, family science nights, and events like “Who Gives a Hoot?” which is all about owls.
