10 weeks, 10 fun things to do with kids this summer
New England has a variety of amusement parks, including
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A boardwalk guides hikers around Lonesome Lake.
Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
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Take a hut hike
The Appalachian Mountain Club's network of eight high mountain huts, spread across some 50 miles in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, is a New England gem. Staying overnight in the rustic huts offers a one-of-a-kind wilderness experience, amidst the stunning mountain landscape. Some huts are challenging to get to, but we'll try the family-friendly hike to the
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Aerials, acrobatics, juggling, clowning, costumes — it's Circus Smirkus! This traveling Big Top show, featuring 30 young circus artists ages 12-18, is the only one like it in the United States.
Hillary Packard for Circus Smirkus
See the circus
Aerials, acrobatics, juggling, clowning, costumes — it's Circus Smirkus! This traveling Big Top show, featuring 30 young circus artists ages 12-18, is the only one like it in the United States. The award-winning circus company, backed by professional coaches, cooks, musicians, and crew — some 80 people in all with 23 support vehicles — performs under its own 750-seat European-style one-ring Big Top tent. The company will perform at sites throughout Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts, from June 28 to Aug. 17. This year's theme is
Game On
! We say, bring it on! Check out the schedule
Northern Outdoors, New England's oldest whitewater rafting outfitter, offers rafting trips on three northern Maine rivers.
Northern Outdoors
Brave the rapids
The Kennebec, the Penobscot, the Dead. As any East Coast water rat will tell you, these three dam-controlled rivers in northern Maine offer thrills aplenty. The Dead is big and intense, with the longest stretch of continuous whitewater in the East — 15 miles. It's a snarling white serpent (for ages 14 and up). The West Branch of the Penobscot offers bursts of Class IV to Class V rapids, interspersed with tamer scenic swirls (ages 14 and up). Kennebec is the calmest of the three and the most family-friendly (ages 10 and up). It's a Class IV river with a mix of rapids and floats. We'll book the trip with
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Lost River Gorge & Boulder Caves has waterfalls and cascades, lush forests, boulder fields, and caves.
Lost River Gorge & Boulder Caves
Crawl through caves
Who doesn't like a little dirty fun? We're talking about crawling through the natural boulder caves at
Pretty views, hiking trails, and some of the best tidepooling in New England is at Odiorne State Park in New Hampshire.
New Hampshire Division of Travel & Tourism
Spot sea creatures
Clams and crabs, sea urchins and starfish, shrimp and snails … and is that a baby lobster?!! Tide pooling makes going to the beach even more fun. We've got
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Killington in Vermont has upped its summer game, adding a variety of activities and attractions, including the 4,800-foot-long Beast Mountain Coaster.
Killington
Visit The Beast
A view from the Marginal Way in Ogunquit, Maine.
Christopher Muther/Globe staff
Trap a lobster
Getting out on a boat and chug-chugging along the coastline is always a fun experience, but throw in (literally) lobster traps, and it's even more exciting, and educational. We'll head up to Ogunquit, Maine, to hop aboard one of the
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You can visit dozens of historic buildings in the re-created 19th-century New England coastal village at the Mystic Seaport Museum.
Mystic Seaport Museum
Travel into the Mystic
Charles W. Morgan
, the last surviving wooden whale ship in the world, visit dozens of historic buildings in the re-created 19th-century New England coastal village, where ship smiths, coopers, printers, and ship carvers demonstrate traditional trades, and watch shipwrights restore wooden boats in the working shipyard. If we have time (we'll make time!), we'll also visit the
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, an underwater plateau located between Cape Ann and Cape Cod, is considered one of the top whale watching destinations in the world. This summer, book a trip with Cape Ann Whale Watch. The Company has been around since 1979 and boasts a 98 percent success rate.
C.McMahon~Foley for Cape Ann Whale Watch
Have a whale of a time
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, an underwater plateau located between Cape Ann and Cape Cod, is considered one of the top whale watching destinations in the world. And it's right off our coast! We'll book a trip with
Hurricane II
, with a sundeck and heated main cabin. The company, which has been around since 1979, boasts a 98 percent success rate, and if you don't see a whale, you can go again free until you do.
Diane Bair and Pamela Wright can be reached at
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