Summer in Madison

After an incredibly long and terribly cold winter, I’m definitely ready for summer. Luckily, we live in Madison, where summertime is so beautiful, it tricks people into staying the rest of the year! Our lovely city offers so many fun (and unique) things to do when the weather is nice.

If anyone is interested in trying some of these activities this year, please let us know in the comments – we are considering putting together a Madison Mom’s Blog Meetup Group! The idea is we could plan a meet up at each of these places (once per week this summer!)

Here are some of my favorites:

Arboretum: The UW Arboretum is 1200 acres of beautiful trails, open space and nature. You can walk, bike, jog, bird-watch, read a book or, my personal favorite, let your toddler run off steam in the big open space near the flowering trees. My family went last year when the fruit trees were blooming, and it smelled amazing and made for gorgeous pictures on a sunny morning. For more information about the Arboretum, visit http://uwarboretum.org/visit/

Memorial Union Terrace: The terrace is not just for college students, it’s a great place for families. Overlooking gorgeous Lake Mendota, the terrace has a beach, live music, concessions selling brats, Babcock Hall ice cream for the kids (and beer for adults), and a generally relaxed atmosphere. We went several times last summer with our son, and he loved watching the boats on the water, the ducks swimming, all of the kids playing and running around, and of course, eating an ice cream cone.

Other family-friendly activities include renting a canoe or board game from Outdoor Rentals, Monday night “movie night” at Lakeside Cinema, or listening to music (five nights a week!) on the stage overlooking the lake.

For more information about family-friendly activities, please visit: http://www.union.wisc.edu/childfriendly.htm

Botanical Gardens: The Olbrich Gardens have been a go-to spot for my family since we first moved here over a year ago. In the winter, we like to stay indoors in the steamy heat of the Bolz Conservatory, an indoor greenhouse full of tropical plants, orchids, a waterfall and birds. Our son loves to run around the path and toss pennies into the pond.

In the summer, the outdoor trails are the main attraction – there are 16 acres of lush greenery, including a Thai pavilion, rose garden and a number of fountains and ponds. It’s free to stroll through the outdoor gardens, and fun for both kids and adults. In July, don’t miss their Blooming Butterflies exhibit, when the Bolz Conservatory becomes home to whole bunch of free-flying butterflies.

For more information on the Olbrich Gardens, visit: http://www.olbrich.org/visit/

Farms: There are a couple local farms that are a blast for kids. Last summer we took my son to Eugster’s Farm Market in Stoughton and were able to buy baby bottles and feed the goats, pet the animals, play with kittens in the barn, and a lot more. It was a great activity, and only 15 minutes from Madison. Another option is Haven’s petting Farm in Blue Mounds, which has a petting farm with kittens, ponies, chicks, pigs and more. For more information on these two farms, visit: http://www.havenspettingfarm.com/ and http://www.eugsters.com/.

Beaches: One of my favorite things about living in Madison is being so close to the water. I have always loved boating, fishing, swimming and hanging out on the beach. Madison offers a number of beaches great for spending a hot summer day. Pack up a picnic, blankets, sunscreen and towels, and try one of these beaches this summer. (If you know of any others, please let me know in the comments! I’m always looking for new places to try).

Olbrich Beach
3527 Atwood Ave, Lake Monona

Vilas Beach
1339 Vilas Park Drive, Lake Wingra

Tenney Park
1300 Sherman Ave, Lake Mendota

James Madison Park
614 East Gorham Street, Lake Mendota

Dane County Farmer’s Market: Before my family moved to Madison permanently we had been here dozens of times for football games, beer at the Union, and the amazing Saturday morning Farmer’s Market. Every Saturday from 6:00am until 2:00pm, the Capitol Square is full of vendors selling produce, flowers, baked goods, local meats and more. It’s a bustling experience, and getting there much past 8:00am will mean moving in a pretty slow crowd around the square. When we took our son last year, we only made it halfway before he was ready to leave. Nevertheless, we will definitely be going back this year. It’s so much fun and wonderful to buy and try food from local farmers and vendors. For more information, visit: http://dcfm.org/

Henry Vilas Zoo: While of course the zoo is fun even on a cold day, summer at the Henry Vilas Zoo is so much better. It’s free to visit, and you can bring in a picnic lunch, or eat outside the zoo grounds at one of several beautiful parks. My son loves summertime at the zoo because of the little “train” that runs during the warmer months – you can pick it up in the Children’s Zoo section. There are a number of outdoor exhibits, but the bear exhibits is currently under construction (which is fine with my toddler, who seems to prefer watching the trucks work to seeing animals anyway!).

There are summer programs for school-aged children, concession stands if you need a snack, indoor exhibits if you want to get out of the sun for a few minutes, and a wonderful Children’s Zoo with a huge playground (one of my son’s favorite things to do!).

I would recommend getting there early, as the zoo is a very popular place during the summer, and the parking lots fill up fast. For more information, please visit: http://www.vilaszoo.org/

Dream Parks: We haven’t been to all of the Madison area dream parks yet, but the ones we have visited have been a huge hit with my son. I had never heard of a dream park before moving to Madison (maybe this is a specific Madison thing?), but I love that the parks are so unique – they are unlike any playground I’ve ever been to before – big, beautiful structures with wooden towers, bridges and walkways. The playgrounds are part of larger park grounds, so it’s a great destination activity – pack a picnic and stay for lunch, or play on the playground and then kick a soccer ball around for a while.

My son is a little young (he’s two and a half) for some of the equipment, and there are a lot of “big kids” when we go, but he still has a lot of fun. We particularly like the Fireman’s Park in Sun Prairie, where there is a separate toddler area with a nice slide, swings, and enough to do that my son can be a bit protected from the rest of the playground for most of our visit. Here is a list of the local dream parks:

Cottage Grove
Cottage Grove Kids Park
Located at Fireman’s Park
4064 Vilas Road, Cottage Grove
http://cgkidspark.org/

Deerfield
Deerfield Dream Park
642 Autumn Wood Parkway, Deerfield

Fitchburg
Kids Crossing Dream Park
Located at McKee Farms Park
2930 Chapel Valley Road, Fitchburg

Monona
Monona Youth Dream Park
Located at Winnequah Park
1041 Nichold Road, Monona, WI

Sun Prairie
Firemen’s Park in the Prairie
Located at Angell Park
300 Park Street, Sun Prairie
http://www.sunprairiedreampark.com/

Splash Pads: You can’t beat a splash pad on a hot summer day. Most open after Memorial Day weekend, and are a very popular place to spend time cooling off. If you’ve never been to a splash park before, think of it as a colorful sprinkler playground – water is sprayed, poured and dumped on the kids. There is also no standing water, so it feels a bit safer for the younger kids.

They are usually located at parks with playgrounds and restrooms, so it’s a nice way to spend an afternoon with your kids. Here are a few I have heard of around Madison:

Middleton Splash Pad
Lakeview Park
6200 Mendota Ave, Middleton, WI 53562

Fitchburg Splash Pad
McKee Farms Park (the Fitchburg Dream park is located here, too!)
2930 Chapel Valley Rd., Fitchburg, WI 53711

DeForest Splash Pad
Conservancy Commons Park, DeForest
6822 Yellowwood Lane, DeForest, WI

Cypress Splash Park
Corner of Cypress & Magnolia
902 Magnolia Lane, Madison, WI

There you have it, those are some of the family activities on our list this summer (and this year, we will be adding a newborn to the mix!). Let me know if you know of any other fun things around Madison in the comments.