Best family-friendly things to do in Monmouth County, NJ

22 local picks across 15 towns, hand-picked by Monmouth Guide.

Kid-approved outings: playgrounds, arcades, farms, museums and places to burn off energy in any weather. Here are 22 family-friendly things to do across 15 Monmouth County towns, from Asbury Park to Neptune Township.

Local favorites

• Shrewsbury Historical Society Museum

  Shrewsbury · Includes items from the Hazard family, the "Ketchup Family of Shrewsbury", and models of the Historic Four Corners

  Small local history museum and research library at the Shrewsbury Municipal Center, focused on Shrewsbury from the mid-1800s on.

More family-friendly things to do to try

• Allenhurst Lakefront Park & Playground

  Allenhurst

  Borough lakefront park and playground on Deal Lake at the western end of Corlies and Spier Avenues.

• Asbury Eighteen Mini Golf

  Asbury Park

  An 18-hole boardwalk mini golf course where each hole tells a story from Asbury Park's music history.

• Asbury Park Boardwalk

  Asbury Park

  A walkable mile of restaurants, bars, shops, arcades and live music linking Convention Hall to the Casino at the south end.

• Avon Boardwalk

  Avon-by-the-Sea

  Boardwalk spanning the whole borough, with a pavilion at Woodland Avenue that hosts free summer evening concerts.

• Bell Works

  Holmdel

  The famous former Bell Labs building reborn as a "metroburb" with shops, eateries, a theater and a huge indoor atrium.

• Bluegrass Mini Golf

  Oceanport

  Two landscaped 18-hole mini golf courses with ponds and fountains beside Monmouth Park racetrack.

• Dearborn Market

  Holmdel

  A family-run farm market since 1950 with its own produce, a bakery, deli and a large greenhouse garden center.

• Dorbrook Recreation Area

  Colts Neck

  A 540-acre recreation park with the accessible Challenger Place playground, a 2.3-mile paved trail, courts and fields.

• Eastmont Orchards

  Colts Neck

  A family pick-your-own orchard for peaches, apples and pumpkins, with weekend hayrides in fall.

• Fort Monmouth Recreation Area

  Tinton Falls

  The county park system's indoor recreation center with a gym, open basketball and pickleball, and a game room.

• Howell Lanes

  Howell

  A family-owned 32-lane bowling center open since 1957, plus a 5-lane VIP suite.

• InfoAge Science & History Museums

  Wall Township

  A "museum of museums" on historic Camp Evans covering radar, radio, space, computing and military history.

• iPlay America

  Freehold Township

  A big indoor amusement park with rides, a huge arcade, laser tag, a restaurant and a Topgolf Swing Suite.

• Jersey Shore Arena

  Wall Township

  A multi-rink ice complex with daily public skating sessions, plus a hockey shop, cafe and laser tag.

• Monmouth County Fair

  Freehold Township

  The county's five-day summer fair with rides, food, live music, 4-H animal shows, agricultural exhibits and a petting farm.

• Monmouth Museum

  Middletown

  An art, science and natural-history museum on the Brookdale campus with rotating exhibits and hands-on kids' galleries.

• New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial & Museum

  Holmdel

  A moving open-air memorial with an adjacent museum telling the story of the Vietnam era and New Jersey's veterans.

• Pier Pins

  Long Branch

  An upscale boutique bowling lounge in Pier Village with golf simulators, pool, ping pong and a full bar.

• Silverball Retro Arcade

  Asbury Park

  A boardwalk arcade museum with 100+ pinball and classic video games, all on free play once you pay for time.

• Sky Zone Trampoline Park

  Ocean Township

  An indoor trampoline park with wall-to-wall trampolines, dodgeball, climbing walls and a ninja course.

• Solve It Sherlock Escape Rooms

  Neptune Township

  Five story-driven 60-minute escape rooms for 2-8 players near Asbury Park.

Family-Friendly Things To Do by town

• Things to do in Asbury Park3 picks here
• Things to do in Holmdel3 picks here
• Things to do in Colts Neck2 picks here
• Things to do in Wall Township2 picks here
• Things to do in Freehold Township2 picks here
• Things to do in Shrewsbury1 pick here
• Things to do in Allenhurst1 pick here
• Things to do in Avon-by-the-Sea1 pick here
• Things to do in Oceanport1 pick here
• Things to do in Tinton Falls1 pick here
• Things to do in Howell1 pick here
• Things to do in Middletown1 pick here

Quick answers

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Planning a day out? See what’s on this weekend or read the latest from the Monmouth Guide blog.