A Boston Summer Bucket List!

June 20, 2023

child by pool with popsicle, Boston summer bucket list

Summer, summer, summer!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and there’s no better way to make the most of it than with a Boston summer bucket list! The weather is perfect, the days are long, and it is time to slow down and enjoy the endless possibilities of a Boston summer! We have a list of 100+ ideas for summer fun in Greater Boston!

Click on an image below to see a list of spectacular ideas for every type of fun. Many ideas are FREE and can be done with supplies you already have at home. Other ideas will get you out into the community and supporting our local economy.

Whether your speed is catching a Sox game, going on a staycation adventure, or lounging by the pool, our summer bucket list has some great ideas to keep your family entertained this summer!

Outdoor Adventures

Historical Sites

Family Fun

Food + Beverage

Staying Home

Date Night

Outdoor Adventures

Hike, bike, or walk a local trail
Visit a Boston-area beach
Ride the Swan Boats
Explore the Cape Cod National Seashore
Have a picnic in the Public Garden or at the Arboretum
Rent kayaks
Go on a whale watch
Search for dinosaur footprints in Holyoke
Zipline!
Visit a waterfall
Fly a kite
Pick your own blueberries and strawberries
Visit a sunflower festival
Check out the cranberry bogs
Be brave on a ropes course!
Go on a nature scavenger hunt
Go camping!
Create a sidewalk mural with chalk

Historical Sites

Visit Faneuil Hall
Take a tour of the State House
Visit the House of the Seven Gables
See the ships at Battleship Cove
Explore Castle Island
Walk the Freedom Trail
Visit the Boston Massacre site
Check out Plymouth Rock
Visit Plimoth Patuxet (formerly Plimoth Plantation)
See the Paul Revere House
Visit the Black Heritage Trail and Museum of African American History
Check out the JFK Presidential Library and Museum
Walk the Irish Heritage Trail
Take a day trip to see the Brandt Point Lighthouse in Nantucket (it was built in 1746!)
Visit the Tea Party Museum
Have a picnic at the Bunker Hill Monument
Visit the USS Constitution

Staying Home

Have a tea party
Set up a tent and camp in your yard
Toast marshmallows
Make a chalk mosaic
Have a movie night
Look at the stars — how many constellations can you find?
Make an obstacle course
Plant a garden
Paint a self-portrait
Have an at-home fashion show! Dress up in whatever you can find!
Make a new recipe together
Decorate family T-shirts — tie-dye, puffy paint, stencils, the options are endless!
Create your own treasure hunt
Make your own bubble solution and bubble wands, and have a big bubble contest!
Make a fairy garden
Have a pajama day
Backwards day! Dinner for breakfast and breakfast for dinner!

Food + Beverage

Try out a new brunch spot
Get a fancy milkshake from Munchies and Milkshakes
Visit the ice cream truck
Try out a new recipe on the grill
Go to a food truck festival
Have a picnic
Host a neighborhood potluck
Take a Boston pizza tour
Eat ice cream for dinner
Have a watermelon-eating contest
Make as many flavors of popcorn as you can think of!
Make your own ice cream from scratch
Spend the afternoon at a family-friendly brewery
Shop at a local farmers market
Make lemonade
Have a neighborhood potluck BBQ
Make a big fruit salad with some new fruits you’ve never tried — dragonfruit, papaya, etc.!