Keeping kids entertained doesn’t have to break the bank. Whether they love splashing in the water, exploring nature or getting creative, there are plenty of free adventures in the region.
Splash pads
Wilder Splash Pad
The splash pad runs from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Memorial Day through Labor Day, weather permitting. It’s in City Center Park, which also offers two shelters, a playground, half-court basketball, a pitching wall, a tennis practice wall, two pickleball courts, a concession stand and restrooms.
• 110 South St., Wilder.
Latonia Water Park/Splash Pad
The splash pad in the Bill Cappel Youth Sports Complex is open and free to Covington residents from June to August. The park offers hoses, sprinklers, slides and play equipment.
• 4305 Decoursey Ave., Covington.
Public parks
Central Park & Arboretum
Central Park is a 121-acre park offering 2.35 miles of paved trails through wooded and open areas. It has a children’s garden, wetlands and is home to the Boone County Arboretum. The arboretum is open daily from 7:30 a.m. to dusk and boasts more than 3,600 trees and shrubs. There is no charge for admission or parking.
The arboretum also offers events through the year (go to bcarboretum.org/events for the listing). One upcoming free event is the pollinator walk, 10-11 a.m. June 12. Kids can discover butterflies and other pollinators. Registration is required and can be done through the website.
• 9190 Camp Ernst Road, Union.
Devou Park NaturePlay@BCM
Just outside the Behringer-Crawford Museum, NaturePlay@BCM provides kids with a range of activities like exploring a flatboat, navigating a rocky cave, imagining life in a log cabin and discovering fossils.
NaturePlay@BCM is open seven days a week, from dawn until dusk, and is free to use. Parking is free, too, in the Behringer-Crawford Museum lot.
• 1201 Park Drive, Covington.
Big Bone Lick State Historic Site
Visit the bison herd, tour the museum and diorama pit, and discover the salt springs along the Big Bone Creek trail. There is also a museum where you can find Ordovician-period fossils, ice age mammal bones, Native American artifacts and more.
Admission to the park and visitor center is free all year, and park grounds are open daily year-round until dark.
• 3380 Beaver Road, Union.
Public libraries
Boone County
The Boone County Public Library has six locations across the county:
• Main library: 1786 Burlington Pike, Burlington.
• Florence: 7425 U.S. 42, Florence.
• Hebron: 1863 North Bend Road, Hebron.
• Scheben: 8899 U.S. 42, Union.
• Walton: 13000 Towne Center Drive, Walton.
• Chapin Memorial Library: 6517 Market St., Petersburg.
The main library in Burlington has a couple of sensory-related items, including a sensory room that was created with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and the Cincinnati Zoo.
The main library, the Hebron, and the Walton branches all have Boone Innovation Labs, which have laser engravers, Cricut machines, 3-D printers, large-format poster printers, podcast equipment, and green screens.
Story times: Take your child to a story-time held at the library with interactive stories, rhymes and music. Story times are held through the month based on the following age groups:
• Baby Time (birth-18 months).
• Tiny Tots (18 months-2 1/2 years).
• Toddler Tales (2 1/2-3 1/2 years).
• Bookworms (3 1/2-5 years).
• Family Time (birth-5+ years).
• Sensory Storytime (2-5 years).
• Sleepy Tales (birth-5+ years).
• Stories with Art (3-6 years).
For additional information on story times, go to bcpl.org/children/storytime-early-literacy.
Campbell County
On average, Campbell County Public Library offers about 45 monthly programs at each of its three largest branches, Cold Spring, Newport and Fort Thomas. The programming is divided into three age ranges: newborn to age 11, teens 12 to 19 and adults 18 and up.
There are different club opportunities like Minecraft and Dungeons & Dragons. The library has traveling exhibits from such institutions as the Smithsonian, Kentucky Science Center, Cincinnati Museum Center, Cincinnati Zoo and Newport Aquarium.
You also can visit a toddler or preschool story time.
Toddlers aged 1-3 can join the library for stories, music and craft activities. Preschoolers aged 3-6 can also join the library for stories, music and craft activities targeted to their age group.
To find more information on the story times offered at the Campbell County Public Library visit campbellcounty.librarycalendar.com/events.
The Campbell County Public Library’s locations are:
• Alexandria: 8333 Alexandria Pike in Alexandria.
• Cold Spring: 3920 Alexandria Pike.
• Carrico/Fort Thomas: 1000 Highland Ave., Fort Thomas.
• Newport: 901 E. Sixth St.
Parents can get a free book to read at home with their children through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. The program mails an age-appropriate book for free to enrolled children monthly. This program is offered through all the county’s public libraries.
Kenton County
The Kenton County Public Library offers the stream center, a maker space. The largest location is at the Erlanger branch; however, Covington and Independence also have small versions. The stream center in Erlanger has laser printers, 3-D printers, long-arm quilting machines, embroidery machines and coding equipment geared toward children.
The library offers various story time programs tailored to different age groups. Those include:
• Baby Storytime (for age 2 and under): Features books, rhymes, bounces and group play to entertain and enrich infants and toddlers.
• Toddler Storytime (age 2-3 years): Includes books, music, and activities designed for toddlers.
• Preschool Storytime (age 3-5): Has songs, stories and rhymes designed to get your preschooler on the right track for preschool and kindergarten.
To find more information on story times, visit kentonlibrary.bibliocommons.com/v2/events.
Kenton County Public Library locations are:
• Covington: 502 Scott Blvd.
• Erlanger: 401 Kenton Lands.
• Independence: 1992 Walton-Nicholson.
