Surehand
Oct 30–Nov 8 · Updated every week

The best things to do with kids in NYC,this weekend and next.

Chosen by us every week, checked against each organizer’s own page, and never paid for. Tap your kids’ ages to see what’s on near you.

picks
30
free
12
boroughs
5
See the picksEmail me the list

Spooky season

1 of 30 picks are Halloween

Haunted trails, costume parades, pumpkin patches, and spooky shows.

Show only Halloween picks

This weekend

Next weekend

Kids

13 picks on Friday, Oct 30

Worth the trip

Book now for later

Get the list every week

The new picks, in your inbox before the weekend.

Free, one email a week. Unsubscribe anytime.

Know something we missed?

Share something fun to do with your neighbors. We check every idea, and our favorites go on the list.

Weekly Picks · Free

Picks made for your kids, every Thursday.

This page is here when you come and look. Weekly Picks come to you by text or email, and learn what your kids love.

  • 3 to 5 picks for your neighborhood and your family's schedule, sent every Thursday
  • A rainy-day backup, every week
  • A heads-up when free passes and popular sign-ups open
  • Reply to steer it, and next week gets better
Get Free Weekly Picks

Pause or stop anytime with a reply.

Weekend Away · $49

A whole weekend away, planned around your kids.

Where to stay, how to get there, and every hour, paced for naps and little legs. Plus the details you’d otherwise learn the hard way. You book with our links and pay places directly.

Plan our weekend
  • Where to stay, with booking links
  • Getting there by train or car
  • Every hour, paced for your kids
  • What to book first, before it sells out
  • A rain plan
  • One round of revisions

Sample plan · Sat Oct 17 – Sun Oct 18

Beacon, NY, by train

For the Rivera family: Maya (8) and Leo (4) · from Park Slope · no car

Book these this week

  • Bannerman Castle boat, Saturday 12:30. Rain or shine, no refunds. $45 adults, $35 kids 11 and under.
  • Fishkill Farms apple picking, Sunday 10:00. One reservation covers up to 5 people, a bag of apples, and wagon rides.
  • Your room. Pick one that clearly says it sleeps 4, and book a refundable rate. It's a busy fall weekend.
  • Train tickets in the TrainTime app. Add the $1 Family fare for Maya. Leo rides free.

Saturday

  1. 9:45

    Train from Grand Central

    About 1.5 hours. Sit on the left side for the river the whole way up.

  2. 11:15

    Arrive in Beacon, grab lunch

    Eat before the boat. Use the train bathroom before you get off: the dock doesn't have one.

  3. 12:30

    Boat to Bannerman Castle

    A 30-minute ride to the castle ruins on an island in the Hudson, then a guided walk. 72 steps up from the dock and no strollers, so leave it at the hotel. Bring layers; it's windy on the water.

  4. 3:15

    Check in and rest

    The free Beacon Loop bus runs from the station to Main Street. Downtime before dinner.

  5. 5:00

    Arcade games at Happy Valley

    Vintage arcade games and pinball on Main Street. All ages until 9pm.

  6. 6:15

    Burgers at Meyer's Olde Dutch

    Casual, loud enough for kids, and a short walk from Happy Valley.

See the rest of the weekend

Sunday

  1. 9:30

    Ride to Fishkill Farms

    About 25 to 35 minutes by taxi or Uber. Book your ride back before you go; pickups at the farm are hard to get on festival weekends.

  2. 10:00

    Apples, wagon ride, corn maze

    It's a Harvest Festival weekend, with live music from Bourbon Sprawl. The corn maze is $5 a person. Don't skip the donut window.

  3. 1:00

    Back to Beacon for lunch

    Lunch on Main Street, then an easy walk or Loop bus ride to the station.

  4. 3:00

    Train home

    Trains leave about every 30 to 60 minutes. Expect everyone to nap.

If it rains

  • The castle boat runs rain or shine, so bring rain jackets.
  • If Sunday is a washout, skip the farm and go to Dia Beacon, next to the station. Its huge open galleries give kids room to move. Keep it to an hour, then head back to Happy Valley.

A sample plan for a sample family. Your plan uses your dates, and we check times and prices when we build it.

Common questions

Anything else? Email us at hello@surehand.co.

How is Weekly Picks different from this page?

This page shows our whole list, and you filter it yourself. Weekly Picks come to you every Thursday by text or email, chosen for your neighborhood and your family's schedule, with a rainy-day backup. They get better as you tell us what worked, and you get a heads-up when free passes and popular sign-ups open.

Do places pay to be on the list?

No. No one pays to be listed or to rank higher, on this page, on the map, or in our emails. We choose every pick, and each one links to the organizer's own page.

Is Weekly Picks really free?

Yes. Weekly Picks and this page are both free, with nothing to cancel. Pause for summer camp or a busy stretch, or stop anytime with a reply. The only part of Things to Do we charge for is a planned Weekend Away.

What does a $49 Weekend Away cover?

The whole plan: where to stay, getting there, an hour-by-hour schedule paced for your kids, what to book and when, and a rain plan. It also covers one round of revisions within 48 hours.

Do you book the weekend for us?

You book, using the links in your plan, so every reservation is in your name and you pay places directly. We tell you what to book first, since some things sell out.

Where can a Weekend Away go?

Places an easy train ride or drive from NYC. The sample here is Beacon, about 1.5 hours by train. Have somewhere else in mind? Tell us, and we'll let you know if we can plan it.