Staycation for the Family with Tweens and Teens

Staycations are amazing for several reasons. Sometimes you just can’t afford the big fancy vacation, sometimes you just don’t want that added stress, and sometimes, it is just downright more relaxing to take some time off without leaving home.

Lucky for us, Cincinnati is an incredible city for staycation planning.

This series is designed to give you some excellent suggestions to help you plan your staycation. Feel free to follow the themes or mix and match between them!

It can be challenging to find something fun for the whole family to do, but the beauty of having older kiddos is that you get to try different adventures!

Get your adrenaline going with one of these local adventures!

• Kings Island – Don’t forget to pack your suits and hit up Soak City as well.
• Ozone Zip Line Adventures – If you have never been, zip-lining is super fun!
• Indoor Go-Karting – Perfect for if the weather is less than ideal.

Just because our kids get older, doesn’t mean you can’t still play at the park.

Cincinnati Great Parks – The Great Parks system includes several wonderful parks with all of the outdoor adventures you could ask for.

• Enjoy some watery fun like kayaking, creek walking/exploring, and fishing
• Or conquer some land pursuits like biking, hiking, and camping
• Our pick for a day of fun is Sharon Woods. Hours can be spent exploring the creek here, and there are plenty of hikes and a bike trail to enjoy when you’re done with that.
• If water sports like fishing or kayaking are more your thing, Winton Woods and Miami Whitewater Forest are excellent choices as well.

The perfect end to a day outside is pizza (for them) and beer (for you).

• Check out one of our fabulous local breweries, several are family-friendly and offer delicious wood-fired pizza.

Let the kids make the decisions today!

Presenting a day of “this or that” where you let the kids decide the destination.

Breakfast at:

• Half Day Cafe or Holtman’s Donuts

Morning fun at:

• Rockquest Climbing Center or Sky Zone

Lunch at:

• Raising Cane’s or Skyline Chili

Afternoon Cool Down at:

• Movie or Arcade Legacy

Dinner at:

• Green Papaya or Rivertown Brewery and Barrel House

Any vacation needs a little downtime.

Start the day recharging… 

• Sit on your porch or find a hammock and read.
• Play old-fashioned board games as a family.
• Introduce the kids to an old movie favorite from your childhood

Then finish off the night with a dinner out. Tweens and teens are old enough now to not only sit through a longer dinner and conversation but also old enough to enjoy and appreciate a nice dinner out. Some of our suggestions include:

• The Melting Pot
• Boomtown Biscuits and Whiskey
• Nada

Or if you want to continue to keep it casual:

• Eli’s BBQ
• Pirate’s Cove
• Ludlow Bromley Yacht Club

It is summer after all.

Some of the best memories of summer include the water and our staycation will be no exception.

• Go kayaking or tubing at 50 West Canoe
• Rent a boat, stand up paddleboard, and more at one of the Great Parks
• Belly laugh for hours on the Wibit Adventure Zone at Aqua-Adventures