10 of the Best Family Activities in Ocean City
Overlooking the Atlantic, this incredible Maryland tourist center provides plenty of excellent family-friendly experiences for everyone. Here are some suggestions to make your Ocean City family vacation one for the books.
Ocean City has long been a great vacation destination for visitors of every type and age. Recognizing the appeal of family tourism, the city’s hospitality industry went the extra mile to adapt its offerings for parents with kids alike.
There are numerous venues that provide almost unlimited fun for your whole family. Take a look at the 10 best activities your family can have on your Ocean City vacation.
1. All-Day Beach Fun
Although it might sound obvious, no visit to Ocean City with kids would be complete without hitting the beach. You can readily reach the ocean from almost every point in the city, so a couple of hours of supreme fun under the sun is always easy to be had.
While proper beach gear is essential to make the most out of your time out on the sand, there’s no need to bring along everything you need. There are rentals easily available for beach chairs and umbrellas – all you truly need is the company of your family.
2. Old Pro Golf
Mini-golf is one of the most endearing family activities in Ocean City, and Old Pro Golf provides one of the best experiences in that regard. Its kid-friendly dinosaur and ocean-themed courses will ensure a great time for everyone.
You can choose between indoor and outdoor courses uniquely designed for maximum fun. But you may not want to come here with babies and toddlers, though – the mini-golf park is best suited for kids ages seven and up.
3. The Boardwalk
You couldn’t miss the famed Ocean City boardwalk even if you try, and there’s no reason to do so anyway. Over two miles long, the city staple is among the most fun boardwalks in the U.S., offering visitors the essential Ocean City experience.
The food you can find here is amazing, with everything from fried delicacies to mouth-watering ice creams and irresistible donuts.
There’s a plenitude of exciting shops, arcades, and game venues that will make the day pass by too quickly. But if that’s not enough, the whole family can hop on one of the fantastic rides.
4. The Jolly Roger
One of the most well-known Ocean City attractions, this amusement park has doubled the number of rides in its over a half-century of being in business.
The Jolly Roger has several locations throughout the city, all offering endless fun for kids and adults alike. You could go for a ride on one of the amazing roller coasters, jump into a go-kart, go on a ride on a zip line, or choose another great experience.
If the ocean isn’t enough to satiate the kid’s need for water fun, there’s a phenomenal water park here as well.
5. Ripley’s Believe It Or Not
The world-famous house of curiosities is a place that will leave all visitors in awe. The kids can marvel at the sight of the tallest man on Earth, get an adrenaline rush running from a shark, and enjoy exhibits specifically intended for children, to start with.
However, there are certain parts of this museum where parents with kids should avoid due to the potentially scary content, including capital punishment photos and a display of torture tools. Luckily, these sections aren’t very large and navigating around them is relatively easy.
Besides the exhibits, some of the most fun attractions inside Ripley’s Believe It Or Not include several mazes and the mirror maze that’s a hit with all visitors.
6. Trimper’s Rides
The oldest amusement park in Ocean City, Trimper’s Rides offers both indoor and outdoor fun for the whole family. There are rides like a tiny merry-go-round for toddlers and incredible roller coasters for older children and adults.
The family-friendly business is family-owned, making their numerous games and rides perfectly suitable for kids. There are great activities to be had that are suitable for all ages in this wonderful park.
7. Kid-Friendly Restaurants
Ocean City doesn’t lack excellent restaurants that feature playgrounds for kids. Even better, many offer a dedicated kid’s menu that won’t miss the mark in meeting the small ones’ peculiar tastes.
The dishes are delicious and the playgrounds enormous, outfitted with all kinds of structures. In fact, several kid-friendly restaurants in Ocean City are thematically designed to ignite the vivid kid’s imagination.
8. Frontier Town Theme Park
Created as a detailed replica of a small Western town, the Frontier Park will be an absolute blast for everyone. Here you can go for a ride on an authentic train from the Wild West period or drive around in a stagecoach.
There are also traditional dances, camping, pony riding, a water park, and many other activities suited for kids. And if you’re up for some action, you can have a real gunslinger showdown and even witness a reenactment of a bank hold-up.
The Frontier Town Park transports you to the legendary age of renegades and brave frontier pioneers, ensuring maximum fun and a memorable experience.
9. Cruises and Fun on the Water
You can get on the water in other ways besides hitting the beach. Ocean City has plenty of cruises and boat tours offering family-friendly rides, and those might not only be about sightseeing.
Several cruises are themed around adventure and exploration, providing a wonderful time for younger and older kids. If you’d like an even more active day on the water, you can choose between a myriad of water sports on offer.
10. Marty’s Playland
This arcade gaming hub has been around since the 1940s, providing competitive and solo arcade experiences to visitors and locals alike.
Marty’s Playland provides parents with the opportunity to introduce some of the classics to their kids. But if you’re not interested in having a Pac-Man competition, there’s a large number of other arcades and video games to scratch everyone’s gaming itch.
The cherry on top with this extraordinary venue is a whole floor of apartments where you can catch a brief rest from the gaming frenzy.
A Great Time for the Whole Family
With everything that Ocean City has to offer, every day will be filled with amazing experiences and fun without end.
It doesn’t matter whether your kids are up for playing on the beach or hitting the arcades. Ocean City provides ample opportunity for a highly enjoyable family time. The vacation you spend here will be the subject of conversations and laughs for years to come.
