33 Ways to Entertain your kids in SANTA YNEZ VALLEY

While I am a marketing consultant for a local winery and a yoga teacher, I am also, first and foremost, a Mom. While I love every part of living in the Santa Ynez Valley, keeping your kids entertained here over the summer here can be a challenge. Here’s a list I’ve compiled over the years of 33 things you can do that are kid-friendly in our little slice of paradise.

1. Feed the ostriches at Ostrich Land in Buellton  
2. Tour mission Santa Inez
3. Nature center at Cachuma Lake
4. See a matinee at Parks Plaza Theater
5. Take a thrift store tour: give your kids $5 each and tour all the thrift stores in the Valley looking for treasures
6. Swim at the high school pool
7. Boogie boarding at Gaviota Beach
8. Fishing at Lake Cachuma
9. Hike to the swimming holes off Paradise Road  
10. Picnic on Figueroa Mountain
11. Play a round of golf at Zaca creek course 
12. Alisal river walk: hit the trail in Solvang and walk alongside the river
13. See a kid-friendly PCPA show in Solvang 
14. Frisbee at river view park in Buellton 
15. Farm stand tour and visit all the local farm stands with fruits, vegetables, olive oil, u-pick berries, peaches, and more.
16. Pastry taste test in Solvang: visit each Danish bakery in Solvang and buy the same type of pastry. Go home and do a taste test to see who’d pasty you all liked best.
17. Rent kayaks or a boat and tour around Lake Cachuma
18. Horseback rides at Circle B Ranch
19. Friday night concerts at Firestone winery 
20. Carriage Museum in Santa Ynez
21. Local tour of playgrounds (there’s six parks from Buellton to Santa Ynez)
22. Waterfall hike to Nojoqui Falls
23. Go berry picking: blueberries, raspberries, strawberries at the different farms throughout the Valley
24. Paint pottery at Modern Makers in Solvang
25. New moon star gazing: lay out a blanket in your backyard and learn some astronomy
26. SYV airport to watch planes/gliders take off and land
27. Do a zoo tour and visit the Quicksilver mini horses in Solvang, see the buffalo grazing in Ballard Canyon, pet the mini donkeys at Seein’ Spots Farm in Ballard, and finish your day petting goats and pigs at Folded Hills Farmstead.
28. Beach volleyball at the newly installed courts at Sunny Fields park
29. Wilding Art Museum 
30. Lavender farm in Los Olivos 
31. Hike to the Historic Mill from the Mission 
32. Abel-skiver breakfast in Solvang 
33. Hans Christian Anderson museum above the Book Loft