Summer Bucket List for Kids in Southern Oregon

13 Must Do Activities for Families

If you’re looking for ways to fill your kid’s summer with fun and adventure in Southern Oregon, I’ve got you covered! We’ve found all the must do kid activities in Medford, Grants Pass, Central Point, Jacksonville, Applegate, and more.

1. Explore Discovery Park with Rogue Jet Boat Adventures Take a jet boat ride along the Rogue River to spend the day playing on their private lake. You can test your agility with their floating obstacle course, rent a pedal boat or canoe, or just enjoy a hammock lakeside in the shade.

2. Ride a Train at the Medford Railroad Park The Medford Railroad Park is located at 799 Berrydale Ave in Medford, OR. It’s open April-October from 11-3 on the second and fourth Sundays of each month. Kids 1 and up can ride the trains. It’s completely FREE. Read more about what to expect when you go.

3. Children’s Festival is a long running tradition in Southern Oregon. I’ve met so many parents who loved going to it themselves as a child and are now taking their own kids. Its the 59th year this year!! If you haven’t been this a 3 day festival with tons of arts and crafts, clay, face painting, science experiments, story telling, and stage performances for children. Children's Festival will be held at the Britt Gardens in Jacksonville on the following days/times:

• Saturday, July 12, 4:30-8:30pm

• Sunday, July 13, 4:30-8:30pm

• Monday, July 14, 9:30am-1:00pm

4. Rock out at a FREE Britt Kids Concert Each summer the Britt Kids Klub hosts children’s concerts with GRAMMY-award-winning and nominated artists from around the country. These are Free and so wonderful for kids who love music and dancing. This year the concerts will be held at Britt Pavilion in Jacksonville, The Children’s Museum of Southern Oregon in Medford, and Riverside Park in Grants Pass.

5. Pick U Pick fruit at a local farm Spend a morning picking fruit with your kids at one of the many local orchards and farms in Southern Oregon. We have upick strawberry, upick cherry, upick blueberry, upick peaches, upick plums, and upick blackberry and raspberries too. Find a Upick farm in Southern Oregon.

6. Cool off at Don Jones Splash Pad Head over to the Don Jones Spray park in Central Point, OR (or your local splash pad) for a quick and fun way to stay cool! Check out our Guide to the Best Splash Pads in Southern Oregon.

7. Explore Wizard Island at Crater Lake National Park The boats at Crater Lake only run for a few weeks each year and its during the hottest part of summer. Be sure to book your tickets once they announce operating dates later in the season. This will be the last opportunity to visit the island for a few seasons as the park will close the trail down to it in 2026 for maintenance.

8. See the Fourth of July Parade in Central Point If you only attend ONE parade this year, this is the one to go to! Folks are serious about it and put their chairs out a few days before to have the best viewing spots for the July 4th parade. Follow the Central Point Parks & Rec facebook page for the most up to date info.

9. Daytrip to the coast & redwoods Take the kids for a daytrip or easy getaway down to the coast and to the redwoods. Here’s our Guide to Visiting Crescent City with Kids.

10. Pick a bouquet at a local u pick flower farm Southern Oregon has a ton of u-pick flower farms to choose from. This is a great way to spend a morning and get some adorable pictures of your outing. We have a list of u-pick flower farms and there are even two FREE u-pick flowers farms: Del Rio Vinevards in Gold Hill OR and Rusted Gate Farm in Central Point OR. You can read more about our visit to Rusted Gate Farm’s free u-pick flower garden here.

11. Watch a Movie in the Park on a big screen Rogue Credit Union Movies in the Park with Medford Parks and Recreation AND Movies in the Park with Central Point Parks and Recreation have outdoor movies at the park planned all summer long. Follow their social media pages to keep track of the line up.

12. Catch a $2 children’s movie at the cinema Cinemark Tinseltown in Medford OR has kids $1.75 movies on Mondays and Wednesdays for their Summer Movie Clubhouse.

13. Swim in the indoor pool at Rogue X. The Rogue X in Medford OR is an enormous aquatics complex with an indoor recreational pool that has a lazy river, a kids play structure, and two water slides. A large outdoor splash pad is adjacent to the pool area.