Family Sports & Fitness – Family Friendly Activities to Get Moving

Most local parks have a variety of sports facilities just waiting for family fun. Consider it your free family health club in the fresh air. You don’t need to keep a great deal of equipment in your car. Many can be used with just an inexpensive playground ball or soccer ball and can be adjusted for family members of all ages. Make this part of your summer lunch routine by choosing a park that offers Free Summer Meals for Kids. If you find a team sport your child loves, the parks also offer affordable youth leagues.

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Here is a list of our favorite sports games and activities to break a sweat in your local park:

1. Volleyball. Nets are up on the sand courts in local parks for most of the warmer seasons.
2. Basketball. Almost all parks have basketball courts or half courts. You only need a single hoop to practice shots, play a game of HORSE or Around the World or just do some dribbling drills.
3. Baseball, Softball or Kickball. If you don’t want to carry all the baseball gear, just bring along a playground ball and make it a family game of kickball.
4. Dodgeball. Any park with approximately 30 square feet of open space can host a dodgeball game.
5. Soccer. Another sport that only needs an open space to practice.
6. Gaga Ball. More and more parks are adding gaga pits.
7. Racquetball. Even if a park doesn’t have racquetball courts, you can practice against a brick wall. Other racket sports include Tennis and Badminton. Younger kids can practice against a wall or families can adjust the size of the playable court to fit their child’s abilities.
8. Kite Flying. We love adding kites to Easter baskets for an excuse to play at the park in the spring. We’ve also tried Boomerang Throwing. Both activities can be practiced in any open green space and take some learning but can be fun once you get the hang of it.
9. Pull Ups on the monkey bars. A few minutes of play with your kids will work your arm muscles. If the ground is dry, add in some Push Ups and Sit Ups.
10. Swinging. Whether you are pushing your kids or swinging yourself, the swings can be a muscle strengthening exercise.
11. Park Running. For fun, use an open green space to do running styles like high knees or butt kicks or silly races like bear crawl or crab walk. If you are more serious, check out the training programs designed by Twin Cities in Motion to prepare for a 5K.
12. Walking, roller skating, skate boarding, and scootering can all be done on the paved paths of city parks. Larger parks often offer hiking and biking paths.
13. Geocaching & Orienteering. There are geocaches hidden in parks all over the cities. Grab the app from geocaching.com to get started. Orienteering is a little like geocaching, but adds an element of speed. The Minnesota Orienteering Club offers several permanent course maps for local parks for a small fee.
14. Open Gym. Saint Paul and Minneapolis, in particular, offer regular open gym times at most of their recreation centers. If you can’t find a park location, some of the local gymnastics studios and parkour gyms also offer open gym times for a small fee.