St. Paul Toddler Activities: Parent & Tot Open Play Time at St. Paul Rec Centers

Looking for St. Paul Toddler Activities? Anne, our resident St. Paulite, has all the details on the Parent & Tot Open Play times in St. Paul:

north dale rec center

Have all the unscheduled snow days and frigid temps been successful at driving you and your little ones stir-crazy yet? Are you about desperate to find a place where they can truly burn off some energy while you might find some grown-ups to bond with over entertaining tots during long Minnesota winters?

Chances are you’ve heard about the drop-in Parent & Tot Play Time program at rec centers across St. Paul. It’s fun, unstructured, nearly always free and a total sanity-saver during our cold months. I used it routinely when my firstborn was a toddler. He thrived on the small bikes, balls, tumbling mats and other provided equipment for free physical play. (And naptime was a GIVEN afterwards!) Children must be 5 years of age or younger to attend and must be accompanied by their caregiver. I found that – particularly at the most popular rec center gyms – it wasn’t as easy to bring crawlers along and not have to worry about them getting in the paths of the big kids.

Follow the link to find current St. Paul Rec Centers offering Parent & Tot Play Time. This list updates seasonally.

If it’s opportunities in Minneapolis you seek, try searching the Park & Rec Board site and type “parent tot” into the search box.

And for the surrounding metro suburbs, we have included many on our list of 13 Open Play & Open Gym Spots for Tots in the Twin Cities.

We find it best to call ahead with any rec center program, including St. Paul Toddler Activities. If numbers are low, activities are sometimes discontinued without warning and may be cancelled if other activities need the space.

[** This post has been updated for 2016 **]