Top 20 Summer Activities in Rockland County

UPDATED JULY 2019: Sweet, sweet summer! It's the perfect time to be outside and soak up the sun, so we've compiled the 20 best ways to have fun in Rockland and Bergen counties this season, including berry picking, festivals, movie screenings under the stars, a renaissance faire, horseback riding, and more!

1. Sweet Summer

Gather your brood and pick your own berries at Ochs Orchard in Warwick (in nearby Orange County) or another berry farm in the area. Find the full list here. 

2. Go for a Spin

Take a ride on the carousel in Bear Mountain State Park (located on the southwest side of the baseball field), where kids can hop on the backs of some local animals or ride in the accessible chariot. Find another merry-go-round near you here.  

3. Strawberry Celebration

The popular annual Strawberry Festival kicks off opening day at the Ramsey Farmers’ Market in Ramsey, NJ, in early June. Shop for fresh, local produce as well as artisan breads and cheeses, gluten-free baked products, homemade pastas, local honey, and more. Also enjoy music, children’s crafts, and a complimentary strawberry treat. Check ramseyfarmersmarket.org for details. 

4. Fore!

Play the 18-hole miniature-golf course at Tappan Golf Center (116 Route 303, Tappan), which also boasts a driving range, batting cages, and go-karts. Or test your putting skills at another course in the area. 

5. Cast Your Line

See if the fish are biting at Piermont Pier and Marsh on the Hudson River. Boats, canoes, and kayaks can be rented if you prefer to laze along the river while you wait for a tug on your line. Find other fishing spots nearby, too. 

6. Go Greek 

The annual Greek Festival at Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church, held in early June, features Greek food, music, dancing, crafts, and wine and beer for parents—pretty much everything except the sun, sand, and scenery of the Greek isles. 

7. Hit the Street

Nyack’s Famous Street Fair in mid-July (also held in the spring and fall) features nearly 300 exhibitors from five states displaying a large selection of handmade crafts, art and photography, retail items, collectibles, and festival foods, plus a Kid’s Zone with a variety of inflatables—all at Main Street and Broadway in Downtown Nyack. 

8. Old-Fashioned Fourth

An Independence Day celebration at Fort Montgomery State Historic Site in nearby Orange County around the first weekend of July features an old-fashioned cannon firing.

9. Root, Root, Root for the Home Team

Courtesy Rockland Boulders

Cheer on the Rockland Boulders, our county’s resident minor league baseball team, at one of their home games in Pomona’s Provident Bank Park. Kids can hit the field and run the bases after the last inning, and many games are followed by fireworks. Find more minor league teams in the area.

10. Music in the Great Outdoors

Enjoy a weekly outdoor concert every Thursday after July 4 at Bowline Point Park in Haverstraw, or find another free summer music series in Rockland.

11. Movies Al Fresco

Catch a Flick at the Warwick Drive-In, a park-like theater set on 11 acres of farmland that screens first-run movies on multiple screens and has homemade food for sale.

12. To Be Or Not To Be? 

Courtesy Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival

Introduce the kids to The Bard’s timeless work during the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, a summer-long event that allows you to watch Shakespearean tales unfold as you picnic and lounge on the lawn of Garrison’s Boscobel House and Gardens in nearby Putnam County.

13. Beach Bums

Visit one of the beaches in Harriman State Park in Bear Mountain, where you’ll also find camping areas, 200 miles of hiking trails, and 31 lakes and reservoirs. Check out our full list of beaches in the area. 

14. A Homerun

Head to Provident Bank Park in Pomona to participate in the annual Boulder Dash 5K Run/Walk and Children’s Fun Run, a fundraising event hosted by the Rockland Boulders baseball team for a local cause, date TBA. Registration typically includes a ticket to a Boulders home game later that day. 

15. Travel Back in Time

Take a tour of the historic Stony Point Lighthouse, the oldest surviving lighthouse on the Hudson River. You can also stop by the site (the site of the Revolutionary War’s Battle of Stony Point, that is) for living history demonstrations, old-fashioned artillery drills, and battlefield tours held throughout the summer. Check out more historical sites in the NYC area. 

16. Huzzah!

Joe Dlhopolsky

The New York Renaissance Faire in Tuxedo Park’s Sterling Forest (Orange County) kicks off in early August and runs through early October. Bring the kids for circus-type performances by costumed characters, a jousting match starring knights in shining armor, and lots of carnival-inspired games, all in a 16th-century setting.

17. Let's Pow-Wow

Cliff Matias

Check out a real teepee, play with Native American instruments, try some foods popular in Indian cultures, and take in an incredible dance performance by Native American groups from throughout the Americas at the Bear Mountain Powwow in Stony Point in early August.

18. Beautiful Butterflies

See and feed colorful butterflies and rare caterpillars during Butterfly & Caterpillar Weekend at the Hudson Highlands Nature Museum in Cornwall (Orange County) in late June. And get up-close with lots of different animals at zoos and nature centers throughout the area.

19. Horse Around

Take a horseback riding lesson at Nickel-O Farms in West Nyack or one of the other horse stables in Rockland, most of which also offer summer camp programs and birthday party packages.

20. The Fairest of Them All

Alison Reiser

Head to the area’s nearest county fair, the Dutchess County Fair in Rhinebeck, in mid- to late August to see farm animals and pig races, watch a variety of performances, shop for crafts, ride and play the amusements, and enjoy a mind-boggling selection of food. 

MORE SEASONAL FUN IN ROCKLAND COUNTY