Summer Family Fun: 250+ Places Within 3 Hours of Burbank

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The Natural History Museum's Butterfly Pavilion. Photo by Ashley Erikson

Burbank schools are out for the summer! As a mom of two boys, one in elementary school and one in middle school, I am always looking for fun things to do to get them outside, learning, exploring and adventuring.  To help us plan trips and to inspire other families to do the same, I compiled a list of over 250 places for families within a three hour radius from Burbank.  I’ll be sharing the places we visit in our new myBurbank section: Summer Family Fun. 

MBB 2024
Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center
Wildlife Learning Center in Sylmar, CA. Photo by Ashley Erikson.

A few years ago I created a website called The Wildlife Family to share fun places we visited and to encourage others to check them out too. It started with local farms, sanctuaries, and rescue centers, and then branched out to museums, historic sites, hiking trails and more. The goal of the website is just to inspire families to find new places to explore and create lasting memories with their kids.

I began compiling this list because I wanted to enjoy the journey of our trips, not just the destination. For example, if our destination was a trip to Solvang for the day, I would google map the route and see what other cities we would be traveling through along the way.  Then I would research things to do in each of the cities we passed by, to find anything new or interesting to stop and explore.  By doing this I was able to find hundreds of places to visit and helped me to plan day trips full of activities.  

Strawberry picking at Underwood Family Farms in Moorpark. Photo by Ashley Erikson.

To access the list of destinations, visit www.thewildlifefamily.com and click on the destinations tab. You can also hover on the destinations tab and search by county or area. Some areas that are listed include Los Angeles County, San Fernando Valley, Orange County, Santa Clarita Valley, San Diego County, San Bernardino County, San Gabriel Country, Venture County, and more. 

The list is also color coordinated by destination type. Dark green locations represent nature and wildlife areas, blue represents museums, red is farms and ranches, light blue is points of interest and landmarks, and so on.  The color key can be found at the top of the page if you want to scroll and find places according to destination type rather than location. 

Camel rides at the Living Desert Zoo in Palm Springs. Photo by Ashley Erikson.

During the next couple months, I’ll be sharing some of these places more in depth for our Summer Family Fun section to encourage Burbank families to explore the areas that surround our amazing city.  

If you have destination ideas that are not on the list, feel free to email them over to aerikson@myburbank.com.

Have a great summer!

Annie’s Canyon Slot Trail in Solano Beach. Photo by Ashley Erikson.