20 FUN Things to Do with Kids in Yakima Valley as a Family

List of 20 Things to Do As a Family in the Yakima Valley

Is your kid one of those who doesn't do much with you as a family unit? Do they always seem to be on their tablet or phone playing video games like Roblox and Minecraft? I can relate. In fact, every time I want to go out and do something with my 11-year-old daughter Willow, she says she'd rather stay home and watch stuff on YouTube and look at tons of TikTok videos! I realized the other day that I was in a sad predicament where my child would rather be with ELECTRONICS than spend time with me as a family. That made me sit on my bed and cry.

Adulting is hard sometimes! After I dried the tears on my eyelashes with some plush Charmin Ultra Soft tissues, I said to myself, "BABY GIRL, it's time to PARENT and find something for us to do in Yakima Valley together as a FAMILY!" Next, I went to my computer and typed up a list of fun activities I think my daughter and I would both love to do together besides go get a scoop of ice cream.

I'll share my list of fun things to do in Yakima Valley with kids with you in hopes that it sparks some fun family time with you and your kids!

1 . YMCA Aquatic Center

You can play and swim in the Lazy River inside the YMCA Aquatic Center (3800 River Rd) and also go down the green and blue water slides together. Your kid will have extra fun by climbing to the top of the water spout station and spray you when you float by in the Lazy River.

2 . Go Bowling

We have 2 bowling centers in Yakima (Nob Hill Bowling and Minda Lanes) so plan a time during the weekend to take your kids bowling. It’s fun to see who can get the most gutter balls without trying. For the itty bitty kids in your life, you can ask the front desk to put up the gutter rails so that they get to see how many pins they can knock over. Sometimes on Friday nights, the bowling alley on Nob Hill has cosmic bowling, for a little razzle-dazzle.

3 . Laser Tag

Ask some of your child’s parents to bring their kids to meet up with yours for a fun round of laser tag. Team up with your kid or have it be Parents vs. Kids to make it even more fun! We have two places in Yakima to play laser tag: Nerds Fun Center & Laser Tag (2312 S 1st St) or Tactical Tag (315 W Yakima Ave).

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4 . Escape Room

The Madd Hatter: Escape the Maddness out in Union Gap have an escape room set up. You have to take your appointment two weeks in advance. It will be something to see how you and your child can figure out how to “escape.” It's $20 per person and they are located at 208 Ahtanum Rd.

5 . Go out to dinner at a sit-down restaurant.

My child loves going to Applebee’s Grill + Bar in Union Gap with me as a family. Every time we go there to eat we get the same thing. She loves the mac and cheese, yogurt, strawberries, and bites of a salad; I love getting the Fiesta Lime Chicken or the Bourbon Chicken & Shrimp with mashed potatoes. I love playing along with the in-house Applebee's trivia on the small tablet they have at each table. Willow picks out my Trivia Player Name from the list of words provided within the game. Last time we ate at Applebee’s, she made my name “Magical Toilet Pony.”. She giggled about that all night.

Here are 15 other things you can do together as a family in Yakima Valley:

• Go to the park
• Walk around the neighborhood
• Ride bikes/Go skateboarding
• Take a small hike
• Go camping
• Visit a museum you haven’t been to in a while, like the Yakama Nation Cultural Center
• Visit the library
• Play a round of mini-golf at Canyon Creek Mini Golf located at Circle H RV Park
• Ride the go karts at Yakima Family Fun Center
• Go see a movie together
• See a musical or play at the Capitol Theatre
• Check out the art gallery
• Go on a road trip (Ellensburg, Cle Elum, Roslyn, Tri Cities, Toppenish)
• Stay overnight in a local hotel for some “pampering”
• Get a mani/pedi together

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