Looking for cheap summer fun in Erie? Check out our 20 ideas for completely FREE summer fun in Erie:
1. See if you can spy Canada from the top of the Bicentennial Tower
The Bicentennial Tower is FREE the first Tuesday of each month (excluding July 4)
2. Celebrate at Erie's fairs and festivals
If you like fairs and festivals then Erie is the place for you! You can find it all, from large events like CelebrateErie and the Crawford County Fair to small-town traditional events like Dan Rice Days and the North East Fire Department Cherry Festival. Each of Erie's fairs and festivals is unique and so much fun in their own way and most are FREE admission! See dates of 2023 fairs and festivals here.
3. Watch an outdoor movie
See FREE movies outdoors at Goodell Gardens, Edinboro University, Harborcreek Community Park, and Perry Square this summer! Get all the details here.
4. Explore the lagoons, by pontoon
Enjoy a FREE pontoon boat ride Friday, Saturday and Sundays at Presque Isle, a great way to explore the lagoons, wetlands and ponds on the interior of Presque Isle. More information here.
5. Get wet at Erie's splash pad
Bayview Park's splash pad is FREE for families to use all summer long, starting NOW! Open daily noon to 8 p.m. The splash pad is located at West Second and Walnut streets.
6. Spend the day at the beach
You can't go wrong with a visit to one of Presque Isle's beaches to go swimming, build a sand castle or just go for a walk. And it's completely FREE!
7. Splish splash in an Erie creek
There are so many places for kids to splash in creeks in the Erie area. We compiled a list of our top five favorite creeks to visit in the Erie area. Whether you want to watch from shore or head off for a family adventure to find a waterfall ... visits to all these creeks are completely free!
8. Learn and play at the Tom Ridge Center
The Tom Ridge Center, located near the entrance of Presque Isle, is a free educational facility designed to educate visitors about Erie's peninsula and the wildlife that inhabits it. There's also a new nature playground on the property (opened in spring 2022) to explore!
9. Take a selfie with Erie's most unique yard art
Kids will be thrilled at the oversized yard art at Schaefer's Auto Art, which you can see between sunup and sundown daily at 3705 Hershey Road. It's free to visit. Parking is available in the pull-off area on the side of the road. Please do not park in their driveway. You can also see ginormous handmade dinosaurs in the 700 block of Bartlett Road!
10. Visit the library
Head to any one of Erie County's five library branches to find oodles of books to keep you and your kids entertained this summer. There are also regular events held at the branches, from storytimes to worm races — find all the details on Macaroni KID Erie's event calendar!
11. Have a geocaching adventure
My kids love geocaching, and it's a great way to get them outside and exploring new spaces. At last look there were more than 1,400 geocaches hidden in Erie. How many can you find? Get the list and start exploring here!
12. Catch a fish
It's free for kids under 16 to free in the state of Pennsylvania, and you can borrow fishing poles from Blasco Library! Stop at the front desk.
13. Enjoy live music
There's live music — for free — nearly every evening in the summer months, with concerts held — just to start — at Goodell Gardens, Asbury Woods, Presque Isle, and Liberty Park. Find Erie's 2023 free summer concert series lineup here.
14. Take a hike
Goodell Gardens, Asbury Woods, Scott Park, Erie Bluffs State Park...there are so many great places to go hiking in Erie County. Get out and explore!
15. Go on a mural hunt
Twenty-eight new murals will be added to the Erie landscape June 1-13, as part of Purposeful Placemaking, a large- scale mural initiative that calls for 50 murals to be created in 2022-2024. They join the 13 that were created last summer. Get out to see them! See details about the 2023 additions here. Here's a map of the 2022 creations:
16. Ride around Presque Isle
We do the ride around Presque Isle at least once a summer. It's about 13 miles but so flat that even little riders can do it — and feel very accomplished after!
17. Tour Erie Land Lighthouse
The Erie Land Lighthouse is open for free from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month, except for July. Children must be 44 inches high to climb. Jessica from the Iroquois Branch Library will be on hand for read-alouds, activities, songs, and lighthouse-eriffic fun!
18. Visit a playground
Check out 12 of our favorite Erie-area parks and playgrounds!
Playground Paradise in Greene Township. |
19. Visit Goodell Gardens
Goodell Gardens is FREE to visit. Bring a picnic, walk the trails, and relax on the gorgeous grounds of the Edinboro arboretum. A great place for kids! There are even many free classes for kids throughout the summer.