Free things to do in Leeds with kids

Abbey House Museum

Leeds

A free museum by Kirkstall Abbey with reconstructed Victorian streets to wander round.

Accessible toiletBaby changeChanging PlacesGroup bookings+2 more

Adel Dam Nature Reserve

Leeds

A free woodland and wetland trail with bird hides where you might spot a woodpecker, a mandarin duck or a kingfisher.

Outdoor play

Anglers Country Park

Wakefield

Free lakeside country park with an adventure playground, a two-mile walk and a trail pack that turns the loop into a story hunt.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBlue badge parkingCafé+8 more

Bedern Hall

York

A free medieval hall near York Minster with a squirrel-themed activity trail and a courtyard café for afterwards.

CaféGroup bookingsIndoor seatingWheelchair accessible

Bradford Industrial Museum

Bradford · ages 0-5

Free hands-on look at old mill life, with blacksmiths, weavers and spinners working the machinery in front of you.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBlue badge parkingCafé+5 more

Calverley Lane Park

Leeds · ages 1+

Free playground with a slide, climbing frames and swings, plus open grass for football or rounders.

Dog friendlyOutdoor playPushchair friendlyWheelchair accessible

Cannon Hall - Museum

Cawthorne

Free entry to a hall packed with sensory toys, plus woodland trails, tepees and a proper adventure playground outside.

Accessible toiletBaby changeCaféDog friendly+7 more

Cannon Hall Country Park

Barnsley

Free parkland with an adventure play area, wooden tepees and assault courses, plus a museum to duck into if it rains.

Accessible toiletBaby changeCaféDog friendly+10 more

Cartwright Hall

Bradford

Free art galleries in a grand Victorian hall, with a park, boating lake and playground right outside for afterwards.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBottle warmingCafé+8 more

Cusworth Hall Museum

Doncaster

Free entry to a Georgian hall with walking trails, play areas and a peek at the Great Kitchen and chapel paintings.

Blue badge parkingCard onlyDog friendlyFood on site+4 more

Elsecar Heritage Centre

Elsecar

A free wander round shops, cafés and a heritage site, with a beer tap and two tea rooms to fall back on.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBike parkingBlue badge parking+7 more

Elsecar Park

Barnsley · ages 0-14

A free park with a play area, crazy golf and a bird hide, easy to fill a couple of hours without spending anything.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBike parkingCafé+2 more

Experience Barnsley Museum & Discovery Centre

Barnsley

Free museum with an Egyptian LEGO trail, a Cleopatra exhibition and a Friday session just for under-5s.

Accessible toiletCaféChanging PlacesFree parking+8 more

Free Walking Tour Harrogate

Harrogate · up to age 5

A guided stroll through Harrogate's Second World War history and Valley Gardens, free to join, no booking needed.

Greenhead Park

Huddersfield

A free park with a double zip wire and a miniature steam railway that only runs on Saturday afternoons.

Changing PlacesOutdoor playToiletsWheelchair accessible

Ilkley Manor House

Ilkley

Free self-guided wander round an old manor house with a Roman fort panel to spot, open weekend afternoons.

Group bookings

Kirkstall Abbey

Leeds

A ruined medieval abbey to wander round, with a café for tea and cake once the legs give out.

Baby changeCaféParkingToilets

Ledsham Bank nature reserve

Leeds

A quiet limestone bank where kids can hunt for butterflies, wild orchids and rare pasque flowers on a free walk.

Picnics allowed

Leeds Minster

Leeds

A free look round a Victorian neo-gothic church, with organ recitals and a family service that doesn't need you to sit still and behave.

Accessible toiletFood on siteStep-free accessToilets+1 more

Leeds Urban Bike Park & Cafe

Leeds · ages 0+

Free mountain bike trails and tracks in Leeds, with coaching on offer and a café doing full breakfasts for when you're done.

Birthday partiesCaféDog friendlyGroup bookings+2 more

Lofthouse Colliery Nature Park

Wakefield

Free woodland, heathland and a pond to poke about in, with surfaced tracks that make it an easy one for dogs and buggies too.

Outdoor play

Manor Fields Park

Sheffield

Free park with two playgrounds, a sandpit and a boardwalk, plus Tudor ruins you can touch but not climb.

Accessible toiletCaféChanging PlacesKids menu+4 more

Marmion Tower

Ripon

A small riverside gatehouse tower in West Tanfield you can climb and wander round for free, near Ripon.

Food on site

Mayfield Park

Manchester

Free outdoor park with a play yard of six slides built around a daylighted stretch of the River Medlock.

Dog friendlyOutdoor playToilets

MERKUR Casino - Leeds

Leeds · adults only (18+)

This one's an 18+ venue in Leeds city centre with a free bar buffet at silly o'clock, not somewhere for the kids.

Food on siteParkingPublic transport nearbyRestaurant+1 more

Moortown Park

Leeds

Free park with animal climbing frames, a sandpit and a wildflower meadow for wandering off the path.

Free parkingOutdoor playPicnics allowedPushchair friendly+2 more

Mount Sion Steam Crane

Manchester

Free crafts and guided nature or wildlife walks around a historic steam crane site on a Canal Fun Day.

Multangular Tower

York

Free Roman ruins to wander round in York Museum Gardens, with squirrels, birds and a picnic spot thrown in.

Accessible toiletBaby changeDog friendlyPicnics allowed+1 more

Museum Gardens

York

Free gardens by the river where kids can hunt squirrels and hedgehogs on a trail quiz between the ruins and the museum.

Accessible toiletBaby changeCaféDog friendly+2 more

National Coal Mining Museum for England

Wakefield · ages 0+

Free entry to a 42 acre former colliery, with the real draw being a guided trip 140 metres underground.

Accessible toiletAllergy awareBike parkingBlue badge parking+13 more

National Railway Museum

York

Free York train museum - Flying Scotsman vibes, Station Hall and optional Wonderlab.

Accessible toiletGift shopFood on siteToilets+3 more

National Science and Media Museum

Bradford

Free galleries on photography, film and gaming, plus an interactive light and sound lab and the UK's largest cinema screen.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBlue badge parkingCafé+8 more

Nightrain

Bradford

A live music and games venue with pool, darts and table football, but the age-14-18 ID rule means it is really one for teens, not young kids.

Accessible toiletFree parkingIndoor seatingFood on site+1 more

North Cave Wetlands

Brough

Five hides and a circular lake path where you can watch avocets, otters and water voles for free.

Accessible toiletBlue badge parkingFood on siteParking+5 more

Nottingham Beach

Nottingham

A free pop-up beach with sand, a pool and paid rides in the middle of the city, open all summer.

Card onlyCash onlyToilets

NQ64 Arcade Bar - Leeds

Leeds · adults only (18+)

A bar full of retro arcade machines and consoles, but this one's for the grown-ups, not the kids, most of the week.

Café

Ponden Kirk & Fairy Cave

Keighley

A rocky crevice cave and gritstone outcrop on the moors above Haworth, tied to the Brontë novels.

Pontefract Castle

Pontefract

Ruined castle ruins to scramble round for free, with a playground, dungeon tours and a café that lets dogs in too.

Accessible toiletBike parkingBreastfeeding friendlyCafé+4 more

Pots2Go Ceramic Café

Harrogate

Paint a plate, stuff a bear or make slime, then wait a fortnight for the kiln to do its thing.

Accessible toiletBaby changeBirthday partiesCafé+6 more

Rodley Nature Reserve

Leeds

Free wildlife reserve by the canal where kids can spot birds, hunt bugs and make feeders, without spending a penny to get in.

Accessible toiletBike parkingBlue badge parkingCafé+10 more

Rothwell Country Park

Leeds

Free country park with pond-dipping events, a sculpture trail and a spoil heap summit to climb for the views.

Picnics allowedPushchair friendlyWheelchair accessible

Royal Armouries Museum

Leeds

Free armour museum by Leeds Dock - live combats, hands-on kits and a crossbow challenge.

Gift shopFood on siteToiletsWheelchair accessible

Ryelands Park

Lancaster · ages 0-12

Free play park with a proper play area for under 12s, an outdoor gym and open grass for football.

ParkingWheelchair accessible

Salts Mill

Saltaire

Free art galleries, shops and cafés in a huge Victorian mill, with Hockney's paintings the big draw.

Accessible toiletBlue badge parkingCaféFree parking+4 more

Sandall Park

Doncaster

Free park with a zip-wire play area, woodland adventure play and football pitches, plus a café for when everyone flags.

CaféOutdoor playParkingPicnic area+1 more

Sugarwell Hill Park

Leeds

A free hilltop walk with easy trails, city views over Leeds and plenty of room for dogs and picnics.

Dog friendlyOutdoor playPicnics allowed

Sunny Bank Mills Gallery

Pudsey

Free gallery of art and textiles with hands-on craft workshops, plus a Saturday mill museum tour if you fancy the history bit too.

Booking requiredCaféFree parkingFood on site+2 more

The Cooper Gallery

Barnsley

Free art gallery visits with sensory backpacks to borrow for kids who find busy spaces tricky.

Accessible toiletCaféGift shopPublic transport nearby+5 more

Toulston Hall Farm

Tadcaster

Free entry to a pumpkin picking farm with a maize maze and classic outdoor games, open every day in late October.

Free parkingIndoor seatingFood on siteOutdoor play+2 more

Townclose Hills Nature Reserve

Leeds

Free woodland and grassland trails where kids can hunt for butterflies and birds, with no entry fee at all.

Public transport nearby

Wagon Lifting Hoist Mini Museum

Leeds

A free look at the Grade II listed lifting tower rescued from Leeds Central station, a few minutes from the train station.

Wakefield Museum

Wakefield

Free museum with craft Saturdays and a weekly Museum Minis session for the under-fives, no ticket needed.

Breastfeeding friendlyCaféDog friendlyHearing loop+2 more

Wentworth Garden Centre

Rotherham

A free-to-wander garden centre day out with a family farm, an adventure playground and a pets and aquatics centre to nose round.

Baby changeCaféDog friendlyFree parking+6 more

West Riding Small Locomotive Society (WRSLS)

Tingley

Free rides on a working miniature railway, open Sunday afternoons from April to September.

Birthday partiesCaféFood on site

West Yorkshire Astronomical Society

Pontefract

Open nights with planetarium shows and real telescope observing, run in small groups so nobody's just staring at the back of someone's head.

Booking required

Whiteley's Farm

Pudsey

Pick your own pumpkin straight from the field, with prices from £1 for the normal ones.

Winscar Reservoir

Sheffield

A flat tarmac bridleway round a big reservoir for walking or cycling, with free parking and picnic spots but no swimming.

Free parkingPicnics allowedToilets

Woodhouse Ridge

Leeds

A free woodland walk above Meanwood Road with a heritage trail, muddy steps and picnic spots to make a slow afternoon of it.

Dog friendlyPicnics allowedPushchair friendlyWheelchair accessible

Wykebeck Woods

Leeds

Free ancient woodland by a stream where kids can cycle the paths, spot birds and hunt for crayfish in the shallows.

Outdoor playPicnics allowedPublic transport nearbyPushchair friendly+1 more

Yolk Farm Restaurant/Cafe

Boroughbridge

Free entry to see hens, alpacas, pigs, donkeys and lambs, with a play barn and giant sand pit for the muddy days you didn't plan for.

Birthday partiesCaféDog friendlyFood on site+4 more

York City and District Society of Model Engineers Ltd

York · ages 0+

Ride a miniature steam railway through five acres of woodland on the society's monthly open days, free to get in.

Free parkingFood on siteWheelchair accessible