What Are the Best Kids’ Activities in Downtown Jacksonville This Summer?
School’s almost out and #DTJax is ready! Whether you’re looking for a week-long camp, a one-day adventure, or a free evening out with the whole family, Downtown Jacksonville is packed with options to keep kids learning, moving, and making memories all summer long. Here’s your roundup of everything on the calendar — bookmark it, share it, and get out there!
Kids Summer Camps
Registration Open Now
From gallery studios to garden stages, the camps in Downtown Jacksonville are the real deal. Camp @ MOCA lets young artists spend the summer inside the galleries and create their own work in the studios. The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens offers its own lineup of creative programming for kids. Jacksonville Children’s Chorus (JCC)’s SING! Summer Camp brings vocal technique and dance workshops to their Downtown headquarters, and CAP rounds out the roster with arts-forward summer programming. Something for every kid and every schedule!
Camp @ MOCA Schedule
Week 1: Jun 1-5 | Ceramics & Sculpture
Week 2: Jun 8-12 | Painting & Printmaking
Week 3: Jun 15-19 | STEAM & Gardening
Week 4: Jun 22-26 | Character & Illustration
Week 5: Jul 6-10 | Comics & Manga
Week 6: Jul 13-17 | Claymation
Week 7: Jul 20-24 | Fabric, Fiber, & Textiles
Week 8: Jul 27-31 | Theater
Stroll the Riverwalk (and Keep Your Eyes on the Water) Anytime
This one’s free, easy, and one of the best things you can do with kids in the summer. Walk the Northbank or Southbank Riverwalk, stop at RiversEdge Park, and make your way all the way to the playground at Friendship Fountain, it’s a full afternoon and completely free. Bonus: keep your eyes peeled for dolphins. Sightings in the St. Johns River are more common than people think, and nothing gets a kid’s attention faster than a fin breaking the surface!
Visit the Parks & Playgrounds Anytime
Downtown is home to some genuinely great green space. James Weldon Johnson Park sits right in the heart of downtown and is a go-to for families. Friendship Fountain on the Southbank offers waterfront views alongside the beloved playground. Riverfront Plaza and RiversEdge Park is open and ready for its first summer! Pack a picnic, bring the bike and let them run.
Art Bikes Jax: Arts, Culture & History Bike Tour Book in Advance at ArtBikesJax.com
If your kids have energy to burn and curiosity to match, book a tour with Art Bikes Jax. You’ll roll through the urban core on two wheels, taking in murals, landmarks, and the layered history of Downtown Jacksonville. It’s the kind of field trip kids actually talk about afterward. Tours are bookable online — spots fill up, so grab them early. Check out a glimpse of our last ride here.
Summer at the Cummer | Fridays in June
Get ready — Summer at the Cummer is returning next week with live music, food, drinks, and all the good vibes the gardens can hold. Keep an eye on the Cummer’s website for dates and lineups. It’s one of those events that feels like DTJax at its best!
The Pop-Out | Sundays in June
This June, Lift Ev’ry Voice & Sing Park becomes the place to be. The Pop-Out Concert Series returns for its second year, bringing three free Sundays of live music, DJs, food trucks and community energy to one of Jacksonville’s most historic green spaces.
Curated by Larry Love, the series honors Black Music Month and the legacy of James Weldon Johnson — the Jacksonville-born poet, civil rights leader and composer whose name graces the park. Local and regional artists take the stage each Sunday in a celebration of history, artistry and the enduring power of music. The event is free and open to all ages. Bring your lawn chairs, your dancing shoes and your appetite. Brought to you by PlacemakingJax Presented by VyStar Credit Union, Vibrant Places Collective and JaxParks.
Yoga in #DTJax Monthly/Weekly | Locations & Dates Vary
Downtown has no shortage of ways to get your fitness in for free! Yoga at the Cummer, RiversEdge Wednesday Yoga, Ev’rybody Yoga at Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Park, Riverside Arts Market’s morning class, Pilates at Riverfront Music Garden and more — there’s an option for every schedule and skill level. Check out Downtown yoga classes at DTJax.com/events.
Summer Theatreworks at Florida Theatre
Summer Theatreworks is a summer staple for a reason. Theatreworks brings the best national and international professional touring children’s theatre to First Coast kids and summer campers, and this season has 19 shows to choose from. Founded in 1979 and now part of the Florida Theatre summer round-up since 2019, check out the full lineup and showtimes on our event calendar.
Tour the USS Orleck | Anytime | 610 E. Bay St.
Step aboard Florida’s only museum warship docked right here on the St. Johns River. The USS Orleck is a Gearing-class destroyer that served through Korea and Vietnam, and touring it is one of the coolest things you can do Downtown with kids! They’ll climb through the decks, check out the gun turrets, and hear real stories from veteran volunteers who actually served. Kids under 5 are free, youth ages 6–17 are $7, and there’s free parking on site. Wear good shoes!
LaVilla Walking Tour | 378 N. Lee Street
Step back in time and walk through one of Jacksonville’s most storied neighborhoods. This guided tour along the Emerald Trail unpacks the history of LaVilla — its roots as a center of arts and entertainment, its role in civil rights history, and the cultural legacy that shaped the wider urban core. This is a great one for older kids who are ready to engage with the story of this city.
JWJ Birthday + 5K June 20
Celebrate the birthday of Jacksonville’s own James Weldon Johnson with a 5K right in the heart of DTJax. Stick around afterwards for a block party in the city’s oldest park with food trucks, music and great time.
Summer in #DTJax is what you make it, and this year the lineup is stacked. Whether you’re a camp family, a weekend-adventure family, or a somewhere-in-between family, there’s something on this list for you. Stay tuned to dtjax.com for updates, new dates, and everything else happening Downtown all season long.