University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa, AL)

Kid-Friendly Activities:

🧠 Children’s Hands-On Museum — Tuscaloosa, AL

🌳 Capitol Park Ruins & Greenspace — Tuscaloosa, AL

🎢 Bama Lanes Bowling & Arcade — Tuscaloosa, AL

🐾 Tuscaloosa Riverwalk — Tuscaloosa, AL

🤸‍♀️ Upsurge Trampoline Park — Tuscaloosa, AL

🛝 Snow Hinton Park — Tuscaloosa, AL

⛳ Pop Stroke — Tuscaloosa, AL

Family-Friendly Eats:

🍔 Rama Jama’s — Tuscaloosa, AL

🍕 DePalma’s Italian Café — Tuscaloosa, AL

🍦 Steel City Pops — Tuscaloosa, AL

🥩 Dreamland BBQ — Tuscaloosa, AL

🐣 Another Broken Egg Cafe — Tuscaloosa, AL

🥓 Jim “N Nicks — Tuscaloosa, AL

🍟 Rama Jama — Tuscaloosa, AL

University of Arkansas (Fayetteville, AR)

Kid-Friendly Activities:

🧠 Scott Family Amazeum — Bentonville, AR

🌳 Wilson Park — Fayetteville, AR

🎨 Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art — Bentonville, AR

🌊 Lake Fayetteville Park & Trail — Fayetteville, AR

🎮 Arkadia Retrocade — Fayetteville, AR

🤸‍♀️ Altitude Trampoline Park — Fayetteville, AR

🎥 Malco Razorback Cinema Grill & Max — Fayetteville, AR

👧 Play Street Museum  — Fayetteville, AR

⛳ Gator Golf — Fayetteville, AR

Family-Friendly Eats:

🍔 Hugo’s Restaurant — Fayetteville, AR

🍕 U.S. Pizza Co. — Fayetteville, AR

🥓 Sassy’s Red House — Fayetteville, AR

🌾 The Farmer’s Table — Fayetteville, AR

🧀 Hammontree’s Grilled Cheese — Fayetteville, AR

🍪 The Buttered Biscuit— Fayetteville, AR

🍦 Burton’s Creamery Food Truck — Fayetteville, AR

Auburn University (Auburn, AL)

Kid-Friendly Activities:

🌳 Kiesel Park (playgrounds, trails & dog park) — Auburn, AL

🦋 Kreher Preserve & Nature Center (nature trails, butterfly garden & kids’ programs) — Auburn, AL

🎨 Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art — Auburn, AL

🦖 Children’s Hands-On Science Center — Auburn, AL

🎢 Surge Trampoline Park — Opelika, AL

🛝 Monkey Park (historic playground with pavilions & open fields) — Opelika, AL

🌿 Chewacla State Park (swimming, hiking, waterfalls & biking trails) — Auburn, AL

🚴‍♀️ Auburn City Bike Trail — Auburn, AL

🎡 CyberZone Arcade — Opelika, AL

🧗‍♀️ Escape Room Auburn — Auburn, AL

🎳 AMF Auburn Lanes — Auburn, AL

🦓 Tiger Town Shopping Center (family dining & entertainment hub) — Opelika, AL

☀️ Town Creek Park (splash pad, trails & playground) — Auburn, AL

🐠 Southeastern Raptor Center (family-friendly bird shows) — Auburn, AL

🎢 Urban Air Adventure Park — Columbus, GA (~30 minutes)

🎨 Art Haus (kids’ art classes & events) — Opelika, AL

🌆 Toomer’s Corner (Auburn’s iconic gameday landmark) — Auburn, AL

Family-Friendly Eats:

🍔 Toomer’s Drugs (famous lemonade & burgers) — Auburn, AL 

🍕 Mellow Mushroom — Auburn, AL

🥞 The Hound — Auburn, AL

🌮 Tacorita — Auburn, AL

🍗 Acre — Auburn, AL

🍦 O Town Ice Cream — Opelika, AL

☕️ Coffee Cat — Auburn, AL

🥗 The Depot — Auburn, AL

🍔 Byron’s Smokehouse — Auburn, AL

🍩 Big Blue Bagel & Deli — Auburn, AL

University of Florida (Gainesville, FL)

Kid-Friendly Activities:

🧠 Florida Museum of Natural History & Butterfly Rainforest — Gainesville, FL

🌳 Depot Park (playgrounds & splash pad) — Gainesville, FL

🎨 Cade Museum for Creativity & Invention — Gainesville, FL

🌊 Kanapaha Botanical Gardens — Gainesville, FL

Family-Friendly Eats:

🍔 Satchel’s Pizza — Gainesville, FL

🍝 The Top Restaurant — Gainesville, FL

🍦 Sweet Dreams Ice Cream — Gainesville, FL

University of Georgia (Athens, GA)

Kid-Friendly Activities:

🌳 Sandy Creek Nature Center — Athens, GA

🦖 Georgia Museum of Natural History — Athens, GA

🎨 Georgia Museum of Art — Athens, GA

🛝 World of Wonder Playground — Athens, GA

🐐 Sweet Olive Farm Animal Rescue — Winterville, GA

🌿 State Botanical Garden of Georgia — Athens, GA

🚂 Athens-Clarke County Heritage Trail — Athens, GA

🎳 Showtime Bowl — Athens, GA

🧗‍♀️ Rush Athens Trampoline Park — Athens, GA

🧸 Treehouse Kid & Craft — Athens, GA

🛼 Athens Skate Inn — Athens, GA

🎢 Funopolis Family Fun Center — Commerce, GA

🐠 Bear Hollow Zoo — Athens, GA

🚜 Washington Farms (seasonal strawberry & pumpkin picking) — Bogart, GA

🦋 Sandy Creek Park & Beach — Athens, GA

🎭 Morton Theatre — Athens, GA

☀️ Lay Park Splash Pad — Athens, GA

Family-Friendly Eats:

🍔 The Grill — Athens, GA

🍺 Creature Comforts Brewery- Athens, GA

🍕 Amici Athens — Athens, GA

🥞 Mama’s Boy — Athens, GA

🌮 Taqueria Tsunami — Athens, GA

🍗 Saucehouse BBQ — Athens, GA

🍦 Hodgson’s Pharmacy (old-fashioned ice cream) — Athens, GA

☕️ Jittery Joe’s Coffee — Athens, GA

🍔 Clocked! — Athens, GA

🥗 The Place — Athens, GA

🍩 Zombie Coffee & Donuts — Athens, GA

University of Kentucky (Lexington, KY)

Kid-Friendly Activities:

🐎 Kentucky Horse Park — Lexington, KY

🧠 Explorium of Lexington — Lexington, KY

🌳 Jacobson Park (playground & lake) — Lexington, KY

🎨 Lexington Children’s Theatre — Lexington, KY

Family-Friendly Eats:

🍔 Sawyer’s Downtown Bar & Grill — Lexington, KY

🍕 Goodfellas Pizzeria — Lexington, KY

🍦 Crank & Boom Ice Cream Lounge — Lexington, KY

Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, LA)

Kid-Friendly Activities:

🌳 LSU Lakes (walking trails, paddleboarding & picnic spots) — Baton Rouge, LA

🦁 Mike the Tiger’s Habitat (on campus — a must-see!) — Baton Rouge, LA 🐅

🎨 Louisiana Art & Science Museum — Baton Rouge, LA

🦖 Knock Knock Children’s Museum — Baton Rouge, LA

🐠 Blue Zoo Aquarium — Baton Rouge, LA

🎢 DEFY Baton Rouge Trampoline Park — Baton Rouge, LA

🛝 Liberty Lagoon Water Park — Baton Rouge, LA

🌿 Burden Museum & Gardens — Baton Rouge, LA

🚴‍♀️ Perkins Road Community Park (playground, skate park, BMX & ropes course) — Baton Rouge, LA

🎳 All Star Lanes Bowling — Baton Rouge, LA

🎡 Baton Rouge Zoo — Baton Rouge, LA

🦋 Highland Road Community Park (walking trails & splash pad) — Baton Rouge, LA

🎨 LSU Museum of Art — Baton Rouge, LA

🐊 BREC’s Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center — Baton Rouge, LA

☀️ City-Brooks Community Park — Baton Rouge, LA

🌆 Downtown Baton Rouge Riverfront (levee trail, playgrounds & events) — Baton Rouge, LA

🚂 USS Kidd Veterans Museum (tour a real WWII ship) — Baton Rouge, LA

🎠 Rural Life Museum — Baton Rouge, LA

🎢 Topgolf Baton Rouge — Baton Rouge, LA

Family-Friendly Eats:

🍔 The Chimes (LSU staple for students & families) — Baton Rouge, LA

🍕 Fleur de Lis Pizza — Baton Rouge, LA

🥞 Coffee Call (famous for beignets & café au lait) — Baton Rouge, LA ☕️

🌮 Superior Grill — Baton Rouge, LA

🍗 Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux (co-founded by LSU athletes) — Baton Rouge, LA

🍦 Sloan’s Ice Cream — Baton Rouge, LA

☕️ Brew Ha-Ha! Coffeehouse — Baton Rouge, LA

🥗 Elsie’s Plate & Pie — Baton Rouge, LA

🍔 Burgersmith — Baton Rouge, LA

🍩 Mary Lee Donuts — Baton Rouge, LA

University of Mississippi (Oxford, MS)

Kid-Friendly Activities:

🌳 Avent Park (playground & fields) — Oxford, MS

🎨 University Museum & Historic Houses — Oxford, MS

🎢 Oxford Bowling Lanes — Oxford, MS

🌿 Bailey Woods Trail — Oxford, MS

Family-Friendly Eats:

🍔 Handy Andy’s BBQ — Oxford, MS

🍕 Proud Larry’s — Oxford, MS

🍦 YaYa’s Frozen Yogurt — Oxford, MS

Mississippi State University (Starkville, MS)

Kid-Friendly Activities:

🌳 Chadwick Lake & Walking Trail — Starkville, MS

🎨 Mississippi State University Art Galleries — Starkville, MS

🐾 Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge — Brooksville, MS

🎢 Starkville Bowling Center — Starkville, MS

Family-Friendly Eats:

🍔 Bulldog Burger Co. — Starkville, MS

🍕 Dave’s Dark Horse Tavern — Starkville, MS

🍦 Bop’s Frozen Custard — Starkville, MS

University of Missouri (Columbia, MO)

Kid-Friendly Activities:

🧠 MU Museum of Art & Archaeology — Columbia, MO

🌳 Cosmo Park & Columbia Trails — Columbia, MO

🎢 Tiger Bounce Indoor Play — Columbia, MO

🌿 Shelter Gardens — Columbia, MO

Family-Friendly Eats:

🍔 Booches Billiard Hall (Burgers) — Columbia, MO

🍕 Shakespeare’s Pizza — Columbia, MO

🍦 Sparky’s Homemade Ice Cream — Columbia, MO

University of Oklahoma (Norman, OK)

Kid- Friendly Activities: 

🌳 Andrews Park — Norman, OK

🦖 Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History — Norman, OK

🔬 Science Museum Oklahoma — Oklahoma City, OK

🐠 Discovery Cove Nature Center — Norman, OK

🚂 Railroad Museum — Norman, OK

🧗‍♀️ HeyDay Entertainment — Norman, OK

🛝 Kidz Funtown Indoor Playground — Norman, OK

🎨 Firehouse Art Center — Norman, OK

🦓 Oklahoma City Zoo — Oklahoma City, OK

🏰 Myriad Botanical Gardens & Children’s Park — Oklahoma City, OK

Family-Friendly Eats

🍕 The Hall’s Pizza Kitchen — Oklahoma City, OK

🍔 The Garage Burgers & Beer — Norman, OK

🌮 Tarahumara’s Mexican Café — Norman, OK

☕️ Gray Owl Coffee — Norman, OK

🍦 Rusty’s Custard Factory — Norman, OK

🥞 Neighborhood JAM — Norman, OK

University of South Carolina (Columbia, SC)

Kid-Friendly Activities:

🧠 EdVenture Children’s Museum — Columbia, SC

🐾 Riverbanks Zoo & Garden — Columbia, SC

🌊 Finlay Park — Columbia, SC

🎨 Columbia Museum of Art — Columbia, SC

Family-Friendly Eats:

🍔 Pawley’s Front Porch — Columbia, SC

🍕 Za’s on Devine — Columbia, SC

🍦 Sweet Cream Co. — Columbia, SC

University of Tennessee (Knoxville, TN)

Kid-Friendly Activities:

🧠 Muse Knoxville Children’s Museum — Knoxville, TN

🐾 Zoo Knoxville — Knoxville, TN

🌊 World’s Fair Park & Splash Pad — Knoxville, TN

🎨 Knoxville Museum of Art — Knoxville, TN

Family-Friendly Eats:

🍔 Stock & Barrel — Knoxville, TN

🍕 Tomato Head — Knoxville, TN

🍦 Cruze Farm Ice Cream — Knoxville, TN

University of Texas at Austin (Texas)

Kid-Friendly Activities: 

🌳 Zilker Park — Austin, TX

🏊‍♀️ Barton Springs Pool — Austin, TX

🔬 Thinkery — Austin, TX

🦖 Austin Nature & Science Center — Austin, TX

🚴‍♀️ Lady Bird Lake Hike & Bike Trail — Austin, TX

🎳 Spare Time Texas — Pflugerville, TX

🧗‍♀️ Urban Air Adventure Park — Austin, TX

🛝 Mt. Playmore Indoor Playground — Austin, TX

🎨 Creative Action Center for Creative Play — Austin, TX

🐠 Austin Aquarium — Austin, TX

🛼 Playland Skate Center — Austin, TX

🚂 Austin Steam Train Association — Cedar Park, TX

🦓 Austin Zoo — Austin, TX

Family-Friendly Eats:

🍕 Home Slice Pizza — Austin, T

🍔 Hopdoddy Burger Bar — Austin, TX

🌮 Torchy’s Tacos — Austin, TX

☕️ Mozart’s Coffee Roasters — Austin, TX

🥞 Kerbey Lane Café — Austin, TX

🍦 Amy’s Ice Creams — Austin, TX

🍗 Hat Creek Burger Company — Austin, TX

🍩 The Original Round Rock Donuts — Round Rock, TX

Texas A&M University (College Station, TX)

Kid-Friendly Activities:

🧠 Children’s Museum of the Brazos Valley — Bryan, TX

🌳 Lick Creek Park — College Station, TX

🎨 George H.W. Bush Presidential Library — College Station, TX

🎢 Grand Station Entertainment — College Station, TX

Family-Friendly Eats:

🍔 Koppe Bridge Bar & Grill — College Station, TX

🍕 Napa Flat’s Wood-Fired Kitchen — College Station, TX

🍦 Spoons Yogurt House — College Station, TX

Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN)

Kid-Friendly Activities:

🧠 Adventure Science Center — Nashville, TN

🌳 Centennial Park & Parthenon — Nashville, TN

🐾 Nashville Zoo at Grassmere — Nashville, TN

🎨 Frist Art Museum — Nashville, TN

📖 Nashville Public Library — Nashville, TN

🌿Cheek Wood Gardens — Nashville, TN

Family-Friendly Eats:

🍔 Burger Up — Nashville, TN

🍕 Five Points Pizza — Nashville, TN

🍦 Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams — Nashville, TN

🍩 Five Daughter’s Doughnuts — Nashville, TN

🌮 Lady Brid Taco — Nashville, TN