Family friendly days out

Welcome

Every woodland and National Nature Reserve has plenty of space for younger visitors to let off steam and get closer to nature.

Some places also have family-friendly facilities like play areas, easy cycling trails and pushchair-friendly walking trails.

There are also cafés and toilets for when you need a quick pit stop.

Read on for our tips for family days out in the great outdoors.

Family visits film

Watch our film about visiting our woodlands and reserves with your family.

Walking trails for all the family

Little feet can tire easily, so we’ve got lots of shorter routes that are perfect for little legs as well as discover trails to help keep younger walkers interested along the way.

Some of our walking trails follow wide and level paths that are pushchair-friendly.

Places with family-friendly walks

Here’s our pick of places with family-friendly walking trails.

Afan Forest Park, near Port Talbot

Bwlch Nant yr Arian Visitor Centre, near Aberystwyth

Cadair Idris National Nature Reserve, near Dolgellau

Cae'n y Coed, near Betws-y-Coed

Coed Moel Famau Forest, near Mold

Coed y Bont, near Tregaron

Coed y Brenin Visitor Centre, near Dolgellau

Cors Caron National Nature Reserve, near Tregaron

Dyfi Forest – Tan y Coed woodland, near Machynlleth

Fforest Fawr, near Caerphilly

Llyn Crafnant, near Llanwrst

Newborough National Nature Reserve and forest, Anglesey

Newport Wetlands National Nature Reserve

Pont y Pair, Betws-y-Coed

Play areas

From splashing in puddles to hunting for bugs, there’s nothing quite like the freedom of playing outdoors.

There's plenty of outdoor fun to be had at all the places we look after and some of our woodlands have play areas, too.

Places with play areas

The play areas in these woodlands make the most of their natural setting and are a great place for little ones to let off steam.

Bwlch Nant yr Arian Visitor Centre, near Aberystwyth

Coed y Brenin Visitor Centre, near Dolgellau

Cwm Carn Forest, near Newport

Manor Wood, near Monmouth

Whitestone, near Chepstow

An adventure on two wheels

Taking the children for a bike ride in one of our woodlands couldn’t be easier thanks to our family friendly, waymarked bike trails.

Look out for green and blue graded mountain bike trails which are aimed at beginners and make an ideal day out for older children.

Some of our visitor centres have shorter mountain bike trails built especially for young riders and purpose built skills areas to practice riding techniques before setting off on a trail.

Some also have bike hire and bike washing facilities so not only can you rent two wheels, you can clean them too!

Find out more about mountain biking.

Places with family cycling

Explore the great outdoors on two wheels at one of these places which have the best family friendly cycling trails.

Alwen Reservoir, near Denbigh

Afan Forest Park, near Port Talbot

Beddgelert Forest, near Porthmadog

Bwlch Nant yr Arian Visitor Centre, near Aberystwyth

Brechfa Forest – Byrgwm woodland, near Carmarthen

Clocaenog Forest - Bod Petryal, near Ruthin

Coed y Brenin Visitor Centre, near Dolgellau

Coed Nercwys, near Mold

Glasfynydd Forest, near Llandovery

Newborough National Nature Reserve and forest, Anglesey

Get close to nature

Our woodlands and National Nature Reserves are great places to get away from it all and get closer to nature.

Many of them are accessible for the whole family and are great places to enjoy spending time together and to discover some of Wales’ wonderful wildlife.

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Places to spot wildlife

You’ll be out in the natural world whenever you visit one of our places, but here are a few that have family friendly facilities as well as a great opportunity to spot all different kinds of wildlife.

Bwlch Nant yr Arian Visitor Centre, near Aberystwyth

Cadair Idris National Nature Reserve, near Dolgellau (reserve open all year; visitor centre open seasonally)

Cors Caron National Nature Reserve, near Tregaron

Dyfi National Nature Reserve and Ynyslas Visitor Centre, near Aberystwyth

Newborough National Nature Reserve and forest, Anglesey

Newport Wetlands National Nature Reserve, near Newport

Visitor centres

Sometimes you just want a day out somewhere with a few home comforts. 

Our visitor centres have all you need to make a visit with your young explorers an easy one. 

From shops selling ice cream and pocket-money souvenirs to visitor centres with cafés and toilets, we’ve got all your needs covered.

Places with visitor centres

Afan Forest Park, near Port Talbot (visitor centre run by Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council)

Bwlch Nant yr Arian Visitor Centre, near Aberystwyth

Coed y Brenin Visitor Centre, near Dolgellau

Cwm Carn Forest, near Newport (visitor centre run by Caerphilly County Borough Council)

Ynyslas Visitor Centre, Dyfi National Nature Reserve, near Aberystwyth

Newport Wetlands National Nature Reserve, near Newport (visitor centre run by RSPB)

Ideas and activities for playing outdoors

Whether you are visiting your local park, planning a day at the beach or setting off on a walk through a woodland, exploring nature is a great way for children to exercise their bodies and minds.

The natural environment offers the opportunity to engage in a variety of fun, simple activities regardless of age, fitness level or gender.

Our Health, Education and Natural Resources team has compiled a range of free resources to help keep children engaged and build their connection to nature.

These include:

  • Nature Fun and Play booklet with simple ideas and suggestions to get your family exploring and discovering in the natural environment
  • Getting Creative Outdoors booklet to help inspire your children’s creativity in the natural environment
  • Education, Learning and Play YouTube playlist with short how-to videos to inspire outdoor adventures
  • Tips and tricks to help you plan for and enjoy a safe and happy session with your children outdoors

For more information and to download your free resources, go to Nature play and family fun

Discovery backpacks

Our discovery backpacks offer young visitors a helping hand to get up close to nature.

You can borrow a backpack on your visit to:

Each discovery backpack contains useful goodies like binoculars, a magnifying glass, a bug pot and nature identification cards along with a guide explaining how to use them.

The backpacks also include some challenges to help get your nature hunt started.

Try out bark rubbing, have a go a bird spotting, or set off on a search for mini-beasts in the woods.

There is a limited supply of backpacks at each visitor centre. They are issued on a first come, first served basis and should be returned to the visitor centre after use.

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