Alice Cooper has spoken and school is out for summer, y'all. That means a couple of things: one hundred degree temps are on their way, Murder Kroger is less crowded (Murder Kroger has more cheese now, by the way), and you have a bit more free time on your hands. Don't worry - there's plenty of great, cheap stuff going on in Denton this summer to keep both you and your wee-ones busy. Read on to find a few of our favorite Denton summer activities that won't break the bank and feel free to share your favorites in the comments!
Cool off with the city’s local man-made bodies of water. The Natatorium and waterpark are in north Denton right off of 288. Print out this coupon for $2 off admission before you head out there. If you’re smart and think you’ll head out there a lot, go with the family pack discount. Oh, and don’t forget about the newly renovated civic center pool which now has lots of fun obstacles to make your way through.
Whether your kid is into Legos, art, crafting, or just hanging out and listening to stories there is something going on at the Denton Public Library that they will love. Checkout this page to see a list of them all. The best part is that they’re all free. Some do require pre-registration, so make sure you call ahead to reserve your kiddo a spot beforehand.
While we're on the subject of the library, make sure you sign up both yourself and your children for the Denton Public Library's Summer Reading Program. The annual program encourages reading, community involvement, and other educational activities. Complete the program and you'll get a free book, free entrance to Waterworks Park on a date in August, and entrance into a drawing for prizes. If your child is a bookworm and wants to build your home library, go ahead and also sign them up for Recycled Books' Summer Reading Club, too. If your child reads enough, they will be able to receive store credit to Recycled every time they complete a reading log. More information can be found at each library (or by clicking here) or grab a reading log at the checkout counter of Recycled Books.
Movie Tavern has Breakfast and a Flick on the weekends. The Cinemark at Unicorn Lake normally has a summer movie club for kids, but the Denton location doesn't appear to be participating this year. We've reached out to them to find out for sure and we will update this post with more information when we find anything out.
Denton has tons of great summer camps happening in 2017. UNT, TWU, SCRAP, Summit and many more businesses and organizations are offering interesting summer camps that focus on different topics. Enroll your son or daughter in one of the many awesome summer camps we highlighted a few weeks ago.
Eureka 2
Denton's Main Street Association holds Twilight Tunes every Thursday evening on the courthouse lawn. The event sees lots of folks gathering on the courthouse lawn to listen to some wonderful live music while hanging out and chatting. It just so happens to be one of our favorite events in Denton.
There's always plenty for your children to do at the Denton Community Market which happens every Saturday. Don't believe us? Just check out all of the awesomeness on their Instagram or Facebook pages.
Up at the North Lakes Recreation Center, you can find free fun at their Frisbee Golf Course. Further north, there's the free skate park off of Loop 288 and next door to Denton's Waterworks Park. Speaking of which, you can sign up for weekly text messages on their website that include deals and some discounts on admission from time to time. Other Denton park areas include batting cages, tennis courts, basketball courts and more.
If you’re the outdoorsy type, Lake Ray Roberts also has a slew of hikes or events, and the Diamond T Arena has weekend rodeo events. Jumping the A-train is also a fun road-trip to hit free events in Dallas, like free admission days at museums, art walks, or their parks! Speaking of the parks, have you checked out Eureka 2 yet? That place is awesome!
Twilight Tunes
Longtime Dentonites hopefully already know that the Denton County Museums have some consistently cool exhibits. All you have to do is go inside during museum hours. The Denton County Courthouse On The Square Museum ain’t only the best looking spot to just wander around inside, but it also has rotating and guest exhibits up all its 3 floors as well as free lectures and special events you can find on their Facebook page. Their Historical Park, which includes the restored Victorian-era Bayless-Selby House and the Quakertown House of African-American History, offers free guided tours on Saturdays. The Denton Firefighters Museum is open 8am - 5pm on weekdays, and it has nifty exhibits spanning from the 1800s, while the Hangar 10 Museum has some vintage planes.
Denton also has a solid selection of free Art Galleries to meander, as well as the several special collections you can tour the breathtakingly beautiful Blagg-Huey Library at TWU (seriously do this). The Star Parties at the UNT Astronomy Center are far out, and their cheap Sky Theater is a fun way to cool off and think about sciencey stuff.
Got money to burn, head out to Altitude Trampoline Park to dunk a basketball, show off your gymnastic moves, or just hit someone during a game of dodge ball.
There's lots more to do just outside the city limits and we plan to highlight a few with a Day Trip Series of posts this summer, but for now we'll just say the Video Game Museum in Frisco is a must-see. And remember, if you're looking to get out of dodge, we always have our list of nearby restaurants just outside of Denton that are always worth the drive.