9 Things to do in Savannah with Kids

Savannah is known for its antebellum architecture, beautiful parks, horse-drawn carriages and its majestic oak trees, draped romantically in Spanish moss. With only two days to visit, we wanted to find the best things to do in Savannah with kids.

We visited Savannah, GA as part of our family road trip along the Southern East Coast. We arrived in Savannah after 3 exhausting days in Orlando, visiting Disney World with our kids. We wanted to see the historic side of Savannah, but after the recent theme park madness, we also desperately craved some nature. Savannah delivered very nicely on both accounts.

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Based on our family trip, here are 9 fun things to do in Savannah with kids.

1. Wormsloe Historic Site

After driving all morning from Orlando, we were excited to set out and see Savannah with our kids. As mentioned, we were desperate for some time in nature, so the Wormsloe Historic Site was a perfect fit.

Chances are that if you’ve looked into visiting Savannah with your family, you’ve seen pictures of the majestic row of towering oak trees covered in drooping Spanish moss found at the Wormsloe Historic Site.

The visual effect of these majestic ancient oak trees, whose massive limbs stretch over and cover the roadway for as far as the eye can see is very special.

We were at the Wormsloe Historic Site with our kids on a Friday afternoon in early August and it wasn’t that busy. There were a few people parked on the roadside a few hundred feet from each other, setting up tripods or simply taking family photos. Surprisingly it was reasonably easy to get beautiful pictures of the majestic Savannah oaks without anyone in them. 

Given the incredible beauty of the oak trees at the Wormsloe Historic Site, we took quite a while taking pictures and letting the kids run around. 

We had wanted to walk the 3 mile (4.8km) kid-friendly hiking trail through the Wormsloe Historic Site, but by the time we had finished with our pictures, we only had around an hour left to explore.

We could have carried the kids and completed the easy Wormsloe hike in under an hour, but after driving all morning we wanted the kids to get some exercise and explore in a forest environment which is new to them.

They loved seeing the new types of plants, especially the wide variety of mushrooms which are way more exotic than we have back home in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

We have an entire post full of all our best tips for hiking with kids and this one with all the best hiking gear for kids.

We walked down a Wormsloe hiking path to the Colonial Life Area where the kids had fun looking at an old blacksmith’s shop and a replica house from the plantation era.

A quick stop at the picturesque lookout and we were on our way back to the car. We had to walk pretty quickly as the thunder (which had been rumbling lowly our entire visit) was getting closer, louder and longer.

We got to enjoy the long row of majestic oak trees one more time as we drove out. What an incredible sight – the Wormsloe Historic Site is a must see while in Savannah with kids!

Savannah: Wormsloe Plantation and Bonaventure Cemetery Tour

2. Forsyth Park

On our first morning we were out the door of our house rental in historic downtown Savannah at 8:15. We began our morning walk through beautiful Forsyth Park, enjoying the towering majesty of the large oak trees.

The kids had fun running around Forsyth Park, talking to the friendly locals and petting their dogs, while we enjoyed the beauty of the park and its amazing centerpiece fountain.

3. Walking Bull Street

After leaving Forsyth Park with our kids, we traveled north on Bull Street, enjoying the historic Savannah architecture and the five amazing public squares along the way to the waterfront.

Each square along Bull Street in Savannah is well-treed with some form of monument in the middle (statue, etc.). We normally wouldn’t mention a city street on a list of things to do with kids in a city, but Bull Street in Savannah is one of the nicest city streets we can remember anywhere in the world.

4. Savannah Riverfront Walk

Upon reaching the Savannah riverfront, we stopped in the Visitor Information Center to let the kids use their restrooms. While there, we asked for recommendations for kid-friendly hikes near Savannah.

We walked both directions along River Street, doing some window shopping, while trying to resist the tempting smells wafting from the many candy shops.

Ultimately, the wonderful smells got the best of us and we stopped in River Street Sweets for some freshly made Pecan Praline. Oh man, if you have a sweet tooth (like we do!), don’t miss the candy shops along Savannah’s riverfront.

If you ask our kids, the candy store was their favorite thing to do in Savannah!

5. Savannah City Market

We finished the morning by walking through the City Market. This fun Savannah, GA street is pedestrian only, giving the kids freedom to run free and climb on everything in sight – what a couple of monkeys!

6. Ellis Square Splash Park

It was a hot, humid morning with the temperatures hovering in the high 80’s. At the east end of the City Market is Ellis Square, another of Savannah’s great public spaces.

Ellis Square had a small splash park in it, but we had forgotten their bathing suits, so we let the kids strip down to their underwear and run wild in this fun Savannah water park.

They had walked nearly 3.1 miles (5km) in the Georgia heat, so they really deserved this opportunity to cool down while enjoying one of the best things to do in Savannah with kids.

Once they kids had their fill of the water park, we walked a few blocks to catch the free DOT bus which took us back to Forsyth Park where we began our journey earlier that morning.

Savannah Walking Tour

7. Hiking Skidaway State Park

After our little guy’s nap at our Savannah vacation rental, we hopped in the car and drove 20 minutes towards the coast to Skidaway State Park, one of the places the Visitor’s Center recommended for a good kid-friendly hike near Savannah.

We didn’t have a lot of time, so we decided to walk the Sandpiper Trail loop to the Avian Loop. Only two miles long, this is one easiest hiking trails at Skidaway State Park.

Hiking the Sandpiper Trail with kids was a lot of fun. It begins with a long wooden boardwalk over a stretch of salt flats. When you look over the railing onto the salt flats you can see lots of little Fiddler Crabs scurrying about.

You’d better be quiet though as the crabs are skittish and will scurry down their holes if they hear a loud noise.

The kids thought seeing the crabs in the salt flats was great fun, but being 2 & 5 years old, they were unable to contain themselves and made a ton of noise, thus reducing their crab sightings. It didn’t seem to bother them though as they were having a hoot!

The kid-friendly hiking trail continues alongside tidal creeks and through thin forest, with a wide variety of trees and Spanish Moss.

We saw a variety of birds, butterflies, dragonflies and bugs which all kept the kids entertained and walking slower than we’d hoped.

The Sandpiper Trail meets up with the Avian Loop about halfway through the loop. The Avian Loop is pretty short, but is worth it for the chance to see Osprey hunting for fish and dolphins swimming down river.

We didn’t have a nature guide with us, but we saw a large bird of prey circling overhead. We assumed it was an Osprey, but even if it wasn’t, it was a magnificent bird.

When the trail met up with the Skidaway Narrows River we saw some kayaks glide by. We thought the odds of us actually seeing a dolphin in the Skidaway Narrows River were so slim that we barely looked.

But, in a matter of seconds, Celine saw a dolphin! It surfaced several times as it slowly swam up-stream. It was going slow enough and staying up long enough that even our 5 year old saw it – a very exciting moment for her!

This kid-friendly hike near Savannah was a perfect outing with small kids. It was a reasonable length for them and they both walked the entire way. There was enough interesting stuff along the way that it kept their interest.

There wasn’t much tree cover at Skidaway State Park though, so if it’s a hot day (as it was for us), make sure you bring sun hats, sunscreen and plenty of water.

8. Bonaventure Cemetery

On our final morning, we drove out to the Bonaventure Cemetery for a short walk before driving to Charleston. We’ve love visiting famous cemeteries around the world as they are so beautiful and interesting to visit.

The Bonaventure Cemetery became famous when it was featured in the famous novel and subsequent movie, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

When we got to the Bonaventure Cemetery, we were immediately impressed by the grounds with its majestic oak trees and Spanish moss. But at first glance the tombstones were actually pretty normal and not really interesting to look at.

Perhaps we are becoming cemetery snobs, but we like walking through cemeteries to see the interesting and ornate tombstones. So rather than stop for a walk, we slowly drove through Bonaventure Cemetery and looked at the beautiful surroundings for a while.

I expect we were just too excited for our next stop, where we continued our family adventures in Charleston with kids.

9. Family Photo Shoot

On several of our family trips around the world, we were lucky enough to capture some special moments from our family trip with a session with a professional photographer. Some of the family photos we received from these photo sessions are some of our most treasured possessions.

We didn’t have a chance this family trip, but you can book a family photo shoot in Savannah. Your professional photographer will make you feel relaxed and help you find photo-friendly locations in and around Savannah.

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