Family days out by the sea

Family fun by the sea

From huge sand dunes to Wales’s only Marine Conservation Zone, we look after many special places around the coastline.

Each one has plenty of space for younger visitors to let off steam and get closer to nature.

Some also have family-friendly facilities such as easy cycling trails and pushchair friendly walking trails.

Read on for our top tips for a family day out in our National Nature Reserves and woodlands by the sea.

Become a family of wildlife explorers

Our National Nature Reserves and woodlands by the sea are great places to get closer to nature.

They are home to all sorts of wildlife from birds to insects, plants to fungi and grey seals to red squirrels.

We’ve picked ten special places that we look after around the coastline of Wales for you to discover.

There are information panels at each place so you know what to look out for as you explore.

Find out more

• Go on a shell search and use our shell guide to identify what you find
• Download our seaside I-Spy and see how many things you can spot
• Check out wildlife above and below our waves where we regularly showcased a different marine species during Wales's Year of the Sea
• Hire a free Discovery Pack at Ynyslas Visitor Centre and set off on a nature hunt with useful goodies like binoculars, a magnifying glass and a bug pot

Walks near water for little legs and parents with pushchairs

Little legs can tire easily, but our shorter walking routes are perfect for younger visitors.

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

Here’s our pick of places by the sea with family friendly walking trails:

• Morfa Dyffryn National Nature Reserve, near Barmouth
• Newborough National Nature Reserve and forest, Anglesey
• Newport Wetlands National Nature Reserve
• Oxwich National Nature Reserve, near Swansea

If you’re looking for a more challenging walk, Wales’ four long distance routes take you through or close by the coastline and each one can be enjoyed in bitesize chunks.

A family adventure on two wheels

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

These two forests have family friendly cycling trails near water:

• Llyn Alwen, Hiraethog Forest, near Denbigh
• Newborough National Nature Reserve and forest, Anglesey

Time for a paddle

Wales has the best bathing water quality in the UK and many of our beaches have awards such as Blue Flags, Green Coast Awards and Seaside Awards. 

• Search our online map to check the quality of the bathing water near you
• Find out how we monitor bathing water quality

Looking for more?

We are one of the biggest providers of outdoor recreation facilities in Wales and we have lots more family friendly places for you to enjoy.

Our hundreds of walking trails, world-class mountain biking trails, visitor centres and picnic areas are set in woodlands and National Nature Reserves in some of the most stunning parts of the country.

Go to our main family friendly days out page or go to our leaflets page to download one of our regional leaflets.