Occurring two weeks after the first day of spring, these Easter egg hunts provide a perfect opportunity to break kids from hibernation mode and get them moving in the fresh air and sunshine. Most take place in lovely settings for low or no cost. Note that several events require donations, pre-registration and/or membership. If your city isn’t listed here, consider contacting:
- the closest children’s or natural history museum,
- your county’s park departments website,
- the nearest botanical garden or arboretum,
- large churches, and
- local zoos or organic or other farm open to the public.
Happy hunting, everybunny!
Atlanta, Georgia
Fernbank Museum Dinosaur Egg Hunt
Date & Start Time Saturday, April 7
9:20 a.m. - ages 4 and under
9:55 a.m. - ages 5 - 8
10:30 a.m. - ages 9 -12
11:15 a.m. - all ages “Family Hunt”
Location Fernbank Museum of Natural History
Ponce de Leon Avenue and Clifton Road
Fees & Notes: Member child $5; Member adult – free. Non-member child
ages 3-12 - $20.50. Non-member child ages 2 and under - $5.
Non-Member adult - $17.50.
Advanced registration at Fernbank Museum required.
Created in conjunction with Radio Disney AM590, this Atlanta Easter egg hunt is guaranteed to add outdoor fun to the family Easter this year. Following hunts are photo opportunities with the museum’s dinosaur mascot, dinosaur tattoos and kids’ games. All museum exhibits open at 8:30 a.m. and from 9:00 – 1:00 Radio Disney will be giving away prizes.
Malibu Grand Prix Norcross Annual Easter Egg Hunt
Date & Start Time: Saturday, April 7
11:30 a.m. kids 5 and under
1:00 p.m. kids 6 – 12
Location: 5400 Brook Hollow Pkwy, Norcross, GA
Fees & Notes: $0 or $11.99 if you plan to race and game, too.
With free hourly giveaways and a special $11.99 entrance and game room package, the Malibu Grand Prix is making sure every bunny has fun! The grand prize giveaway of a birthday package for eight is valued at $150. Still looking for Easter gifts ideas for those remaining nieces and nephews? A activity like this could spice up their holiday!
Allergy Friendly Easter Egg Hunt
Date & Start Time Saturday, March 24 age-based hunts start at 10:15
Location Garrard Landing Park, 8000 Holcombe Bridge Road, Alpharetta, GA
Fees & Notes: $0
Organized by Food Allergy Kids of Atlanta, this Easter Egg Hunt goes beyond the basket to offer arts and crafts, bouncy houses and photo ops with the Easter Bunny himself! Because it’s a food allergy event, however, keep in mind that no food will be provided, nor is any allowed on the grounds. A restroom is provided for hand-washing.
Boston
Winslow Farm Animal Sanctuary Easter Egg Hunt
Date & Start Times 12 Noon – 3:00 on each of the following days:
Saturday, March 24 & Sunday, March 25
Saturday, March 31 & Sunday April 1
Saturday, April 7
Location: 37 Eddy Street, Norton, MA 02766
Fees & Notes: $5 for children; $10 for adults. Selling customer designed Easter baskets in the gift shop. Otherwise, bring your own.
Wow! Hunt for an egg . . . find an alpaca! A more interesting Easter egg hunt setting is hard to come across. Over 200 animals live on this working farm that’s been reviewed in Ladies Home Journal, Boston Globe and more. This Easter, Boston families can help offset the farm’s $1,000 weekly food and vet bills by participating in the egg hunt and maybe buying a custom basket or two.
Department of Conservation and Recreation 20th Annual Easter Egg Hunt
Date & Start Time: Saturday, March 31, 11:00 a.m.
Location: Pope John Paul II Park, Gallivan Blvd., Dorchester
Fees & Notes: $0; bring Easter baskets to be on the safe side.
Co-sponsored by Phillips Candy House, makers of fine chocolates since 1925, you know it’s going to be a hit with the kids and the dads! 10,000 Easter eggs will be up for grabs in this gorgeous green setting. Premium Easter candy just makes holidays more fun.
Chicago
Easter Egg Hunt at McKinley Park
Date & Start Time: Saturday, April 7
10:00 a.m. kids 5 and under
11:00 p.m. kids over 6 – 12
Location: McKinley Park 2210, W. Pershing Road Chicago
Fees & Notes: $0
This is just one of the many Easter egg hunts Chicago residents can access through the City Parks District for free!
Spring Egg-stravaganza & Brunch at Soldier Field
Date & Start Time: Saturday, March 31 Brunch: 8:30 – 10 a.m.
Easter Candy Grab: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
(younger kids first)
Location: Soldier Field 1410 S. Museum Campus Drive Chicago
Fees & Notes: $0 for Easter candy grab
Brunch reservations required by Wednesday, March 28. Breakfast with the Easter Bunny Brunch price: Adults - $17.50; Children under 10 - $12; Children under 3 eat free. To register, call 312-235-7162 or email sfspecialevents@dncinc.com.
Burn boundless kid energy in a big way the week before Easter on Chicago’s Soldier Field, home to the Chicago Bears. The city’s largest Easter Egg Hunt opens at 9 a.m. with family- friendly activities including face painting, bouncy houses, balloon artists and more!
Dallas
Dallas Arboretum Easter Egg Hunt
Date & Start Time: Saturday, April 7
Check-in starts at 7:45 a.m.
Easter egg hunt: 8:30 a.m. Separate start times for 2 to 5 year olds and 6 to 9 year olds
Location: Jonson Color Garden, Dallas Arboretum 8525 Garland Road, Dallas
Fees & Notes: This members-only event is free and includes continental breakfast. To register, call 214-515-6547 or register online.
Bring your own basket!
The 66-acre Dallas Arboretum, one of the world’s premier gardens, rewards members only each Easter with this exciting, enriching family event. Fun for Dallas kids comes with sustenance for parents in the form of continental breakfast and coffee in Rosine Hall.
Denver
Bunny Trail Eggventure Easter Egg Hunt at the Children’s Museum
Date & Start Time: Saturday, April 7, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Location: The Children’s Museum of Denver, 2021 Children’s Museum Drive
Fees & Notes: All museum activities included with admission. Adults $8.00;
Children & Seniors $6.00
Hopping down this Bunny Trail includes some stops at egg-dying, art and story stations. Denver kids won’t agree to leave, however, without petting Urban Farm’s animal friends as well the Instrument Petting Zoo’s guitars, drums and more.
Easter Egg Hunt at Waneka Lake Park
Date & Start Time: Saturday, March 31
10:00 a.m. - 3 to 8 year olds
11:00 a.m. - 1 to 2 year olds
Location: Waneka Lake Park 1600 Caria Drive, Lafayette
Fees & Notes: Egg Hunt is free
This field of colorful eggs makes hoards of children happy each year. The park’s giant Easter Bunny hops from his (spacious) hidey-hole just in time to pose for photos. Kids won’t let him get away until he’s turned over his Easter chocolate.
Las Vegas
Desert Breeze Egg Dive
Date & Start Time: Wednesday, April 4, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
1:30 – 1:45 – 3 to 4 year olds
1:45 – 2:00 – 5 to 6 year olds
2:00 – 2:15 – 7 to 8 year olds
2:15 – 2:30 – 9 to 10 year olds
Location: Desert Breeze Water Park, 8275 Spring Mountain Road, Las Vegas
Fees & Notes: $3 for each child. All children under 5 must be accompanied in water by a parent. Lifejackets are mandatory and available for all non-swimmers.
No baskets allowed in the pool. Mesh bags will be provided.
Registration required; call 702-455-7798; registration closes Monday, April 2.
Clark County Parks & Recreation is putting on its first ever Desert Breeze Aquatic Facility Egg Dive. Las Vegas kids stay cool while working for their eggs in the facility’s beautiful indoor and outdoor pools. Support Parks & Rec initiative by getting your friends with kids to come along!
Town Square 5th Annual Hop & Shop Easter Egg Hunt and Family Festival
Date & Start Time: Saturday, April 7, 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Location: Town Square Park, 6605 Las Vegas Blvd South, Las Vegas
Fees & Notes: Free. Must register at location by 8:00 a.m. to take part in the Easter egg hunt. Bring your own Easter baskets.
Radio station Mix 94.1 and Town Square have organized fun music and Easter-themed activities for kids on the day before the big family gathering. Catch that elusive Easter bunny in his six-foot-form before he hops off to the beach for the summer. Easter Egg hunts take place in Town Square Park every half hour for kids from ages 1 to 10 from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Los Angeles
Los Angeles Arboretum Let’s Move Egg Hunts and Scrambles
Date & Start Time: Saturday, April 7, 10:00 a.m.
Location: Los Angeles Arboretum, 301 North Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia
Fees & Notes: $3 suggested donation. Regular Arboretum admission fees apply.
Adults - $8.00; Students & Seniors - $6.00; children 5 to 12 - $3.00
What better way to spend Easter Eve than in the gorgeous grounds of the Los Angeles Arboretum and Botanical Gardens? Los Angeles parents can enjoy the various gardens while kids burn energy on egg hunts and other activities. Refreshments available.
Kids Space Children’s Museum Egg Hunt
Date & Start Time: Sunday, April 8 EASTER DAY
11:00 a.m. for ages 0 to 4
12:30 p.m. for ages 5 – 10
2:00 p.m. for all ages
Location Kids Space Children’s Museum, 480 North Arroyo Blvd., Pasadena
Fees & Notes: $4 suggested donation PLUS admission to the museum; basket to hold eggs included. Museum admission: Kids Space Gardens will be closed from 10am-3pm due to the hunt.
Pre-register all children here or call (626) 449-9144, ext. 5216. Adults do not need to register.
Three acres of colorful Easter eggs should wear out even the most energized of bunnies. Before and after hunts, Los Angeles and Pasadena families get to create bunny ears, art projects and more. Egg hunts are $4.00 per child, plus museum admission.
New York City
(Unfortunately, no Central Park or Bronx Zoo Easter egg hunts in 2012)
Brooklyn Children’s Museum Egg-stravaganza Easter Egg Hunt
Date & Start Time: Saturday, March 24; Entry times 9:30, 10:00 or 10:30 by age.
Location: Brooklyn Children’s Museum, 145 Brooklyn Ave. at St. Marks Ave.
Entry Fee & Close: Ticket Price includes Museum admission for the day.
Members $5, Non Members $14, children under 1 are free
Bring your own basket
This New York City area children’s museum puts more than chocolates in their Easter eggs. Many have prizes and even a golden ticket to win. Old hands at the Easter egg hunt, the organizers have set up the event so that even the tiniest can find the best treasure. If kids have more energy to burn once the last egg is basketed, there are crafts and games to engage them.
Bartow-Pell Mansion Easter Egg Hunt
Date & Start Time: Saturday, March 31, 10:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Location: Bartow-Pell Mansion 895 Shore Road · Pelham Bay Park · Bronx,
Fees & Notes: $12 for non-member children 2 -12; $10 for member children.
Bring your own basket.
The Mansion’s lush grounds provide a perfect setting for a few thousand treat-laden Easter eggs. Located in the facility’s formal garden, this is one time Brooklyn and Manhattan kids can go bonkers over the paths and flora. Baskets filled, children move on to complete Easter themed crafts.
Portland Oregon
50th Annual Alpenrose Dairy Easter Egg Hunt
Date & Start Time: Saturday, April 7, 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Location: Alpenrose Dairy, 6149 SW Shattuck Road, Portland
Fees & Notes: Free! Bring your own basket. Arrive early.
Prizes abound at this rustic Easter egg hunt. Children three to eight hunt and then compete for candy, gifts and to top it all off, one of seven, stuffed six-foot bunnies. After doing this for 50 years, Alpenrose organizers have perfected the art of making Portland kids happy on Easter Eve.
Oregon Zoo Rabbit Romp
Date & Start Time: Saturday, April 3, 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Location: Oregon Zoo, 4001 SW Canyon Rd, Portland
Fees & Notes: Regular admission fees: adults – $10.50, seniors $9.00 and children $7.50.
Bring your own basket.
With the steady traffic coming through the zoo, organizers have set up candy egg hunts every 20 minutes for children 10 or younger. Children can get a good dose of Easter with special crafts and games AND enjoy the petting zoo and all the other wonderful features offered at the Oregon Zoo.