Looking for an easy getaway for a little adventure without leaving the state? A Tallahassee road trip might be perfect for your family.
Our state capitol has SO much more to offer and tons of activities for kids of all ages. I never truly looked into Tallahassee until my daughter said for her birthday, she wanted to visit museums. Knowing Washington DC and the Smithsonian is out as a quick weekend getaway I looked into various cities in Florida we could check out. We decided on Tallahassee road trip and it turned out perfectly!
The Tallahassee Museum
The Tallahassee Museum is a completely outdoor museum with many animals, a metal dinosaur Art display that was really awesome AND it’s the home of the Treetops Adventure Course.
We got the museum when it first opened and walked through it all. Some animals were sleeping but you could see them all especially those awake waiting for their breakfast. Bears, foxes, otters, wolves many Florida native animals in a beautiful surrounding.
After we saw the animals, we did the 2-3-hour Treetops course. My daughter loves ropes courses and this one did not disappoint. Even though it took me some time to master using a hand break on the ziplines, we climbed, balanced and zipped our way over animals, water and other visitors below. Probably one of the best and hardest courses I have done, but SO worth it.
Tallahassee Automobile Museum
We grabbed lunch after our adventure then headed to the Tallahassee Automobile Museum. A large collection of old cars, and entire section dedicated to Batman and even interesting collections of dolls, motorcycles, model cars and various sports memorabilia this large two-story warehouse was definitely worth the visit. Of course, my daughter’s favorites were the DeLorean and the model of the Tie-fighter out front.
North Florida Wildlife Center
The next morning, we headed out to the North Florida Wildlife Center. A little out of the way, but working us in the direction of home I can’t recommend this place enough. Since it was her birthday, I paid the $20 more per person for the all-inclusive tour. Being an animal lover knowing I could see a Joey kangaroo and lemur up close seemed 100% worth it. I had no idea exactly how worth it.
The wildlife center is small and ran completely by volunteers it seemed, but all the volunteers love the animals and are excited to share the information about all of them. The are heavily focused on conservation and know the more we learn, the more we can help.
The tour is wonderful! We got to HOLD a Joey kangaroo. Yeah, hold him. My daughter bottle fed him too. I couldn’t stop taking photos. Then we got to feed lemurs. As they climbed on us, licked my daughter’s shoes (and give her “looks” when she tried to step away from them) and played all around us it was the sweetest thing ever.
Other Tallahassee Museums to Visit
Unfortunately, the Museum of Florida History, which is supposed to be amazing, was closed. The Capitol Museum and the Goodwood Museum & Gardens were closed as well. But this just gives us a reason to go back again when things get a little more normal.
I never would have thought of the state capitol as a getaway location, but it is and now we are already planning a return trip when we can visit the History museum, and hold a Joey again.
Melody is a graduate of Jacksonville University, married a Jax Beach resident, moved away for 12 years, then returned to the area in 2016. Together they have two girls. Melody works as owner/photographer of Melody Coarsey Photography, she loves yoga, family, traveling, dining with a view and the ocean.
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