Child-friendly activities in North Zealand: Here are 5 places you must try

Child-friendly activities in North Zealand: Here are 5 places you must try is written by Mia Helt.

North Zealand offers plenty of child-friendly outdoor activities

What can you do with your child at the weekend north of Copenhagen?

Fortunately, there are many options, and plenty of child-friendly outdoor activities.

North Zealand has a lot to offer in terms of beautiful nature, forest and beach - and a lot of places you may not have heard of. So take yours children or grandchildren in hand and enjoy the fresh North Zealand air together.

Read along and get my 5 suggestions for what you can do with your children in that part of the Nordsjælland, which is close to Copenhagen.

All these child-friendly activities in North Zealand have been tested on my own children, and they are definitely some of the family's favourites.

Potato prints, soap box cars, gnomes and Orla Frøsnapper - the Friland Museum has it all

Happy children running around between old and beautiful thatched houses - it's worth a visit!

The director of the National Museum, Rane Willerslev, has helped create an exciting universe for children at Frilandsmusset. He has said in several interviews that the renovation of the museums is due, among other things, to his conviction that children learn best through play.

The Open Air Museum reflects just that; it is the children's museum, and that means exciting and child-friendly activities all year round.

Every summer you can experience, among other things, the Orla Frøsnapper festival, where most of the Frilandsmuseet is transformed into a large 70s playground. Here you can eat liquorice pipes, make batik t-shirts, drive in soap box cars and experience a lot of other entertainment with theatre, circus, singing and music.

You will also find activities for children such as treasure hunts, flower arranging, Halloween events and elf adventures.

The outdoor museum also has many animals such as horses, pigs, sheep and cats that you can pet. Look for the old manor it originates from Djursland, where you can often taste food from the old days.

Most children find it fun to join the kitchen or taste the food being prepared.

When I passed by the manor last time, the finest table was set with fresh flowers, eggs from the farm, homemade pierogies and a lemon fromage that tasted heavenly.

At Frilandsmuseet there is really something to experience, here all the senses come into use, and there are even plenty of nature experiences for the whole family.

Frilandsmusset is located in Sorgenfri near Lyngby, where you can also combine the excursion with a sailing trip on Lyngby Lake with The boat trip in the summer season.

The Vedbæk finds: Greetings to Jacob – a 7000-year-old bog skeleton           

You may not have heard of the Vedbæk finds, but I would still recommend that you take a trip past the small museum in North Zealand.

Here you will find both the bog skeleton Jacob and also other objects and animals which can be dated back 7000 years.

There are also fun activities for children. Have you ever wondered what it feels like to touch a black bear or a wild boar? You can try this and much more at Vedbækfundene.

A small treasure hunt has been created for the children, where both young and old children can solve tasks. They can also be allowed to shoot with a bow and arrow, and you can therefore experience what it was like to live in the Stone Age.

We ourselves had a lot of fun trying to spot the wild boars and deer on the square in front of the museum.

After your visit, I would recommend you to take a walk through Gl. Holtegaard's baroque garden. The baroque garden is located in an extension of the Vedbækfundenes museum. Here you will find nothing less than 30.000 km2 of baroque garden for free use.

There are fun labyrinths, hula hoops and a small nature playground.

During the autumn holidays, the apple trees in the baroque garden abound with juicy apples that are ready to eat. Here, young and old can participate in Apple Day and try their hand at pressing their own applesauce, sing songs around a fire, go on treasure hunts and listen to concerts.  

The Vedbæk finds are free for children, and there is free access to Gl. Holtegaard's baroque garden every day all year round.

Forest playground and exercise track - child-friendly activities in the forest

Out in the middle of Dyrehaven, close to Skodsborg Station, there is always the smell of fir and bonfire.

Spruce from the many old trees that surround the forest, and a fire because there is often a kindergarten or a family with children sitting and enjoying themselves around a fire and eating packed lunches.

The playground is hand-carved from wood and is – in addition to being an adventurous playground shaped like the forest's many animals – at the same time an impressive work of handiwork and art to look at.

On the opposite side of the playground, there is a difficult obstacle course for older children and adults to try. We're talking crossfit-like obstacle course, so it's not easy, but it's fun.

You can, for example, take your time and see who gets through the course the fastest.

If the weather is good, I would recommend that you go to Bøllemosen 500 meters from the playground. If you have a fishing net with you, you can catch tadpoles and other exciting small animals. You may also be lucky to find wild blueberries.

All in all, the area around the forest playground is a lovely way to spend a day in North Zealand.

However, I would recommend that you stop by on a weekday or come early in the morning, as the place has become very popular at weekends for good reasons.

You can park close to the playground at Skodsborg Station, just north of Copenhagen.

Maritime Taarbæk Harbor and playground

A little north of the slightly overrun Bellevue Strand you will find Taarbæk Harbor and lake bathing. There are not many people, but instead peace and quiet and several jetties and beaches from which you can swim.

Here it exudes idyll in the summer with sun and chirping birds, small cozy fishermen's houses, the scent of springing rosehips and the buzz of people who stop and talk to each other.

The boats are located in front of the harbor in small cozy Taarbæk with a view over the Øresund to Skåne on the other side, and there is salt water in the air.

If summer idyll and charm aren't enough, the probably most well-placed playground at Taarbæk School is close by.

Here, the children can slide down a lighthouse, jump into a fishing cutter or climb down the eider's beak.

As the playground is located at a school, you can only visit it on a weekday evening or on a weekend. On the other hand, on a Sunday you will be able to meet other families with children and get some fresh air while the children play on the maritime playground designed by the famous company Monstrum Playgrounds.

You can park opposite Taarbæk School if you are driving.

Ordrupgaard art park: Art at children's height

In North Zealand close by The zoo you will find Ordrupgaard, which also contains a museum with an associated art park. The park bears the hallmarks of an international art scene that could just as well lie in it New York as in Charlottenlund.

Here you can experience the Japanese tea house or climb high into a bamboo tower.

Or how about jumping through the circular artwork of smoke and wind created by Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson?

In the summer you can enjoy an ice cream in the café, located in a building designed by the world famous Iraqi/British architect Zaha Hadid.

In winter, you can bring your own thermos with tea and some home baked goods; it might help persuade your kids to get outside and get some air.

In Easter offers Ordrupgaard on several activities for children, including a treasure hunt where the Easter Bunny has hidden small Easter eggs around the park.

Like my other recommendations, there is room here for interactive play, where the children can interact with the various exhibits in the park. It makes it more fun for children to come along on a trip.

You will also find excellent climbing trees and a mirror maze.

If you want even more fresh air, I recommend a walk through the always beautiful Dyrehave.

In Dyrehaven there is plenty of wildlife, where you can spot red deer, buzzards or something as exotic as a pony. Pony riding is hugely popular in Dyrehaven, and at Fortunen you can hire a pony that you can walk around with yourself if your children need a break from their legs.

Good apps for children's activities north of Copenhagen

I can recommend that you download a few apps for the children from home.

For example, you can try:

• Geocaching: Treasure hunting throughout Denmark
• Wild Food: Noma's star chef René Redzepi inspires children to eat wild food in nature
• Nature bingo: Download free bingo boards from the nature laboratory's website
• TrollMap.com: Thomas Dambo's troll treasure hunt about trolls found both in Denmark and abroad

Here are 5 exciting child-friendly activities in North Zealand

• The Open Air Museum
• The Vedbæk finds
• Skodsborg Forest Playground
• Taarbæk Harbor and Taarbæk School
• Ordrupgaard art park
  

Have fun with North Zealand's many child-friendly activities!