Take the kids to a construction site, hand over the keys to a backhoe and let them play. Or… you could just take them to Diggerland.

Finding new things for kids to do is a challenge. It’s great when we have the mental fortitude to push them to entertain themselves. Not so easy when we have to come up with something for them to do that they’ll actually love and we’ll be able to tolerate. We go to the movies and we take trips to engage them and fire up those little creative and questioning brains. Wait ’til you see what Diggerland is all about!

Diggerland is the Coolest Place Your Kids Have Never Been

Imagine a place with a three-ton high, torque JCB JS220 your kids can play on or a rear hopper section of a steel demolition trailer they can climb in and pretend to be cargo. It exists and it’s called Diggerland, the construction amusement park.

Okay so, here’s the truth. I had no idea what either of those was until I looked them up. The first one is a heavy track excavator and the second is a dump trailer where large metal things go to get squashed. Don’t quote me here. Me trying to figure out what heavy machinery does is equal to me trying to figure out the square root of absolutely anything.

Diggerland is basically a full-sized construction site built for kids.

There are backhoes, skid-steers, excavators of all sorts, and oodles more and your kids can ride and play with them all. Bob the Builder has nothing on this place. It’s pretty incredible.

Fodor’s rated it among the top 10 family-friendly theme parks in the United States. Yep. It’s right up there with Disney! (Take a look at the hashtag #diggerland on Instagram and also their Facebook page to see what it’s like through the eyes of visitors.)

As of this writing, the tickets are around $40, with a few ways to get more discounted rates.

Want to go to Diggerland?

Okay, so here’s the sad part. The only place you can find a Diggerland in the U.S. is in New Jersey. That’s peachy if you live in New Jersey. But what if you don’t?

Well, there are hotels and campgrounds within a few miles so you could load up the gang and take a road trip. Frontier Airlines usually has some deals going if you prefer to fly.

Road Trippin’ to Jersey!

If you’re going to pack the SUV and head that way, take a little advice from me.

Charge the electronics, pack some busy bags in large Ziplocs, have more snacks and drinks than you think you’ll ever need, buy some travel pillows, and learn every cheesy car game EVER.

Take comfort in knowing when your children are grown and the nest is empty, everyone who took this trip together will remember the silly things that happen and all the time you spent together. What might be stressful now will become legendary family stories everyone tells and retells in the years to come.

Ready to go to Diggerland? If you’ve been, or want to go, tell us all about it.