Virtual Recreation Center
You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates and ideas to keep you and your loved ones healthy, entertained and informed. Please note that we do not endorse or receive funds to advertise any of the third-party sites or services listed or referenced on this page. Have an idea or resource you'd like to share? Email us! (montereyrecreation@monterey.org)

We also want you to #showushowyouplayMonterey. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram and use the #showushowyouplayMonterey hashtag. Tag us in your photos to share how you are having fun at home.
Virtual Recreation Activities
Having Fun At Home
As our daily lives are currently filled with more indoor time than we may be used to, there are many ways to stay healthy and active. Take care of yourself; make sure to eat a well balanced diet, get plenty of sleep, and stretch at least twice a day. Try to include some sort of physical activity into your daily schedule. Below are a few ideas for staying active indoors.
Take a Virtual Fitness Class with the Monterey Sports Center. Check out the Monterey Sports Center Facebook page to see new Fitness classes livestreamed each week including Yoga, Cardio Dance, Barre Sculpt, Pilates, Sculpt Express and MORE! They even offer classes for kids and family fitness.
There are also plenty of online fitness options for all interests and abilities.
Fitness for Adults
Fun Fitness for Kids
Take a Virtual Fitness Class with the Monterey Sports Center. Check out the Monterey Sports Center Facebook page to see new Fitness classes livestreamed each week including Yoga, Cardio Dance, Barre Sculpt, Pilates, Sculpt Express and MORE! They even offer classes for kids and family fitness.
There are also plenty of online fitness options for all interests and abilities.
Fitness for Adults
- Therapilates Mat Class for Bonebuilding & Injuries
- Therapilates Chair Class for Better Bones & Balance
- Walk at Home - Walking Workouts
- Zumba Gold
- Quick and Easy at Home Workouts
- Fitness for Active Adults and Seniors
- Pound Drumming Workout
- Good Housekeeping - 25 Fitness Centers Streaming Workout Classes
- Tai Chi YouTube
- Do Yoga With Me
- POPSUGAR Fitness YouTube
- Fitness Blender
- Jazzercise
Fun Fitness for Kids
Connecting with Others - Keeping Each Other Safe and Connected Is Everyone's Responsibility
Although we are all socially distancing physically, as humans we need to stay connected emotionally. Try one or two of these every day.
During this stressful time, it's also important to remember to support each other and maintain emotional connections within your immediate family. Try a few of these ideas to stay connected with members of your shared household/family.
Although we are all socially distancing physically, as humans we need to stay connected emotionally. Try one or two of these every day.
- Call or video chat with a friend or relative you haven't spoken to in a while to check-in.
- Write and send a letter to a loved one. US Postal service is an essential service which means your letters will be delivered!
- Host a virtual playdate with Skype or Facetime or use Facebook to play games with your friends.
- Host a Virtual Netflix Party - Watch Netflix with Your Friends and Family
During this stressful time, it's also important to remember to support each other and maintain emotional connections within your immediate family. Try a few of these ideas to stay connected with members of your shared household/family.
- Plan a family movie night or dance party.
- Play board games with your family or use facebook to play games with your friends
- Play hide and go seek, charades and other low contact games
- Set a day for some spring cleaning or an outdoor gardening project with your family
- Tackle a puzzle together.
- Food Safety with COVID-19
- The Stay at Home Chef - Restaurant quality recipes you can make at home.
- Tasty - Love to cook? The possibilities are endless with tasty video tutorials!
Family Friendly Recipes
- Nomster Chef - Illustrated recipes designed for cooking with your kids. Videos and adult resources available too!
- Disney’s Famous Churro Recipe
- Disney’s Grilled Cheese Sandwich from Toy Story Land
- Support a local restaurant - Many restaurants are still open for take-out or delivery orders. Support your favorite places and order food for pick up or try Doordash,UberEats, Doorbell Dining, Grubhub or other delivery apps and have it brought to you.
- List of Monterey Restaurants Offering To Go and Delivery
Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories, including social media. Hearing about the pandemic repeatedly can be upsetting.
It's easy to get lost in the world of video games and television while at home, but it's just as important to stay physically active as it is to stay mentally active! Try these resources to keep your mind sharp.
Adults:
Learning for Kids
It's easy to get lost in the world of video games and television while at home, but it's just as important to stay physically active as it is to stay mentally active! Try these resources to keep your mind sharp.
Adults:
- Free Audiobooks with Audible and Amazon
- Daily Crossword
- Duolingo- Learn a New Language
- Daily Jigsaw Puzzles
- USA Today Games
- Sudoku
- Keep Calm and Get Creative - Tips for Working from Home and Working from Home with Kids
- Marie Kondo - Tips for Cleaning and Home Organization
Learning for Kids
- PBS Kids - Learning games and videos for young children.
- Scholastic Learn From Home - Educational Activities for All Grade Levels
- Open Library - K-12 Online Library
- Coding Games
- Learning Games for Kids - From Math, Science, Geography, and even typing this site is full of online learning games.
- Seussville
- ABCmouse
- FUNBRAIN
- ABCya
- MYSTERYdoug
- Arbor Day Kids
- National Geographic Kids
Use this time to pick up a hobby! Try something new with the links below.
Games and Crafts for Kids
What Moms Love - Indoor Games and Energy Busters
GoNoodle - Family Games and Indoors Activities
Funology - Games, recipes, science projects, art projects and more!
Busy Toddler - Making It to Naps, One Activity at at Time
- Draw Perfect Flowers with My Modern Met
- Learn to How Crochet
- Learn to How Knit
- Learn to How Sew On a Sewing Machine
- Learn to How Hand Sew
- Learn to How Play the Piano
- Give Cooking a Try
- Take Up Baking
- Paint With Bob Ross
- Make a Rug With Loop Yarn
- Hand Sew With Your Kids
- Start Keeping an Indoor Garden
- Learn How to Play Solitaire
- Learn How to Play Spades
- Teach Yourself Origami
- Learn the Basics of Calligraphy
- Go Stargazing
- Consider Whittling
- Learn How to Belly Dance
- Make Some Candles
- Try Your Hand at Macrame
- Start Keeping a Journal
Games and Crafts for Kids
What Moms Love - Indoor Games and Energy Busters
GoNoodle - Family Games and Indoors Activities
Funology - Games, recipes, science projects, art projects and more!
Busy Toddler - Making It to Naps, One Activity at at Time
- DIY Friendship Bracelets for Beginners
- Learn to Tie Dye
- Make a Pinecone Birdfeeder
- Make and Send a Pop Up Card
- How to Make Oobleck
- Make a Lava Lamp Experiment
- Daily Doodle With Mo Willems
- Learn How to Play Cat's Cradle
- Learn How to Play Checkers
- Learn How to Play Mancala
- Printable Coloring Pages From Crayola
- Make a Paper Bracelet
- Make Polka Dot Slime
- Laundry Basket Skee Ball
- Make Sock Puppets
- All Kids Network
- Highlights Kids
- Maker Stations
- Nomster Chef
Shelter-in-place orders require us to stay in or near our homes... but that doesn't mean you have to skip your daily dose of Vitamin D!
Take a stroll around the block! You don't have to go far to find cool stuff in nature - try this scavenger hunt.
Walk/run or bike around your neighborhood and say hi (from a distance) to all of your neighbors who are getting outside too.
Dog Park, Skate Park, Ballparks, Basketball, Volleyball and Tennis Courts: Closed until further notice
Parks, Beaches, Open Space and Trails: Open at this time
Safety Alert!
Important guidelines are in place to keep everyone safe in our parks and open spaces. Per the Monterey County Health Officer’s statement of April 3, 2020, please heed the following.
1. Stay home as much as possible!
Exercise and sanity are absolutely important, however, we recommend that everyone stay at home as much as possible until this situation passes. Countries that have figured out how to stop the rapid spread of COVID-19 have all enacted much stricter social distancing measures than we are currently experiencing here in California.
2. If you do go out, act as if everyone you encounter outdoors has the virus (even if they don’t!)
3. Outdoor recreation activity should take place near your individual residence. Do not carpool under any circumstances;
Following California guidelines, only drive across town for the absolute essentials! Car crashes are no joke, and driving to the parks, beaches and recreation trails is unacceptable right now, as automotive transport facilitates virus spread between communities. Get to know your local park and neighborhood streets and sidewalks.
4. Please, do not ride/hike/gather in groups of any size. Aim for solo or household only activities as much as possible!
Gathering in a group and hitting the trails increases the chance of virus transmission between members of your group as well as transmission to other trail/park users. As a group, you create a bigger obstacle for other users and set a bad example for the outdoor community.
5. Pick off-hours to ride or hike, and avoid times of heavy trail/park use.
6. Keep rides and hikes short if you do choose to enjoy public trails and parks.
a. Slow down more than usual, and give fellow trail users more room than you may normally give should you need to pass.
b. Now is not the time to train for a marathon or challenge yourself on an extreme ride. Our healthcare system cannot support additional emergencies right now, and no one wants to be the one to distract medical resources from an ongoing pandemic.
c. Give others ample opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors! This isn’t the time to start that marathon training you’ve always meant to do.
7. Use the restroom before come to open space, and avoid spitting while on the trail.
8. Keep your dog on a leash at all times.
9. Speak up if others are not following these recommendations! Share this knowledge.
10. In the event that parks, open spaces, or play areas are shut down, please respect closures. These decisions are made for everyone’s safety.
Additional closures may be necessary to protect our community.
Take a stroll around the block! You don't have to go far to find cool stuff in nature - try this scavenger hunt.
Walk/run or bike around your neighborhood and say hi (from a distance) to all of your neighbors who are getting outside too.
Dog Park, Skate Park, Ballparks, Basketball, Volleyball and Tennis Courts: Closed until further notice
Parks, Beaches, Open Space and Trails: Open at this time
Safety Alert!
Important guidelines are in place to keep everyone safe in our parks and open spaces. Per the Monterey County Health Officer’s statement of April 3, 2020, please heed the following.
1. Stay home as much as possible!
Exercise and sanity are absolutely important, however, we recommend that everyone stay at home as much as possible until this situation passes. Countries that have figured out how to stop the rapid spread of COVID-19 have all enacted much stricter social distancing measures than we are currently experiencing here in California.
2. If you do go out, act as if everyone you encounter outdoors has the virus (even if they don’t!)
3. Outdoor recreation activity should take place near your individual residence. Do not carpool under any circumstances;
Following California guidelines, only drive across town for the absolute essentials! Car crashes are no joke, and driving to the parks, beaches and recreation trails is unacceptable right now, as automotive transport facilitates virus spread between communities. Get to know your local park and neighborhood streets and sidewalks.
4. Please, do not ride/hike/gather in groups of any size. Aim for solo or household only activities as much as possible!
Gathering in a group and hitting the trails increases the chance of virus transmission between members of your group as well as transmission to other trail/park users. As a group, you create a bigger obstacle for other users and set a bad example for the outdoor community.
5. Pick off-hours to ride or hike, and avoid times of heavy trail/park use.
6. Keep rides and hikes short if you do choose to enjoy public trails and parks.
a. Slow down more than usual, and give fellow trail users more room than you may normally give should you need to pass.
b. Now is not the time to train for a marathon or challenge yourself on an extreme ride. Our healthcare system cannot support additional emergencies right now, and no one wants to be the one to distract medical resources from an ongoing pandemic.
c. Give others ample opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors! This isn’t the time to start that marathon training you’ve always meant to do.
7. Use the restroom before come to open space, and avoid spitting while on the trail.
8. Keep your dog on a leash at all times.
9. Speak up if others are not following these recommendations! Share this knowledge.
10. In the event that parks, open spaces, or play areas are shut down, please respect closures. These decisions are made for everyone’s safety.
Additional closures may be necessary to protect our community.

- Senior Shopping Hours
- City of Monterey Operation Outreach Hotline
- Alliance on Aging
- ThoughtCO - Free Online Drawing Classes
- AARP Arcade
- Large Print Crossword Puzzles
- Golden Carers - Activities, Recipes, Hobbies for Seniors
- Silver Sneakers - Workout Programs for Older Adults
- Senior Planet - Senior Resources, Online Training and More
- COVIA - Senior Outreach, Creativity Kits and Social Calls/Check-Ins
- Oral History Lessons
- Lunch Doodles with a Kennedy Center Artist
Virtual Field Trips and Live Web Cams
- Monterey Bay Aquarium Live Cams
- Elkhorn Slough Reserve
- San Diego Zoo Live Cams
- Travel and Leisure - Famous Virtual Museum Tours
- Virtual National Parks Visits
- Nasa’s Eyes
- Disney Magic Moments - Bring the magic of Disney into your home! This website includes virtual rides in Disney Parks, recipes, story time with Disney cast members, art projects and more!
- Yosemite National Park Virtual Tour: Explore this Beautiful Park
- Yellowstone National Park Virtual Tour: Explore this Beautiful Park
- Smithsonian National Zoo
- National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C: Two online exhibits
- Musee d'Orsay, Paris: French Artists between 1848-1914
- Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam: 200 paintings & 500 drawings
- Broadway Plays: 15 Broadway Plays and Musicals You Can Watch at Home
- NASA Research Center
- National Museum of Natural History
- The British Museum
- National Women's History Museum
- Guggenheim
- Buckingham Palace
- Winchester Mystery House
- Most Famous Architectural Buildings in Dubai
- Animal Webcams from CA Academy of Sciences
- Explore Live Cams from Around the World (Africa, Aurora Borealis, Bears, Birds, Oceans, Kittens and More!)
- Virtual Stroll of the Great Wall of China
- Virtual Tour of the Vatican
- Explore Virtual Campgrounds
- Metropolitan Opera- Live Stream Performances
- Upcoming Live Stream Concerts
- Virtual Walk in Australia with Buddy the Dog
- Virtual Walks All Over the World
- Virtual Hike in Redwood National Park
- Virtual Run Along Monterey Bay