4 themed day trip ideas for Long Island families before summer ends 

• It's that time of the year when camp nears its end and school is around the corner. To keep the kids from getting restless, mid- to late August is an ideal time for a summer day-cation. 

To stir up some inspiration, we've crafted the trip for you based on themes your child may already be passionate about — think: horses, dinosaurs, trains and even an early Halloween. Here are four trip  schedules to follow — or mix and match the activities based on the distance from your home. 

LOCOMO-CATION

If your kids are all about trains, this day-cation idea might turn them into fanatics. Park your car at the Long Island Rail Road station in Riverhead to catch a scenic ride to Greenport, traveling through the North Fork.

When you get off, the Railroad Museum of Long Island Greenport will be right next to the station. See chronological train station signs dating back to the 1800s, sit in authentic, old-style parlor cars or check out large outdoor train exhibits. For a bonus, stop at the Railroad Museum of Long Island Riverhead when you return and explore a caboose, step into a gas-powered park train and take a seven-minute ride. The biggest attraction is a room filled with multilayered, old-time Lionel trains running on long, winding tracks. As the trains move, kids can push any of the 84 buttons surrounding an old-time village that activate interactive features on the route. 

Navigation: Railroad Museum of Long Island Riverhead: 416 Griffing Ave., Riverhead; 631-727-7920; rmli.org; Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m.-4 p.m., $15, $8 kids ages 5 to 12. Railroad Museum of Long Island Greenport: 440 Fourth St., Greenport; 631-477-0439; rmli.org; Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; $9, $5 ages 5 to 12

DINOSAUR-CATION

Here’s a chance to spend an entire day with dinosaurs. Begin at the Center for Science Teaching and Learning in Rockville Centre. Meet 11 enormous roaring animatronic dinosaurs, plus 20 skeletal versions. Examine fossilized dinosaur eggs, dig up parts of fossilized bones and try six new dino computer games. “Kids love to watch the two animatronic pachycephalaurus dinosaurs butting heads,” director Ray Ann Havasy says.

Pile back into the car and drive to Chocolate Works in Plainview. There, make your own chocolate dinosaur by pouring colored melted chocolate in a mold and adding candy dino features.

Travel a few blocks to MJ Beanz toy shop in Plainview for a dino-cation souvenir. There’s a dinosaur section, or you can pick up a Top Trumps Dinosaur card game. Play it in the car as you drive to your next location.

The Dinosaur Safari in the parking lot at Walt Whitman Shops in Huntington Station is open through Sept. 4. For a big “ta-daah” at the end of your day, there are seven family-friendly dinosaur activities. They include a walk through a safari filled with animatronic dinosaurs, a bounce house and a sandbox where kids can dig for dino fossils. 

Navigation: Center for Science Teaching and Learning: 1450 Tanglewood Rd., Rockville Centre; 516-764-0045; cstl.org; $15, $12 ages 1-12. Chocolate Works: 371 S. Oyster Bay Rd.; 516-252-3855; chocolateworx.com; $25 workshop. MJ Beanz: 345 S. Oyster Bay Rd.; 516-827-7700. Dinosaur Safari: 160 Walt Whitman Rd.; luminocityfestival.com; $23-$29; open daily 4 to 10 p.m. 

TAKE A HORROR-FI-CATION

If you can't get enough ghosts, ghouls and gore, this horror day-cation could be the best day you’ve had all summer. Begin at the Bayville Adventure Park to play a round of pirate mini golf before entering Baxter Bay’s mirror maze.

Stop by the Haunted House of Hamburgers in Farmingdale for lunch. As server/bartender Patrick Varley describes it, “We’ve got floating ghosts all over the walls, a Dracula that hangs upside down and talks to you, a lever that will shake the booth you’re eating in, witches with a caldron that smokes up,” plus a lot more gore.

After lunch, drive to Adventureland in Farmingdale to enter the Mystery Mansion, a ride with a spooky family atmosphere. You’ll be on a suspended chair lift as you pass through animatronic spooks, eerie clowns, mummies and a new “shaking goat man.” 

Navigation: Bayville Adventure Park: 8 Bayville Ave.; 516-624-7433; bayvilleadventurepark.com; $12.75 admission, golf additional $12.75, Mirror Maze additional $12.75. Haunted House of Hamburgers: 330 Fulton St.; 516-777-1031 hhhamburgers.com. Adventureland: 2245 Broadhollow Rd.; 631-694-6868, adventureland.us; $36.99, $46.99 ages 2-24

NEIGH-CATION

If you’re passionate about horses, start your day at Deep Hollow Ranch in Montauk. Owner Cate Keogh says, “The morning beach ride is a favorite in August because it begins at 9 a.m. when it’s not hot yet. We’ll ride between an oyster pond on the right and Sound Beach on the left. There are swans, blue claw crabs along the water’s edge, and you’ll see beautiful purple sand.” This 90-minute ride is for ages 8 and older. 

Then take a drive to Wading River. There, you can ride painted horses on the carousel at the Shoppes at East Wind in Wading River. You can also ride on a rabbit, rooster or reindeer. Continue your drive to The Carriage Museum (part of the Long Island Museum, Stony Brook). Visit rooms filled with a wide variety of old-style horse-drawn carriages. Get a real sense of what horses were up to before cars took over.

To end the day-cation, continue your drive to Parkview Riding Center in Central Islip for a sunset horseback ride. The adventure begins at 5:30 p.m. on a guided trail across Connetquot State Park. 

Navigation: Deep Hollow Ranch: 1929 Montauk Hwy.; 631-668-2744; deephollowranch.org; pony rides $10, trail rides $75, beach rides $150. Shoppes at East Wind: 5768 NY-25A; 631-929-3550; eastwindlongisland.com/shoppes. Carriage Museum at the Long Island Museum: 1200 Route 25A, Stony Brook; 631-751-0066; longislandmuseum.org; Parkview Riding Center; 989 Connetquot Ave.; 631-581-9477; parkviewridingcenter.com; $140 for sunset ride.