Welcome to the City of Independence Recreation Department's Virtual Recreation Page! This is your place for fun, information, and resources to stay active from home. We are committed to ensuring that our community members have resources to maintain healthy lives, grow meaningful relationships and continue to have extraordinary experiences. In these challenging times, our Virtual Recreation Center will bring these programs and resources right to you and your family with the hope of making it easier for you to prioritize your health and well-being. Visit this page often or follow us on Facebook for new updates and ideas to keep you and your loved ones healthy, entertained, and informed.

Have a great idea or resource you’d like to share? Email us at virtualrec@independenceohio.org! We'd love for this page to become a hub for community connection & activity during this time.


Indy Fit Home Workouts - We are hosting a large archive of recorded workout sessions for you to follow along with and stay active from home! These workouts include 40 to 60 minute full routines that can be done at home, in the style of our regular aerobics, strength & fitness classes; along with yoga, better balance, and more. These workouts can be found on the Indy Fit YouTube channel as well as our Rec / Community Facebook page.

Family / Children's Activities - We'll be providing special Independence-centric activities for the whole family to enjoy whenever possible (i.e., our Virtual Egg Hunt) but have also compiled a great resource of local activities for families to enjoy. 

Independence Virtual Puzzles - Enjoy these puzzles of Independence scenes - can you complete them all?





Indy Rec Virtual Egg Hunt - Can you find all 48 eggs hidden in these Elmwood Park photos?
Cuyahoga Library Digital Collection - The CCPL has a large digital collection that's available to anyone with a library card, including eBooks, audio books, magazines, comics and graphic novels!
Ready Rosie - Cuyahoga County's 'CuyahogaKids' page has some great videos for young children's activities.
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo - Every weekday at 11:00am, the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Facebook Page hosts a 'virtual classroom', checking in with some of your favorite zoo animals & providing information about wildlife care & preservation.
Cleveland Metroparks - Continuing the 'Virtual Classroom' concept, the Metroparks Facebook page hosts a livestream weekdays at 1:00pm, with naturalists answering questions about the parks, animals, plantlife, and more.
Great Lakes Science Center - GLSC is hosting 'Curiosity Corner LIVE!' 10:30am and 3:00pm daily on their YouTube page, showcasing plenty of cool demonstrations and experiments.
#SymonDinners - Celebrity Cleveland chef Michael Symon has been hosting daily live '#SymonDinners' cooking videos on the Food Network Facebook page. Learn to cook a delicious new recipe!
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Let's Get Moving - This PDF has lots of fun dances and music movement activities that are great for your preschooler.
PBS Kids for Parents - PBS has plenty of articles to help you, including family activities, and strategies to keep your kids calm & focused while they're at home.
Storyline - SAG-AFTRA has a great library of children's books read aloud by actors.
GoNoodle - GoNoodle is a great free online resource of games & fun exercises encouraging movement!
Milestones Autism Resources - Milestones has a great page of COVID-19 related information, activities & educational tools for individuals on the autism spectrum.
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library - This program, available to all cities in Cuyahoga County, mails a new, age-appropriate book to a child every month from birth to 5 years of age.


Virtual Field Trips - This list of virtual museums, attractions & locations can help shake up your day by 'traveling' somewhere new!

Ohio Museums Virtual Programming - This comprehensive list of Ohio museums has quick links to all kinds of online content, from virtual tours, educational livestreams, interview series and much more - including the Cleveland Art Museum, Children's Museum, COSI, Federal Reserve, National Museum of the U.S. Air Force just to name a few!
Hidden Worlds of the Natural Parks - This page provides you with a guided POV tour through some of the most beautiful National Parks in the country.
Arts Collection - This huge archive from Google Arts & Culture provides virtual links to almost every major art museum around the world.
Stellarium - This astronomy tool allows you to find all the stars & constellations visible from your location!
Cedar Point POV - Take a ride on all of Cedar Point's rollercoasters with this official collection of first-person videos! No waiting in lines necessary!
San Diego Zoo - One of the country's best zoos has some great live animal cams, as well as other fun videos & activities for children.
Virtual Dairy Farm - Register for a personalized dairy farm virtual field trip with the Dairy Council of California!
Virtual Egg Farm - The Egg Board has virtual tours of many different egg farms across America, customized for different ages.
FarmFood360 - 'Immerse Yourself' in this website encompassing all sorts of Canadian farms.
Monterey Bay Aquarium JellyCam - Are you stressed out? Enjoy the soothing sights of the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Live "JellyCam"!
Georgia Aquarium - Some excellent live camera streams showcasing a variety of aquatic life.
Seattle Aquarium Field Trip - This 30 minute program visiting the Seattle Aquarium was put together for classrooms several years ago - a solid & educational watch!
The Nature Conservancy - The Nature Conservancy has some great educational curriculum in the form of 45-minute 'NatureLab' programs, exploring the science behind nature and how we can keep it running strong.
Boston Childrens' Museum - Google has a great virtual tour of the Boston Children's Museum - explore all three floors!
Access Mars - View the real surface of Mars, captured by NASA's Curiosity Rover!


Outdoors in Elmwood Park - Elmwood Park and the Hemlock Trail are open for the public to enjoy! Exercise and outdoor time are essential to your physical and mental health. We ask anyone who is using our parks to please maintain a 6 foot distance between yourself and other parkgoers and to give notice and room to anyone you are passing by. Our restrooms at the pressbox (in the middle of the baseball diamonds) as well as the bathrooms north of the Civic Center near the Kiwanis Pavilion are both open; we have installed sanitizer dispensers outside both restrooms and have been fully disinfecting them at close each day. Tennis & Pickleball courts are open, but we ask anyone who uses the courts to follow Singles Play Rules Only and maintain a 6 foot minimum distance between yourself and the other players.


(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.)