7 Rainy-Day Things to Do With a 10-Month-Old in Vancouver, WA (That Aren't the Library)

A parent on r/vancouverwa asked a question recently that I think every parent in this town has asked at least once. It's Sunday, it's pouring, there's a 10-month-old in the house, the dog park already happened, and the library is off the table. Now what?

The thread filled up fast with good ideas, so I did what I always do. I went through every suggestion, checked the hours, addresses and prices, and added a few spots the thread missed. What's left is seven things that actually work for a baby who's crawling, cruising and very much done with the living room.

One heads up before you go. Ten months is an awkward in-between age. A lot of indoor play spaces are built for ages 1 to 8, so for each spot I've noted whether there's real room for a crawler and what a baby under 1 costs.

1. Do laps at Vancouver Mall (free)

This was the top answer in the thread, and honestly it's the easiest win on the list. The mall is dry, warm, stroller-friendly and full of people for a baby to stare at. Babies this age love people watching more than any toy you own.

What a lot of people don't realize is how much is set up for little kids in there:

• The Play Space is on the lower level near the AMC theater. It's free, it's open whenever the mall is, and it has big soft play pieces and puzzles. Go early on a Sunday, because older kids tend to pile in later in the day and that's a lot for a crawler.

• Family Lounges are on the lower level down the hallway by JCPenney and upstairs in the Dining Court. They have toys, private nursing areas and changing stations. This is your pit stop.

• Vancouver Mall Library is a full branch of Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries, upstairs on the east end near JCPenney. I know, I know, you said no library. But it's right there, it's open Sundays 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and a quick board book swap mid-lap never hurt anyone.

If you end up loving it, the library runs a free family storytime at the Little Free Library inside the mall on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 11. Weekday thing, but worth knowing.

• Address: 8700 NE Vancouver Mall Dr, Vancouver, WA 98662

• Sunday hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Cost: Free

• Good for 10 months? Yes. Lots of floor space, lots of faces, and easy to leave when the meltdown starts.

2. Let her loose at City Play for Kids ($)

Someone in the thread just said "City Play in East Vancouver is great!" and left it there. Fair. It's a pretend-play space in Fisher's Landing built like a tiny town, with a fire station, a vet clinic, a grocery store, a play cafe, train tables and ball runs. The owners started it after Portland lost its children's museum, and you can tell they care about keeping it clean and calm.

It's officially for ages 1 to 8, but a 10-month-old will have a blast crawling around, pulling up on the low tables and watching the bigger kids. The one catch for a rainy Sunday: weekend hours end at 1 p.m. So this is a morning plan, not an after-nap plan.

• Address: 16420 SE McGillivray Blvd, Suite 106, Vancouver, WA 98683

• Weekend hours: Mornings until 1 p.m. (weekdays run until 5 p.m.)

• Cost: $16 per child. Babies under 1 are $10 if there's no paying sibling with them. Discounted play passes are available.

• Bring: Grip socks for the baby, regular socks for you. Lidded drinks are fine, outside food isn't.

• Tip: Reserve a session on their website before you head over, especially when it's raining and everyone has the same idea.

If you need an afternoon option, two more indoor play spots are worth knowing:

• Chicky Play Museum (8109 NE Vancouver Mall Dr, Suite A, Vancouver, WA 98662) is a play cafe right by the mall, open daily 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. It's built for 12 months to 8 years and has a dedicated baby area. A baby under 12 months gets in free with a paying sibling. Flying solo with just the baby? Call ahead at (360) 998-5555 for the current rate.

• Dizzy Castle (11606 NE 66th St, Vancouver, WA 98662) is the big climbing castle with a pirate ship, plus a smaller one for toddlers. It's more of a big-kid energy place, but it works if you've got older siblings in tow.

3. Cross the bridge for OMSI's Science Playground ($ for you, free for her)

Two people in the thread backed OMSI, and the reason is the Science Playground. It's a whole hall inside the museum built for kids from birth to age 6, and it has its own infant and crawler zone. That's rare. Most places treat babies as an afterthought. This one actually planned for them.

There's a nursing room and family restrooms right inside the hall, so you're not hiking across the museum for a diaper change. Strollers get parked just outside the entrance. The museum has a cafe too, which the thread said is good, so you can grab lunch without leaving the building.

• Address: 1945 SE Water Ave, Portland, OR 97214

• Open: Tuesday through Sunday. Closed Mondays.

• Cost: Kids under 3 are free, but everyone needs a ticket, so grab hers online with yours. Adult admission is $22.50.

• Money saver: OMSI has run $5 admission on the first Sunday of each month. Worth checking their site if your rainy Sunday happens to be the first one.

• Tip: The Science Playground has limited capacity and fills up on rainy weekends. Get there close to opening. Parking is in OMSI's paid lot.

4. Play trains at Kazoodles (free, unless you cave)

Kazoodles is Vancouver's local toy store, family-owned and around since 2006, and it's been in the Cascade Park area since 2010. There's usually a train table set up for kids to play at, which means you get 20 minutes of browsing while she pushes wooden trains around and chews on a caboose. Everybody wins.

Someone in the thread mentioned a toddler Train Day. That's real, but the schedule moves around. In the past it's run on Thursday mornings and on some Sunday afternoons. Check their Facebook or give them a call before you plan around it.

• Address: 13503 SE Mill Plain Blvd, Suite B-3, Vancouver, WA 98684

• Sunday hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• Phone: (360) 823-0123

• Cost: Free to play. Walking out without buying a board book is the real challenge.

• Good for 10 months? Yes, as long as you're right there. Wooden train pieces are chunky, but stay close.

5. Get in the (warm) water with baby swim lessons ($$)

One parent in the thread suggested swim lessons, and the logic holds up. If you're going to get wet on a rainy day anyway, you might as well get wet in a 90-degree pool. Baby swim classes are parent-in-the-water, so it's really 30 minutes of splashing, songs and floating together. Plus a very sleepy baby afterwards.

The parent who suggested it uses Emler Swim School and described it as fine, nothing to brag about, no complaints. Honest review, and the logistics are good. Emler's Hazel Dell location runs classes on weekends, and its toddler class takes kids from 6 to 35 months with a parent in the pool.

• Address: 8810 NE 5th Ave, Vancouver, WA 98665 (Hazel Dell Towne Center)

• Weekend hours: Saturday and Sunday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• Cost: Group classes start at $35 per class. They also offer a free trial class.

• Phone: (360) 515-9139

• Class setup: 30 minutes, four swimmers per instructor, parent in the water.

This is the one item on the list you can't just do this Sunday on a whim. You'll need to sign up. But if rainy weekends are about to be your whole life until April, a standing swim class gives you one fixed, fun thing every week.

Shopping around? British Swim School and Goldfish Swim School both have Vancouver locations and both take babies too.

6. Embrace the rain at Round Lake (free)

My favorite comment in the whole thread was basically: just go play in the rain. We live in the Northwest. Babies don't care about weather nearly as much as we do, and a 10-month-old in a rain suit is having the time of her life.

The suggestion was Round Lake in Camas, inside Lacamas Regional Park. The trail crosses the old dam between Round Lake and Lacamas Creek, and when the gate valves are open you can look down and watch the water rush through the spillway. For a baby that's pure noise and motion. Look for ducks along the shore while you're there, and grab a couple of wet leaves for her to crinkle on the walk back.

The full loop around Round Lake is about a mile and a half. The trail is dirt and roots in spots, so a baby carrier beats a stroller here. When you're done, downtown Camas is a few minutes away for a coffee and something warm.

• Address: Lacamas Regional Park, 3344 NE Everett St, Camas, WA 98607

• Hours: 7 a.m. to dusk

• Cost: Free, including parking. The main lot is small, so if it's full, keep going north on Everett and turn right on 35th Ave for the overflow lot.

• Heads up: After heavy rain, the county has closed the trail across the dam before. Check Clark County Public Works if the weather's been wild.

Not up for the drive to Camas? The thread's other version of this plan works anywhere: a quick puddle walk, a stop at your nearest dog park to watch the dogs, then a coffee shop to warm up.

7. Turn errands into field trips (free)

This was the most practical comment in the thread, and the parent who wrote it said a Costco run alone killed two hours with their kid. To you it's a store. To a 10-month-old it's a whole new world with bright lights, noise and strangers who wave at her. Let her look at whatever she wants to look at, and don't rush it.

• Costco. If you have a membership, do a slow lap of the aisles. Samples are a bonus for you. Most of what's on the sample trays isn't baby food, so bring her own snack.

• Home Depot or Lowe's. Head straight to the lighting section. Rows of glowing lamps and chandeliers are basically a free sensory show. From fall into the holidays, the seasonal decor aisle is even better, with light-up inflatables and blinking trees.

• A thrift store. Hundreds of toys she can look at, with zero pressure to buy any of them. And if something does catch her eye, it'll cost you a couple of bucks.

None of these need a plan. They're the thing you do when it's 3 p.m., she just woke up from her nap, and you need to get out of the house in the next 10 minutes.

The quick cheat sheet

Spot	Where	Cost	Best time on a Sunday
Vancouver Mall	Central Vancouver	Free	Right at 11 a.m. opening
City Play for Kids	Fisher's Landing	$10 under 1, $16 for ages 1 to 8	Morning, closes 1 p.m.
OMSI Science Playground	Portland	Free under 3, adults $22.50	Near opening
Kazoodles	Cascade Park	Free to play	Anytime, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Emler Swim School	Hazel Dell	From $35 a class	Book ahead
Round Lake	Camas	Free	Daylight, between showers
Costco, Home Depot, thrift	Everywhere	Free	After nap

One more free one to keep on your radar

Columbia Play Project is a local group working toward a permanent children's museum here. In the meantime they run free pop-up indoor play sessions, and this year those have landed on some Sunday afternoons at the Vancouver Arts Hub (1007 E Mill Plain Blvd). Dates change month to month, so check columbiaplayproject.org before you go.

What to throw in the diaper bag

• Grip socks for her and regular socks for you. Most indoor play spaces won't let anyone in without them.

• A full change of clothes. Rain, water tables and puddles all find a way.

• A rain suit or waterproof bunting if you're doing anything outside.

• Her own snacks, since a lot of play spaces don't allow outside food but do allow lidded drinks.

Hours and prices were checked in October 2026, but places change things all the time, so give a quick look at their websites before you head out. And if you've got a rainy-day spot with a baby that I missed, send it my way. I'm always adding to the list.