Tackle any terrain and haul up to four kids plus their stuff in one of these super strollers.
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There are times when you want to push a lightweight stroller (going through the airport, for sure!) and times when you want to have a double stroller (trips to Disney World), but these days many families also make use of a stroller wagon (also referred to as a wagon stroller). The best of these heavy-duty haulers can be pushed or pulled and can happily seat two to four kids (often an infant and a toddler), plus a ton of stuff. Many of these work with one infant car seat; to our knowledge, no stroller wagon can accommodate more than one infant car seat.
Buying a stroller wagon is worth it for so many reasons, such as if you frequently visit the beach or parks or if you spend weekends taking kids through farmers' markets or street festivals. It's also handy if you like to go out all day without having to run back to your car often, and if you're less concerned with maneuvering down crowded sidewalks and more concerned with, for instance, having a place to sit young kids while older siblings do Pee Wee soccer, etc. Other uses we've heard of: Taking kids around on Halloween, going up and down a long driveway if you live in a rural area, visiting a zoo, and even just going to the mall. Families who live in climates with frequent ice and snow say they find wagons easier to maneuver in wintertime than regular strollers. Where you should not take a stroller wagon: Disney. Disney World's policy is a hard "no" to stroller wagons in theme parks or water parks because they do take up a significant amount of space.
Our Good Housekeeping Institute's Parenting & Pets Lab constantly runs tests on baby items to find the best crib mattresses, baby formula and other baby products. To narrow down the best stroller wagons, our parenting product experts scoured the market to find the top contenders which we then tested with both experts and consumer testers for a variety of factors like maneuverability, ease of use on various terrains, comfort for both parents and kids and more. If you're looking for something for everyday use, check out our favorite strollers in a variety of styles.
We hear from parents that the number-one thing they want in a stroller wagon is the ability to easily switch from pushing to pulling. With the Pivot Xplore which has more than 4,500 five-star Amazon reviews, you can flip the handle to whichever mode you need. Because it's relatively compact for a stroller wagon, it's suitable for taking on road trips. And due to its size, pushing the Pivot Xplore around is more similar to operating a regular stroller than most wagons — it's easy to steer and turn.
Some interior storage space had to be sacrificed to keep the footprint small, but added storage baskets attached to the exterior help contain all your kids' essentials, and the two canopies offer shade for both kids. The all-terrain wheels performed better than many other wagon strollers on a large variety of surfaces in our testing. (An exception was on super-soft sand; for that, see our favorite all-terrain stroller wagon, below.)
The footwell prevents shoes from dirtying the area where little ones sit (and likely eat), which helps keep everyone clean and comfortable. Note, too, that the body is mesh, so if rain gets inside, it can drain out. Rachel Rothman, our former Chief Technologist for Good Housekeeping, likes the kid snack tray and the cupholders for both kids and parents (four in total!). While you can add a car seat adapter to bring a baby, it is only compatible with Evenflo car seats. Otherwise this is age-graded for babies starting at 6 months. Amazon reviewers love it, and we appreciate that it's a nice mid-price choice. Reddit is full of parents who say you can often find this on sale, especially around events such as Prime Day.
If you want to try a stroller wagon and need to spend as little as possible, the Expedition offers the best entry price point. The pluses first: You can push or pull this and the walls are nice and deep for the kids, with a snack tray between them. On the minus side: It only provides three-point harnesses to strap them in and it's hard to make the adjustable canopy shade two kids at once. Unique to this model, though, is a mosquito-net option to keep both kids protected from bugs.
The Expedition comes with a universal car seat adaptor that can accept 11 brands of infant car seats. Note that when folded, this loses height but is still about 45" x 26" so you'll need a roomy trunk. For just $15 more, you can get the "Plus" version of this stroller wagon which includes, among other things, breathable panels on the canopy and an extra storage basket.
This is the classic Radio Flyer brand and accordingly it's a bit more of a wagon than a stroller in terms of construction, and only for kids age 1 and up. Though each kid will have a five-point harness, the wagon is more of a big rectangular hauler than a set of comfy seats on wheels. One cute feature: You can zip down one wall to give the kids a bench seat for watching a parade, fireworks or a game.
The full-coverage canopy isn't adjustable but does shield the sun from children's faces. Generous rear storage, four cupholders and a variety of interior pockets make it great for keeping track of all your most important items (sippy cups!). However, there is no snack tray.
Once your kids outgrow sitting in this, you could use this for years carting around beach gear, sports equipment and picnic supplies. In our tests, our favorite feature was the easy one-handed fold that makes this a compact and portable piece of gear. It's self-standing and no problem to store in your garage or foyer, and it fits in the trunk or back seat of most cars.
When the Veer Cruiser came out in 2017, it quickly changed the stroller landscape; up until then, stroller wagons were not so much a thing. If you're an adventurous family who wants something top-of-the-line for hikes and beach jaunts, this is perfect, taking the place of a regular beach wagon to cart around kids along with your towels and sunscreen. It has the largest weight capacity of any stroller wagon on our list: 350 pounds!
This compact two-seater is a bit smaller than many other options, making it ideal for navigating crowded boardwalks as well as storing in the back of your car. While testing, Rothman loved that it folded relatively flat and was incredibly easy to slip into various cars' trunks (she also tests for the best family cars). According to the brand, this wagon can be gate-checked at the airport like a regular stroller, and several testers confirmed they were able to do that.
Here's the biggest benefit: As of yet, we haven't found a terrain that this incredibly rugged wagon stroller can't handle, and that includes soft beach sand. If you have a baby, you can use this with its car seat adapter (available for seven different popular brands) or in bassinet mode. For older kids, it's easy to pop in the snack tray. Need to haul three or four kids? The Cruiser XL features four seats for an additional $100. We recommend purchasing some of the add-on accessories, though it's a little annoying that they are all sold separately, including the $59 retractable canopy and the $29 misting fan. It's a primo stroller wagon but the price can add up.
Four kids fit safely buckled into the four five-point harnesses of this stroller wagon, making it our choice for large families or family vacations when you might be taking cousins around together. One caveat: You only can push this WonderFold, like a regular stroller, so pulling is not an option. The handlebar can adjust for parents of different heights, though.
This stroller wagon is rugged and well-built but also heavy; at 60 pounds, it's one of the heaviest pieces of baby gear we've come across. It's also not the easiest thing to get into a regular sedan (it's 43" x 29" even when folded), but if you have a bigger vehicle you should be fine — and if you're frequently taking around four kids, you probably do!
Testers who have used this love the amount of storage space. The walls are deep and you can fit a lot inside with the kids, plus more outside in the storage pockets. Like with the Radio Flyer model, when the kids are too big for this, you can convert it into a regular wagon to haul stuff around. Note that this wagon does not have a car-seat adaptor option so it's only for kids who can sit up on their own, ages 6 months and up.
For the price of this Jeep stroller wagon, we really appreciate that it comes with a car seat adaptor that works with many Graco, Evenflo, Britax and Chicco infant car seats, making this suitable from birth for many families. It's also sold with a detachable cooler bag, large storage pouches and a parent cupholder. With handles on each side, the Wrangler can be pushed or pulled.
Our engineers like that this wagon is designed for strength and stability with a large frame and sturdy materials. It's particularly great for large open areas like a zoo or botanical garden, but it's not ideal for navigating narrow doorways or switchbacks. The inside of the wagon is spacious and the canopy does a good job of keeping little ones in the shade.
We were able to take this wagon stroller over a variety of terrains including gravel. We noticed that while it moves exceptionally well on the sidewalk and paved paths, the wheels tend to get stuck in soft sand. On a beach, you'll want to lift the front end and pull it through the sand on the larger rear wheels.
This winner of one of our 2023 Parenting Awards earned extra points for the padded seats, snack tray and two removable canopies (one for each child — and they can be removed or zipped together if it's windy), making it among the most comfortable for kids. Just note that the canopies are not very high, so tall preschoolers may feel their heads touching the canopy. Parents like that the aluminum frame means this weighs a few pounds less than other comparable wagons with canopies. It can be either pushed or pulled, and can stand upright when folded.
Unique to this model is a mattress that stows inside. If you only have one kid, and they are age 1 or older, you can fold down the seats, lay out the mattress and let them take a nap. (They won't be strapped in, so this should be done with the stroller wagon sitting still.) In fact, this might be your best stroller-wagon choice if you only have one child. You can use this from birth, if you buy the $49 car seat adaptor that can hold some versions of Graco, Chicco, Nuna, UppaBaby, Clek and Evenflo car seats. Another thing to keep in mind: The regular seats only have three-point harnesses.
If both of your kids are small — perhaps you have an infant and a toddler — this compact stroller wagon from the popular Graco brand might be for you. It's the lightest-weight option on our list (lighter than many jogging strollers even) and one of the smallest when folded. The caveat is that to accommodate a baby under 6 months old, you have to buy the $61 car seat adaptor separately and it only holds a Graco car seat. But any of the many Graco SnugRide infant car seats are compatible.
The Modes Adventure has two of our favorite features: You can push or pull it, and there's a child's snack tray. There is not as much storage as on some other stroller wagons, but the wheels include treaded rubber tires that can handle grass, gravel, light snow and uneven terrain. However, they are not great with sand, so this is more of a park wagon than a beach pick. Also this is another wagon with only three-point lap harnesses instead of our preferred five-point safety harnesses that go over the children's shoulders.
The Good Housekeeping Institute's engineering and parenting pros have reviewed a dozen wagon strollers over the past four years using a combination of in-Lab and at-home tests with both expert and consumer reviewers. We perform tests to assess maneuverability, ease of pushing and pulling, stability, ease of getting kids in and out of the stroller, ergonomics for the parents pushing the stroller, storage space and more. To accomplish this, we push and pull the wagon strollers over various types of terrain including pavement, grass, dirt, sand and gravel.
The Good Housekeeping Institute experts suggest considering some of the following features before choosing your perfect stroller wagon:
✔️ Safety: Pay attention to a wagon stroller's maximum weight capacity. Children who are too heavy for the wagon can cause the seats to sag and the frame to buckle. Don't put an infant under 6 months on the seat of a stroller wagon unless they are in a car seat held in properly by a car-seat adaptor. In general, a five-point harness system is more robust in terms of safety than a three-point harness lap belt.
✔️ Car seat adapter: Some wagon strollers include a car seat adapter, some offer adaptors as an add-on purchase and others aren't compatible with one at all. If you have an infant and know you will need a car-seat adaptor, make sure you buy a stroller wagon with an adaptor that works with your current car seat. As of now, we don't know of any stroller wagon that can hold more than one car seat at a time.
✔️ Adjustable handlebar: If you're looking for a stroller wagon for tall or short parents or guardians, a telescoping handlebar that can be raised or lowered to varying heights is nice.
✔️ Storage: This comes in handy for carrying plenty of gear, kids' toys and favorite snacks. See how much storage the wagon has, plus any additional accessories like bins that can be added or removed.
✔️ Canopy: Ideally you’ll want a well-designed canopy that will be large enough to cover as many kids as the wagon stroller can safely hold. Some models provide separate ones that offer full coverage for each child as desired.
✔️ All-terrain wheels: If you're in the market for a wagon stroller, you're likely going to be rolling it over a variety of surfaces from pavement and grass to sand and gravel. While difficult to assess without trialing, you'll also want an option with a robust suspension system to help handle rough terrain.
✔️ Size: Larger stroller wagons that can hold up to four kids are great for growing families or older children, while smaller two-seaters will be easier to maneuver through narrow areas.
While a wagon-style stroller probably won't replace your zippy little lightweight stroller for errands and certainly isn't as convenient for infants as a car seat stroller combo, there are a few reasons why you may choose to add one to your line-up. Many parents begin to eye them when they have a second child, particularly when one reaches toddler age and the other one is older than 6 months. Aside from fitting more kids than most strollers (especially the four-seaters), wagon strollers are great for hauling around games, toys, snacks and other items with their larger-than-average storage space. Don't worry about your little ones growing out of them either. Most wagon strollers have high weight capacities, and once your kids are walking, you can use it as a traditional wagon to store your gear.
Likely the most important reason families like stroller wagons? They're fun! Do any quick read of the online reviews and you'll see parents reporting that their kids ask for a ride in the wagon over the traditional stroller. Many kids can easily climb in and out of a wagon themselves, which is a big part of the appeal. Kids face each other, often with the ever-popular snack tray between them. Stroller wagons are especially good for families who love the outdoors and plan on spending a lot of the time strolling around parks or hitting the beach.
For decades, the Good Housekeeping Institute has been providing expert reviews and advice on everything a parent needs, including stroller wagons. Former Parenting & Pets Reviews Analyst Jamie Spain wrote the initial version of this guide to reflect the latest and greatest wagon strollers on the market. Spain previously worked at BuzzFeed and People. Spain worked closely with Rachel Rothman, the former Chief Technologist & Director of Engineering at the Institute, to research and test. Rachel put her training in mechanical engineering and applied mathematics to work by researching, testing and writing about parenting products. As a mom to three kids ages 7 and younger, she's personally tested many of the stroller wagons on this list.
The current update was from Contributing Writer Jessica Hartshorn who has covered the baby-gear market for nearly 25 years, previously for American Baby magazine and Parents magazine.
Jamie (she/her) is a parenting and pets reviews analyst at the Good Housekeeping Institute, where she spends her time testing, researching and writing about pet and family products. Prior to starting at GH in 2021, she worked at BuzzFeed and People, covering a combination of product reviews and lifestyle content. She's a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and psychology and a master’s degree in journalism.
Jessica (she/her) is a freelance writer with several decades of experience writing lifestyle content and evaluating home and parenting products. A mom of two teens and two cats, her previous work can be seen in American Baby and Parents.
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