Jaunts in the SF Bay Area with kids
My friend, Catalina, will be visiting the Bay Area with her family for the first time this upcoming weekend and asked me for recommendations. Honestly. I’m not sure why it has taken me so long to write this post since it’s been stuck in my brain for so long. Finally got it out on “paper” — not just our favorites but also did some research into places we do want to visit (highlighted in italics).
First-time visitors to the Bay Area, please read…
It’s likely that you would be in the SF, Napa or Monterey areas. You can pick your attractions based on those locations. Unless you’re visiting friends or family south of SF, I wouldn’t venture too far out of the city area. There’s plenty to do there! The lists have been ordered from north to south geographically.
Outdoors (Ordered from North to South)
Sonoma county // canoe or kayak the Russian river with pick shuttle service through Burke’s canoes. For all my Russian river tips, visit this page.
SF // Bike Golden gate park and paddle boat in beautiful Stow lake
East Bay // paddle boating at Lake Chabot Regional Park
East Bay // Little Yosemite - can’t wait to visit!
San Mateo // Clarkia Trail for Edgewood County Park - It’s right off the 280. Super accessible! Hike as little or as much as you like.
Pescadero // Ano Nuevo State Park - Guided seal walks Dec -March; reservations required. 3-4 mile hike for older kids, not stroller friendly.
Pescadero // Pescadero State Beach for tide pools, any age.
Los Altos // Hidden Villa - great spot for picnicking, easy hiking and visiting farm
animals. All ages! Reservations required
Cupertino // Rancho San Antonio Preserve.
Los Gatos // Castle Rock State Park - explore the castle rock and graveyard boulders (<1 mile hike but probably for ages 4+ to explore caves)
Santa Cruz-ish // Henry Cowell Rewoods State Park, river, and train to Santa Cruz beach
Santa Cruz // Natural Bridges State Beach is great for viewing birds, seals and has access to tide pools a ways down. $10 parking.
Moss Beach // Tide pools at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve - check website for low tides
Monterey // Elkhorn Slough Kayaking Tours - Mikee and Emmy did this when she was five!
Farms
Berkeley // Tilden Little Farm
Fremont // Ardenwood Farms -lovely place for a picnic!
Pescadero // Rancho Siempre Verde Christmas Tree Farm to pick up your Christmas tree, make wreaths and explore all their swings! (holiday season only)
Pescadero // Harley Goat Farms Reservations requires for family tour. They also do private tours for group of 10.
Saratoga // Pony rides at Garrod Farms . Emmy just about died when she got the pony names Spirit! (Reservations required)
Gilroy // Lazy K cherry picking (Opens may/june)
Santa Cruz // Berry picking at Swanton or Gidzich berry farms (check seasons)
Activities/Attractions
Santa Rosa // Safari West for kids above 5. Reservations required. About 3 hour adventure. While you’re in that area, visit the nation’s largest Petrified Forest. The volcanic ash fall is pretty cool!
SF // Golden gate park- Koret’s playground and carousel.
Calistoga // Old faithful geyser is a great stopover for kids if you’re in the Calistoga area.
Sonoma // we almost always stop at Sonoma train town on our way back from Napa.
SF Zoo - We were 2019 season pass holders and definitely buy the tickets for the train ride and carousel!
SF Ferry rides (to and fro Sausalito, angel island)
Berkeley // Tilden Regional park seems like a hidden gem with park trails, animal farm, steam train rides and classic merry-go-round!
Oakland // Oakland zoo
Oakland // Fairyland is new and on our list as well.
Redwood City // Marine Science Institute boat rides into the bay for ages 5+ - check calendar for availability
East Bay // Niles Canyon Railway Christmas train is on our list for 2020 - check schedule
Fremont // Kidtopia - The argest drop-in soft indoor playground in the bay area. It’s our kids favorite!
Mountain View // Shoreline lake pedal boating
Milpitas // Lego discovery center (opening soon)
Santa Clara // Great America Theme Park (rides)
Santa Clara // South Bay Historical Train Museum (FREE but check for limited hours). We even hosted the kids birthday party there!
Cupertino // Pichetti Winery: First come first served picnic grounds plus zillions of tadpoles hatching in pond in spring
San Jose // Happy Hollow theme park for toddlers/pre-schoolers with rides and small petting zoo.
Los Gatos // Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad for the holidays light-up
Santa Cruz // Boardwalk + Beach
Gilroy // Gilory Gardens theme park
Felton // Roaring camps railroad (check schedule especially for the Thomas trains)
Museums
Marin // Bay Area Discovery Museum (avoid on rainy days)
SF // Cal academy of sciences *
SF // Exploratorium* is fantastic for kids five and up. We had a blast!
SF // Randall Museum SF Free and friendly for all ages. Has a great cafe with great views and mini hiking around the museum.
SF // Creativity museum right next to the carousel
Alameda // USS Hornet
San Mateo // Curiodyssey + magic mountain playground is a great half day trip.
Monterey Aquarium* and Dennis the Menace playground (old but worth a visit)
Our favorite playgrounds - all with great slides!
SF // Koret Playground at Golden Gate Park
SF // Helen Diller Playground (lots of great eats around there)
San Mateo // Magic Mountain at Coyote point (Paid entrance)
Palo Alto (and soon Sunnyvale!) // Magical Bridge Playground
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