Best Family-Friendly Attractions
Explore the best best family-friendly attractions options for kids and families in Albany
Indian Rock Park
Rock climbing areas & panoramic views. This rock park offers scenic views of the San Francisco Bay & climbing areas of varying difficulty.
Cesar Chavez Park
Kite flying, a dog run & bay views. Popular, 90-acre park featuring kite flying opportunities, a dog run, bay vistas & more.
Berkeley Rose Garden
Historic garden with thousands of roses. Huge garden with thousands of rose bushes plus views of San Francisco Bay & the Golden Gate Bridge.
Codornices Park
Rose garden, views, picnicking & hiking. Comprising the Berkeley Rose Garden plus areas for ball playing & hiking, picnicking & kids' play.
Adventure Playground
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Shorebird Park
Picturesque setting with a nature center. Scenic marina park offers picnic sites, play areas & a nature center with fish & wildlife displays.
Tilden Nature Area
Site for scenic hikes & wildlife views. Nature preserve featuring easy & challenging hiking trails with scenic views & wildlife sightings.
Tilden Park Merry Go Round
Old-school carousel at a public park. Located at Tilden Regional Park, this classic ride built in 1911 features whimsical animals.
The Lawrence Hall of Science
A planetarium & an interactive museum. Science center at the University of California, Berkeley, with hands-on exhibits & a planetarium.
Tilden Regional Park
2,000+ acres & recreational activities. A 2,000+ acre park with a carousel, botanic garden, lake swimming, picnic areas & steam train ride.
University of California Botanical Garden
Sprawling collection of diverse plants. Established in 1890, this 34-acre garden features a collection of plants from around the world.
Rosie the Riveter National Historical Park
Exhibits on civilians' role in WWII. Visitor center focused on women & men on the WWII home front, plus the Rosie the Riveter Memorial.
Rockridge-Temescal Greenbelt
Playground & creek amid redwood groves. Urban greenbelt offers a playground, climbing wall & creek amid butterfly gardens & redwood groves.
Temescal Regional Recreation Area
Oasis for picnicking, swimming & more. Urban, lakeside retreat offering swim & picnic areas, a fishing dock, trails & playgrounds.
Pogo Park #1 - Elm Playlot
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline
Waterfront park with beach & rail museum. Waterfront space with a picnic area, beach, fishing pier, panoramic views & a model railroad museum.
Children's Fairyland
Storybook-themed amusement park standby. Vibrant, longtime amusement park pairing a storybook motif with rides & theatrical performances.
Chabot Space & Science Center
All about outer space plus a planetarium. Big complex featuring interactive exhibits on outer space, a planetarium, a gift shop & more.
Exploratorium
Hands-on science museum. Hundreds of interactive, educational exhibits & activities illustrating scientific principles.
Joaquin Miller Park
500-acre park & trails through the trees. Dog-friendly woodland park on 500 acres boasting rustic trails, meadows & picnic sites.
San Francisco Carousel at Pier 39
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Aquarium of the Bay
Waterfront museum with aquatic animals. Aquarium with creatures from local waters, including otters, sharks & jellyfish, plus a touch tank.
PIER 39
Scenic pier with food & activities. Bustling bayside pier featuring scenic views, sea lion sightings, eateries, shops & entertainment.
Refugio Valley Park
Play equipment, a pond & picnic areas. Park featuring a walking path around a duck pond, picnic tables, restrooms & 2 play structures.
Coit Tower
Landmark offering 360-degree city views. Storied 1930s-era building known for its WPA murals, 360-degree views & resident flock of parrots.
Union Point Park
Waterfront playground with harbor views. Green space with a nautical-themed playground & walking paths overlooking Alameda Harbor.
Old St. Hilary's Preserve
Natural area with rare wildflowers. Windswept 122-acre natural area with rare wildflowers, a historic church & bay views.
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Museum for unusual & bizarre artifacts. Museum with kitschy oddities on display, including shrunken human heads & rare animal skeletons.
Ina Coolbrith Park
Compact green space with urban views. This pint-sized, unassuming tract features a steep path & views of the city & bay.
Cable Car Museum
Vintage cable cars & mechanical displays. Antique cable cars on exhibit in the historic building that houses the cable-pulling equipment.
Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park
Vast woodlands with trails & campgrounds. Sprawling forest featuring redwood groves & rare wildlife, plus trails, picnic areas & campsites.
Yerba Buena Gardens
Public park & cultural space. Several gardens share space with dramatic outdoor public art pieces, including a memorial waterfall.
Children's Creativity Museum
Interactive arts & technology museum. A place for kids to explore arts & technology by making music videos, animating short films & more.
Briones Regional Park
Rolling hills, wildlife sightings & more. Pastoral, 6,255-acre park with rolling hills, wildlife viewing, campgrounds & other features.
Mission Bay Kids Park
Purpose-built activity center for kids. Interactive play zones, climbing structures & sandboxes in a modern kids' park with picnic benches.
Tenderloin Museum
Museum of this famous district. This museum tells the story of this area peopled by immigrants & iconoclasts, artists & activists.
Discovery Museum Lookout Tower
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Bay Area Discovery Museum
Interactive kids' museum. Indoor/outdoor museum inspiring kid creativity via interactive exhibits, a play space & art classes.
Dunphy Park
Oceanside park with a gazebo & courts. Waterfront space featuring sand volleyball & bocce courts, plus a gazebo & benches.
The Walt Disney Family Museum
Exhibits on the life of Disney's founder. Presidio museum exploring the life of Walt Disney featuring hands-on exhibits & original artwork.
Crissy Field
Scenic field, beach & restored marsh. Grass field & sandy beach offering trails, a restored marsh & picturesque views of the Golden Gate.
John Muir National Historic Site
Hiking trail with peak & valley views. A 2.4-mile hiking trail loop that begins near the John Muir house, with scenic mountain views.
Carquinez Strait Regional Shoreline
Waterside park with trails & wildlife. Spacious park along the water featuring nature trails & opportunities for bird & animal viewing.
Oakland Aviation Museum
Display aircraft & historical exhibits. Museum housing an extensive aircraft collection & various aviation exhibits in a historic hangar.
Dinosaur Hill Park
Hills, hiking & views of Mount Diablo. Hilly, 13-acre expanse featuring hiking trails & panoramic views of the valley & Mount Diablo.
Rankin Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Tank Hill Park
Small hilltop park with city & bay views. Intimate spot with flower-lined paths & rocky outcroppings offering views of the city & the bay.
Lindsay Wildlife Experience
Education center with 50+ animal species. Environmental education center housing 50+ species of live, nonreleasable California wildlife.
Martinez Museum
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Billy Goat Hill
Hilltop natural area with views & trails. This modest neighborhood green space offers a small trail network & wildlife viewing opportunities.
Waterfront Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Oakland Zoo
850+ native & exotic animals on display. Long-standing zoo features 850+ native & exotic animals, a wildlife theater & educational programs.
China Camp State Park
Campgrounds with hiking & biking trails. Park with reservable picnic & camp sites, plus 15 mi. of hiking, biking & equestrian trails.
Hidden Valley Park
Large recreational area with amenities. Basketball, volleyball & baseball facilities, plus playgrounds, jogging track & concession stand.
Knowland Park
Undeveloped area with diverse wildlife. This open, largely undeveloped park is the habitat for many native plants & animals.
Golden Gate Park
Gardens, trails, museums & festivals. The city's 1,017-acre oasis draws hikers, bikers, art lovers & music fans, plus gardens & museums.
Civic Park
Green space with native gardens & gazebo. 10-acre park with gardens, picturesque views & a community center & gazebo used for weddings.
Glen Cove Waterfront Park
Spot for hiking, fishing & picnics. This green space where visitors can hike, fish & bike has picnic facilities & water views.
Pleasant Hill Park
Playgrounds, areas for sports & a pool. Sizable park with playgrounds, picnic spots & a pool plus areas for softball, basketball & bocce.
Mare Island Shoreline Heritage Preserve
Nature preserve with hiking trails. Nature preserve overlooking Carquinez Bay featuring stunning landscape with native grasses & views.
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