Unique & Hidden Gem Activities for Families

Explore the best unique & hidden gem activities for families options for kids and families in Foster City

Imagination City

Imagination City

Visit this great place for kids and families!

San Mateo Japanese Garden

San Mateo Japanese Garden

Asian-inspired gardens with a koi pond. Spring blossoming Japanese gardens with a koi pond, pagoda & teahouse in a 16.3-acre city park.

San Mateo Central Park

San Mateo Central Park

Japanese gardens & an ice-skating rink. Vibrant, 16-acre park featuring Japanese gardens, a mini train ride, playground & ice-skating rink.

Coyote Point Recreation Area

Coyote Point Recreation Area

Large playground, trails & picnic areas. Bayside park offering a sizable playground with 6 slides, as well as trails & picnic areas.

CuriOdyssey

CuriOdyssey

Science & wildlife center for kids. Museum for kids focusing on environmental science & wildlife with indoor exhibits & an outdoor zoo.

Magic Mountain Playground

Magic Mountain Playground

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Laurelwood Park

Laurelwood Park

Hiking trails to Sugarloaf Mountain. The city's largest park (225 acres) offers trails leading to Sugarloaf Mountain & scenic picnicking.

Pulgas Water Temple

Pulgas Water Temple

Scenic beaux arts monument with a pool. Beaux arts monument with a reflecting pool celebrating the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct completed in 1934.

Village Park

Village Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Filoli Historic House & World-Class Garden

Filoli Historic House & World-Class Garden

Historical estate & botanic garden. An early-20th-century country estate & botanic garden, open for docent-led tours.

Central Park

Central Park

Sports field, tennis courts & playground. This 13-acre recreational area features tennis courts, a playing field, picnic spots & a playground.

Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center

Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center

Ecology center with exhibits & events. Ecology center offering exhibits, programs & activities relating to the region's estuary.

Junipero Serra Park

Junipero Serra Park

Park with impressive views of city & bay. Park offering picnic areas, a creek & walking trails plus scenic views of the city, bay & mountains.

Grundy Park

Grundy Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Coyote Hills Vista Point

Coyote Hills Vista Point

Visit this great place for kids and families!

The Museum of American Heritage

The Museum of American Heritage

Exhibitions on inventions & technology. Charming museum in a 1907 home showcasing technology & inventions from the 1750s to the 1950s.

Arizona Garden

Arizona Garden

Stanford University's cacti garden. Historical cacti garden with artful views & unusual plants on Stanford University grounds.

Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University

Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University

Fine art museum with a sculpture garden. Classic & contemporary art museum with an outdoor sculpture garden featuring Rodin bronzes.

Rodin Sculpture Garden

Rodin Sculpture Garden

Famed sculptor's work in outdoor setting. Garden at Stanford's Cantor Arts Center showing 20 statues by famed sculptor Rodin (open all hours).

Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo

Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo

Hands-on science & nature exhibits. Child-oriented venue with animals like birds & turtles, plus interactive educational exhibits.

Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden

Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden

Public garden & historic home. A 2.5-acre plot encompassing herb & rose gardens, a historic home, a carriage house & a tearoom.

Frontierland Park

Frontierland Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Habitat for native & migrating animals. Large nature preserve housing various migrating birds, as well as native flora & fauna.

Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center

Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Baylands Nature Preserve

Baylands Nature Preserve

Marshland with trails & bird-watching. Vast marshland with 15 mi. of trails for walking, running & biking, plus bird-watching & kayaking.

Meek Park

Meek Park

Mansion grounds with gardens & play area. Landscaped grounds of a historic mansion with play structures, picnic space with grills & open lawn.

Ardenwood Historic Farm

Ardenwood Historic Farm

Living museum with horse-powered farming. A working farm with a train & crops grown using historic methods, plus volunteers in period attire.

Shelldance Orchid Gardens

Shelldance Orchid Gardens

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Sánchez Adobe Park

Sánchez Adobe Park

Adobe home on a former mission outpost. This 19th-century adobe home on a former mission outpost offers tours & living-history programs.

Barron Park Donkeys

Barron Park Donkeys

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Magical Bridge Playground

Magical Bridge Playground

Play structures around a grassy mound. Slides, swings & climbing frames around an artificial hill, plus a treehouse & bridge.

Sam's Castle

Sam's Castle

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Japanese Gardens

Japanese Gardens

Tranquil botanical garden with teahouse. This 3+-acre botanical garden features traditional Japanese arrangements, a teahouse & a koi pond.

Gray Whale Cove State Beach

Gray Whale Cove State Beach

Sheltered cove surrounded by cliffs. Cliffs surround this sandy beach, where whales are often spotted close to the shore.

The Busy Bee Activity Center

The Busy Bee Activity Center

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Sulphur Creek Nature Center

Sulphur Creek Nature Center

Wildlife rehabilitations & education. This wildlife rehabilitation facility offers educational programs & a discovery center for kids.

Windy Hill Open Space Preserve

Windy Hill Open Space Preserve

Forested fields for hiking & picnicking. Open grasslands & forest area with 12 miles of trails for hiking, bicycling & horseback-riding.

Pedro Point

Pedro Point

Visit this great place for kids and families!

The Meyers House and Garden

The Meyers House and Garden

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Doug Siden Visitor Center at Crab Cove

Doug Siden Visitor Center at Crab Cove

Aquarium & marine life exhibits. Bayfront education center with an 800-gallon aquarium & interactive exhibits about marine life.

Mussel Rock Park

Mussel Rock Park

Coastal park with scenic vistas & trails. Known for its rocky coastline, this park boasts sandy beaches, scenic ocean vistas & hiking trails.

Swings and Wings

Swings and Wings

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Pacific Pinball Museum

Pacific Pinball Museum

Historic & playable pinball machines. Museum displaying rare & vintage pinball machines, which are also playable, amid colorful local art.

Foothills Nature Preserve

Foothills Nature Preserve

1,400-acre nature preserve with trails. Miles of trails guide visitors through woodlands & fields, past streams & lakes in this vast park.

California Nursery Historical Park

California Nursery Historical Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Redwood Grove Nature Preserve

Redwood Grove Nature Preserve

Redwood forest with a boardwalk. This 6-acre Redwood forest features a boardwalk, observation decks, picnic tables & a rose garden.

Billy Goat Hill

Billy Goat Hill

Hilltop natural area with views & trails. This modest neighborhood green space offers a small trail network & wildlife viewing opportunities.

Pioneer Memorial Park

Pioneer Memorial Park

Quaint green space with benches & paths. Small, serene park located next to the library featuring ample benches, walkways & shaded areas.

Hidden Villa

Hidden Villa

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Children in Tree Sculpture

Children in Tree Sculpture

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Train of Lights

Train of Lights

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Shinn Historical Park and Arboretum

Shinn Historical Park and Arboretum

Park with gardens & a historic house. Small green space featuring scenic gardens & a 19th-century house open for occasional group tours.

Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum

Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum

Silent film museum with movie screenings. Museum in an historic former cinema devoted to silent pictures, with guided tours & a film series.

Jack London's Cabin

Jack London's Cabin

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Dream Time Sculpture

Dream Time Sculpture

Visit this great place for kids and families!

The Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment - (The MADE)

The Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment - (The MADE)

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Central Park

Central Park

Land & water activities in a scenic spot. Lakeside park with a golf course, 4 playgrounds, boat rentals, a fishing area, picnic sites & paths.

Randall Museum

Randall Museum

Children's museum on 16-acre park. Museum with wild-animal exhibits & hands-on experiences for exploring science & the arts.

Pardee Home Museum

Pardee Home Museum

Museum in a 19th-century Italianate home. Built in 1869, this Italianate mansion houses a museum with period furnishings & decor.

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