Free & Cheap Things to Do with Kids

Explore the best free & cheap things to do with kids options for kids and families in Garden Grove

Atlantis Play Center

Atlantis Play Center

Unique playground with splash pads. Outdoor, underwater-themed children's center featuring whimsical play structures & splash pads.

Paradise Gardens Park

Paradise Gardens Park

Lakeside garden with rides & food stands. Landscaped lakeshore park with classic carousels & kids' rides, plus a bandstand & hot-dog stalls.

Disney California Adventure Park

Disney California Adventure Park

Modern theme park with dining & shows. Contemporary theme park with innovative attractions, multiple dining options & live entertainment.

Temple of the Forbidden Eye

Temple of the Forbidden Eye

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Flightdeck + Rogue Racing

Flightdeck + Rogue Racing

Interactive flying experience for groups. Flight simulator for ages 11 & up replicates the feeling of being in a cockpit & flying a plane.

Thrill It Fun Center

Thrill It Fun Center

Ropes course & laser tag at a mall. Outlet-mall stop featuring an indoor ropes course, rock climbing, laser tag & an arcade.

Mile Square Regional Park

Mile Square Regional Park

Large urban park with many facilities. City park offering 3 golf courses, soccer fields & baseball diamonds as well as picknicking & lakes.

Adventure City

Adventure City

Amusement park for children. Children's amusement park for family fun via rides, a petting zoo, an arcade & more.

Anaheim Founders' Park

Anaheim Founders' Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Discovery Cube

Discovery Cube

Rotating displays & interactive exhibits. Educational museum with a focus on kids offers over 100 hands-on exhibits, plus special programs.

Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center

Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center

Unique art exhibits for kids & adults. This contemporary museum hosts three inventive art exhibits a year & caters to all ages.

Bowers Museum

Bowers Museum

Global art, lectures & a restaurant. Mission Revival-style museum for global art (permanent & temporary), lectures & an eatery, Tangata.

Pearson Park

Pearson Park

Vast outdoor space with paths & ponds. Family-friendly park for all ages offers trails for bike riding & walking, playgrounds & ponds.

Downtown Santa Ana Historic District

Downtown Santa Ana Historic District

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Santiago Creek Wildlife & Watershed Center, Santiago Park

Santiago Creek Wildlife & Watershed Center, Santiago Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Knott's Soak City

Knott's Soak City

Seasonal spot with aquatic attractions. Waterslide park with multi-person raft slides, lazy river & toddler areas as well as shops & snacks.

Knott's Berry Farm Independence Hall

Knott's Berry Farm Independence Hall

Replica of a famous historic building. Reproduction of Philadelphia's Independence Hall, including a copy of the Liberty Bell.

Knott's Berry Farm

Knott's Berry Farm

Old-school theme park with rides & charm. Classic theme park boasts fast rides, old-fashioned charm & famous fried chicken.

Adventure Playground

Adventure Playground

Outdoor play area for rafting & climbing. Playground offers a small pond for rafting, rope for climbing plus a mudslide & fort-building area.

Huntington Beach Central Park East

Huntington Beach Central Park East

Idyllic park great for bird-watching. Full of open fields, trees & flowers, this sprawling 350-acre park is great for picnics & strolling.

Santa Ana Zoo

Santa Ana Zoo

Home to over 350 animals. Zoo attracts animal lovers of all ages with 350+ animals, a petting barnyard & a mini-train ride.

Fullerton Train Museum

Fullerton Train Museum

Vintage train cars & cabooses on display. Historic train cars & cabooses with period decor, open the first & third Saturday of every month.

Wild Goose Escape Rooms - Fullerton

Wild Goose Escape Rooms - Fullerton

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Eisenhower Park

Eisenhower Park

Sizable green space with a duck pond. Large park featuring a pond filled with fish & ducks, plus walking paths, playgrounds & BBQ grills.

Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve

Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve

Protected coastal estuary & bird habitat. 1300 acre ecological preserve with over 200 avian species spread around the coastal wetlands.

Seabridge Park

Seabridge Park

Playground & picnicking with water views. 3.9-acre neighborhood park offering a playground, facilities & picnic tables with water vistas.

Ralph B Clark Park

Ralph B Clark Park

104-acre park at foot of Coyote Hills. Sprawling park covering more than 100 acres includes a softball complex & plenty of open fields.

El Dorado Nature Center

El Dorado Nature Center

Wide-ranging park for flora & fauna. 105-acre park featuring a visitor center, flora & fauna, lakes, a stream & walking trails.

Arboretum and Botanical Garden at Cal State Fullerton

Arboretum and Botanical Garden at Cal State Fullerton

26-acre botanical garden. A sprawling, 26-acre greenspace featuring 4,000+ types of plants, walking trails & a museum.

Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve

Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve

Birding, biking & an interpretive center. Home to many bird species, this 135-acre park offers an interpretive center & hiking/biking trails.

Craig Regional Park

Craig Regional Park

Recreation on 124 acres with a lake. 124-acre recreational park with biking, hiking & picnicking, plus hills, a rose garden & a lake.

Seal Beach Pier Playground

Seal Beach Pier Playground

Beachfront, kids' playground & sandbox. Fenced beachfront playground offering children's play equipment, a sandbox & benches.

Seascape Kids Fun

Seascape Kids Fun

Indoor playground & fun center for kids. Children's indoor amusement center for parties includes playground, ball pen & more.

IRWD San Joaquin Marsh & Wildlife Sanctuary

IRWD San Joaquin Marsh & Wildlife Sanctuary

Tranquil wetlands with birds & trails. Wetlands cover 300 acres at this tranquil preserve that has 12 miles of trails & 200+ bird species.

Cedar Grove Park

Cedar Grove Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Long Beach Lifeguard Museum

Long Beach Lifeguard Museum

Visit this great place for kids and families!

The Children's Museum at La Habra

The Children's Museum at La Habra

7 galleries & 14 hands-on exhibits. Kids' museum with exhibits including a hand-carved carousel & guided tour of a 1942 railroad car.

Irvine Regional Park

Irvine Regional Park

Park, playground, rides & rentals. Park offers train & pony rides, plus paddle boat rentals, the Orange County Zoo & picnic areas.

Irvine Park Railroad

Irvine Park Railroad

Recreation area with train & pony rides. Outdoor park featuring family activities including train rides, pony rides & paddle boat rentals.

Orange County Zoo

Orange County Zoo

8 acres of native Southwestern animals. 8-acre city park zoo features native Southwestern animals & plants, plus regular programs & events.

Vista Del Verde Park

Vista Del Verde Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Newport Beach Pier

Newport Beach Pier

Oceanfront scenery & fishing. Scenic pier popular for fishing & ocean views, convenient to beach & nearby shops & restaurants.

Tanaka Farms

Tanaka Farms

Big farm with a market & U-pick options. Long-running interactive farm with a market stand, U-pick fruit, seasonal pumpkin patch & animals.

Oak Canyon Nature Center

Oak Canyon Nature Center

Nature park with an interpretive center. Nature park featuring oak forests, scrubland & canyons, plus wildlife & an interpretive center.

Sproul Museum

Sproul Museum

Museum of local & Sproul family history. A notable local family's home, now housing a collection of local historical & family artifacts.

Carbon Canyon Regional Park

Carbon Canyon Regional Park

Redwood trees, sports facilities & more. Sprawling, 124-acre park showcasing various redwood trees, sports complexes & other features.

Discovery Well Park

Discovery Well Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Newport Beach Balboa Pier

Newport Beach Balboa Pier

Iconic landmark with fishing & an eatery. Built in 1906, this pier offers a retro-themed diner & is popular for fishing & watching the sunset.

Turtle Rock Nature Center

Turtle Rock Nature Center

Educational nature preserve with trails. Five-acre nature preserve with trails for viewing wildlife & habitats, plus an outdoor classroom.

Hilltop Park

Hilltop Park

Small park with sweeping city views. Compact green space offering panoramic vistas, BBQ & picnic areas & walking paths.

Bixby Park

Bixby Park

Park with a playground, sports & more. Park featuring a bandshell, a community center, a playground, sports facilities & more.

Pirate Park

Pirate Park

Colorful, pirate-themed play destination. Small gate-enclosed park geared toward young children with pirate-themed play structures & murals.

Los Angeles County Fire Museum

Los Angeles County Fire Museum

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Signal Hill Park

Signal Hill Park

Basketball, playground & picnic area. A 10-acre community park offering a basketball court, playground, BBQ areas & picnic shelters.

Lookout Point

Lookout Point

Scenic vista with bay & ocean views. Scenic destination in peaceful surrounds known for its beaches, water fountains, bay & ocean views.

Long Beach Firefighter's Museum

Long Beach Firefighter's Museum

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Great Park

Great Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Great Park

Great Park

Park known for its giant helium balloon. Public space popular for a huge helium balloon tethered to the ground offering views from up high.

Great Park Balloon Ride

Great Park Balloon Ride

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Hathaway Ranch Museum

Hathaway Ranch Museum

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Parasol Park

Parasol Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Long Beach

Long Beach

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Cherry Cove Park

Cherry Cove Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Michigan Park

Michigan Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Rainbow Lagoon Park

Rainbow Lagoon Park

Japanese-style park with open turf lawns. Turf recreational lawns & waterfront walkways are the draw at this traditional Japanese-style park.

Golf N' Stuff

Golf N' Stuff

Mini-golf park with rides & go-karts. Boasting an 18-hole mini-golf course, this amusement park also offers an arcade, go-karts & rides.

Wilderness Park

Wilderness Park

Compact park with a duck pond. Small public park featuring a duck pond, walk/jog paths & grassy areas popular for picnicking.

ShoreLine Aquatic Park

ShoreLine Aquatic Park

Green space for picnics & water views. Grassy, open park on the water offering picnic areas, a lighthouse & special events.

Carolyn Rosas County Park

Carolyn Rosas County Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Irvine Spectrum Center Giant Wheel

Irvine Spectrum Center Giant Wheel

Family-friendly ride with city views. Day or night attraction with 52,000 LED lights & panoramic city views from the top.

Aquarium of the Pacific

Aquarium of the Pacific

Sea-life exhibits in a waterfront space. Pacific Ocean dwellers on display at this large aquarium with touch tanks & behind-the-scenes tours.

Irvine Spectrum Center Carousel

Irvine Spectrum Center Carousel

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Columbia Memorial Space Center

Columbia Memorial Space Center

Kid-friendly exhibits about space. Modern locale featuring family-friendly, interactive exhibits about space, including a simulator.

Pretend City Children's Museum

Pretend City Children's Museum

Imaginary town & exhibits for kids. Set up as a pretend city, this kids' museum has a post office, cafe, farm & other interactive areas.

Peter F. Schabarum Regional Park

Peter F. Schabarum Regional Park

Recreation area with hiking & tennis. 575-acre park with protected stream, tennis courts & abundant trails & natural areas.

Central Park

Central Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Whittier Museum

Whittier Museum

Educational displays of city history. Historical artifacts & exhibits related to the city of Whittier; open to the public weekends only.

Susanna Bixby Bryant Museum and Botanic Garden

Susanna Bixby Bryant Museum and Botanic Garden

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Explore More Activities

Discover more events and activities happening in Garden Grove.