Free & Cheap Things to Do with Kids

Explore the best free & cheap things to do with kids options for kids and families in Half Moon Bay

Surfers Beach

Surfers Beach

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Visit
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.

Visit
Huddart Park

Huddart Park

Forested area with trails & picnic spots. This 900-acre, forested park offers hiking & riding trails, plus picnic areas & an archery range.

Visit
Edgewood Park & Natural Preserve

Edgewood Park & Natural Preserve

Woodland hiking & grassland wildflowers. 467 acres of woodlands & grasslands known for its hiking, wildflowers, bird-watching & scenic views.

Visit
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.

Visit
Frontierland Park

Frontierland Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Imagination City

Imagination City

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Pershing Park

Pershing Park

Neighborhood park with a playground. Tree-dotted neighborhood open space with a playground, basketball courts & a picnic area.

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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.

Visit
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.

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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.

Visit
Village Park

Village Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Visit
Washington Park

Washington Park

Playground, ball fields & courts. City park with baseball & soccer fields, tennis & basketball courts, plus a playground.

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Central Park

Central Park

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

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Safari Run, San Mateo

Safari Run, San Mateo

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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City of Burlingame Shorebird Sanctuary

City of Burlingame Shorebird Sanctuary

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Aardvark Beach

Aardvark Beach

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Pacifica State Beach

Pacifica State Beach

Crescent-shaped beach known for surfing. Known for being a popular surfing locale, this crescent-shaped beach also offers trails & restrooms.

Visit
Bayfront Park

Bayfront Park

Waterside park for airport watching. Small bayside park next to the airport, with a walking trail & benches for watching the planes land.

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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.

Visit
Red Morton Park

Red Morton Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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San Bruno City Park

San Bruno City Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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CuriOdyssey

CuriOdyssey

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

Visit
Rockaway Beach

Rockaway Beach

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Visit
Bair Island Wildlife Refuge & Trail

Bair Island Wildlife Refuge & Trail

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Visit
Bedwell Bayfront Park

Bedwell Bayfront Park

Oceanside park with trails & fields. Large bayside park with expansive open spaces for flying kites & several hiking trails.

Visit
Arizona Garden

Arizona Garden

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

Visit
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.

Visit
Jumpity Bumpity Daly City

Jumpity Bumpity Daly City

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Visit
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.

Visit
Mitchell Park

Mitchell Park

Recreational activities for all ages. Grassy park with tennis/handball courts, horseshoe pits, playgrounds, splash pad & a fenced dog run.

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Magical Bridge Playground

Magical Bridge Playground

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

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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.

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Baylands Observation Deck and Boardwalk

Baylands Observation Deck and Boardwalk

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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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.

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San Francisco Zoo

San Francisco Zoo

100 acres of animals & more. Families come for the more than 2,000 animals, kids' zoo, steam train, carousel & special exhibits.

Visit
Mariposa Park

Mariposa Park

Neighborhood park with a playground. Compact, butterfly-themed park with a playground, seasonal water-play sandbox & picnic tables.

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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.

Visit
Coyote Hills Regional Park

Coyote Hills Regional Park

Picnicking, hiking & biking trails. 1,266 acres of rolling hills for picnicking, bird-watching, biking, hiking & nature exploration.

Visit
Eagle Park

Eagle Park

Grassy field, outdoor pool & playground. Community hub featuring a huge grassy field, a playground & an outdoor pool with swimming lessons.

Visit
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.

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Rancho San Antonio County Park & Open Space Preserve

Rancho San Antonio County Park & Open Space Preserve

Hiking area featuring a working farm. Rural nature preserve with 25 miles of hiking trails, plus a working farm & a model plane launch.

Visit
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.

Visit
Helen Diller Playground

Helen Diller Playground

Play area with a climbing wall & slides. Climbing structures, sand boxes & swings in an adventure playground with a long, twisting slide.

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Marina Park

Marina Park

Shoreline park with mile-long trail. 30-acre park along the shore with picnic tables, a mile-long workout trail & large group shelters.

Visit
Randall Museum

Randall Museum

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

Visit
Koret Children's Playground

Koret Children's Playground

Large vibrant playground with a carousel. Lively playground featuring a variety of equipment, an old-fashioned carousel & ample grassy lawns.

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San Francisco Botanical Garden

San Francisco Botanical Garden

Green refuge with rare plant collections. 55 acres of serene gardens showcasing diverse plants from around the world & a magnolia collection.

Visit
Huntington Falls

Huntington Falls

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Osher Rainforest at the California Academy of Sciences

Osher Rainforest at the California Academy of Sciences

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Visit
Murphy Windmill

Murphy Windmill

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Visit
Golden Gate Park

Golden Gate Park

Gardens, trails, museums & festivals. The city's 1,017-acre oasis draws hikers, bikers, art lovers & music fans, plus gardens & museums.

Visit
Mission Bay Kids Park

Mission Bay Kids Park

Purpose-built activity center for kids. Interactive play zones, climbing structures & sandboxes in a modern kids' park with picnic benches.

Visit
Ardenwood Entrance and Tickets

Ardenwood Entrance and Tickets

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Visit
Helen Diller Civic Center Playground

Helen Diller Civic Center Playground

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Visit
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.

Visit
Kennedy Park

Kennedy Park

Green space with many amenities for kids. Big, popular park with a playground, petting zoo & train, plus greenery, trails & picnic areas.

Visit
Round1 Bowling & Arcade Southland Mall

Round1 Bowling & Arcade Southland Mall

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Visit
Oakland Aviation Museum

Oakland Aviation Museum

Display aircraft & historical exhibits. Museum housing an extensive aircraft collection & various aviation exhibits in a historic hangar.

Visit
Children's Creativity Museum

Children's Creativity Museum

Interactive arts & technology museum. A place for kids to explore arts & technology by making music videos, animating short films & more.

Visit
Leroy King Carousel

Leroy King Carousel

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Visit
Tenderloin Playground

Tenderloin Playground

Indoor/outdoor recreational hub for kids. City-run recreational center & children's playground offering special events & classes.

Visit
Washington Manor Park

Washington Manor Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Visit
Heart of San Francisco Series

Heart of San Francisco Series

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Visit
McClellan Ranch Preserve

McClellan Ranch Preserve

Former horse ranch with a nature museum. Former horse ranch from the 1930s featuring a nature museum, community garden & historic buildings.

Visit
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.

Visit
Chinatown San Francisco

Chinatown San Francisco

Famous neighborhood for Chinese culture. Iconic area with the largest assembly of Chinese eateries, shops & cultural events outside of Asia.

Visit
Pacific Pinball Museum

Pacific Pinball Museum

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

Visit
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.

Visit
Tennyson Park

Tennyson Park

Play area, skate park & baseball field. Public green space with amenities such as a playground, skate park, lawn & baseball field.

Visit
Seven Seas Park

Seven Seas Park

Family-friendly recreation & a dog park. Neighborhood gathering place offering a dog park & lots of kid activities including a spray pool.

Visit

Explore More Activities

Discover more events and activities happening in the city.