Free & Cheap Things to Do with Kids
Explore the best free & cheap things to do with kids options for kids and families in Hawthorne
Polliwog Park
Playgrounds, disc golf & a large pond. Park boasting a large pond & amphitheater for events plus a 9-hole disc golf course & play areas.
Manhattan Beach Botanical Garden
Peaceful gardens with self-guided tours. Quaint, compact botanical garden featuring a wide variety of native flowers, grasses & trees.
Manhattan Beach Pier
Longtime landmark with a cafe & aquarium. This restored 928-ft. concrete pier is the oldest on the West Coast & features a cafe & an aquarium.
Roundhouse Aquarium
No-cost ocean & marine life education. This free aquarium sits at the end of Manhattan Beach Pier & is host to classes, parties & camps.
Hermosa Beach Museum
Historical society & heritage museum. Historical society featuring a quaint museum devoted to local heritage, with archival photos & more.
Fort Lots-o-Fun Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
El Segundo Blue Butterfly Preserve
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Hermosa Beach Pier
Fishing & sweeping Pacific Ocean views. Long-standing 1,140-foot pier featuring beach & sunset ocean views, plus public restrooms & fishing.
Magic Johnson Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Vista del Mar Park
Pocket green space near ocean & runways. Pocket green space & recreation area with ocean & airport views plus barbecue pits & picnic spots.
Ballona Discovery Park
Educational park with wetland plants. Educational wetland park featuring an interpretive walk & gardens with native plants.
Seaside Lagoon
Summertime swim spot & sandy beach. Seasonal spot for swimming, open during summer, with a sandy beach, snack bar & a play area.
Redondo Beach Pier
Dining, shopping & entertainment locale. Landmark pier known for scenic oceanfront dining, shopping & nightlife, plus music & festivals.
Compton Creek Natural Park
Green space with fitness & picnic areas. City greenway featuring walking paths, fitness equipment, picnic areas & an amphitheater.
South Park Recreation Center
An outdoor pool, tennis courts & more. Green space with an outdoor pool, tennis & basketball courts, a baseball field & a kids' playground.
Los Arboles Rocketship Park
Elevated green space with a playground. Urban retreat offering elevated views of the city & a playground with a rocketship structure.
Mothers Beach
Sheltered cove with playground area. Playground, picnic tables & other kid-friendly attractions at a surf-free sheltered beach.
Torrance Beach
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Exposition Park
Public green space with museums & arenas. Urban space comprising 160 acres with arenas & museums, plus some green areas with trees & gardens.
California Science Center
Hands-on exhibits, IMAX & the Endeavor. Admission's free to permanent exhibits at this kid-friendly spot, also boasting IMAX & the Endeavor.
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Dinosaur skeletons & rotating exhibits. From T. rex skeletons to an insect zoo, popular attraction holds more than 35-million artifacts.
Space Shuttle Endeavour
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Augustus F. Hawkins Nature Park
Tranquil green space with nature center. Calm, 8.5-acre retreat featuring native flora & wetlands, plus a small museum with nature exhibits.
The Museum of Jurassic Technology
Quirky exhibits of art & natural history. Collection of microscopic sculpture & other eccentric curiosities in art, science & natural history.
Exposition Park Rose Garden
Charming park devoted to roses. Cheerful formal park featuring a collection of roses & a gazebo.
Lomita Railroad Museum
Museum devoted to steam train history. Museum exploring the history of steam trains, featuring engines & other cars, plus tours & events.
Dominguez Rancho Adobe Museum
Museum of early California history. California history museum in an 1826 adobe on the site of the first Spanish land grant in the state.
Venice Boardwalk
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park
Recreation area with trails & playground. Lakeside park offering nature trails, picnic spots with BBQs, lighted sports fields & a playground.
La Brea Tar Pits and Museum
Prehistoric-fossil excavation site. Ice Age–fossil excavation site with an adjacent museum, plus a re-created prehistoric garden.
Kid Mamba Mural
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Grand Hope Park
Playground, lawns & iconic clock tower. 2.5-acre urban park featuring a playground & grass lawns amid an iconic mosaic-adorned clock tower.
Original Muscle Beach Santa Monica
Gymnastics/fitness site since the 1930s. Beach workout area, dating to the 1930s, with popular public bars, rings & ropes over the sand.
Santa Monica Beach
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Public Art "Aquarius"
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Biddy Mason Memorial Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Wilmington Waterfront Park
Modern, landscaped harborside promenade. Industrial-area riverwalk featuring a distinctive bridge, play areas & a community event space.
DTLA Arts District
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Beverly Hills Garden Park
Public park with a large garden area. Expansive, tree-filled park with fountains & jogging paths plus cacti & rose gardens.
Kyoto Garden
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Robert Burns Park
Play structure & covered picnic tables. Shady neighborhood park featuring a playground for children & a small pavilion with picnic tables.
Blue Ribbon Garden
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Santa Monica State Beach
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Vista Hermosa Natural Park, Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority
Green spaces, a playground & city views. Trails lead to picnic areas, grassy fields, a pond/waterfall, city view overlooks & a playground.
Cherry Cove Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
America Tropical Interpretive Center
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Point Vicente Interpretive Center
Park with exhibits & whale-watching. Natural & local culture exhibits in the visitor center of a waterfront park with whale-watching.
Coldwater Canyon Park
Greenspace with play areas & picnicking. Public park offering play equipment for kids, plus areas for picnicking & a water feature.
Columbia Memorial Space Center
Kid-friendly exhibits about space. Modern locale featuring family-friendly, interactive exhibits about space, including a simulator.
Los Angeles State Historic Park
Public green space with Downtown views. 32 acres of open space with walkways & architectural features, plus Downtown 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.
Deane Dana Friendship Park and Nature Center
Nature center with panoramic views. Green space & nature center featuring panoramic ocean views plus hiking trails & picnic facilities.
World of Illusions Los Angeles
Interactive experiences in trendy museum. 3D illusions & an Upside-Down House exhibit, plus other interactive experiences in a popular museum.
Deane Dana Nature Center
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Hollywood Walk of Fame
Star-studded Hollywood sidewalk. Famous Hollywood sidewalk area emblazoned with stars & celebrity names since 1960.
LA Waterfront
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Pirate Park
Colorful, pirate-themed play destination. Small gate-enclosed park geared toward young children with pirate-themed play structures & murals.
Treasure Island Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Los Angeles County Fire Museum
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Signal Hill Park
Basketball, playground & picnic area. A 10-acre community park offering a basketball court, playground, BBQ areas & picnic shelters.
Hilltop Park
Small park with sweeping city views. Compact green space offering panoramic vistas, BBQ & picnic areas & walking paths.
Fern Dell Nature Preserve
Outdoor space with lush foliage & trails. Serene enclave at Griffith Park featuring walking paths amid tropical foliage & a man-made brook.
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