Free & Cheap Things to Do with Kids
Explore the best free & cheap things to do with kids options for kids and families in Malibu
Surfrider Beach
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Malibu Bluffs Park
Sports & whale watching on the ocean. Scenic waterfront community park with sports fields & a playground, plus a whale watching station.
King Gillette Ranch, Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority
588-acre park in Santa Monica mountains. Sprawling ranch in the heart of Malibu Creek Watershed offers 1920s architecture, views & hiking.
Malibu Creek Rock Pools
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Escondido Falls
Popular waterfall with a hiking trail. A popular hiking trail that crosses creeks leads to this waterfall with upper & lower sections.
Red Rock Canyon Park, Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority
Colorful rock canyon with trailheads. Unique, colorful rock formations bordering hiking trails through a canyon & offering mountain views.
Topanga State Park
Wilderness area with canyon trails. This 13,150-acre wilderness area features hiking trails winding through nearby canyons & mountains.
Top of Topanga Overlook
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Vanalden Cave
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve
Green space with rolling hills & trails. Wildlife park with rolling hills & canyons offering hiking, mountain biking & equestrian trails.
Santa Monica State Beach
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Santa Monica Beach
Visit this great place for kids and families!
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.
Cave of Munits
Hiking destination with sunset views. Popular hiking & rock-climbing locale with a series of caves & elevated sunset views.
Westridge-Canyonback Wilderness Park
Scenic open space with hiking trails. This expansive tract of chaparral features canyons & hills for hikers, bikers & horseback riders.
Oak Canyon Community Park
Recreation area with trails & dog park. Neighborhood green space with playground, dog park, archery range & picnicking spots.
Kids World Family Fun Center
Visit this great place for kids and families!
San Vicente Mountain Park
Vistas, hiking & a radar tower. Scenic former missile launch site with a radar tower plus hiking, biking & horseback riding trails.
S. Mark Taper Life Science Botanical Garden
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Venice Boardwalk
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Lazy J. Ranch Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Gardens of the World
Cultural gardens to stroll or tour. An elegant collection of gardens in French, Japanese, Italian & English styles (tours available).
Reseda Stones
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Mothers Beach
Sheltered cove with playground area. Playground, picnic tables & other kid-friendly attractions at a surf-free sheltered beach.
Sage Ranch Park
Hiking amid rocky outcroppings & meadows. Marked by sandstone rock formations & lush meadows, this vast park has hiking trails & picnic areas.
Lake Balboa/Anthony C. Beilenson Park
Picnic spot & maritime-themed playground. Grassy open space with a 19,600-sq.-ft. maritime-themed playground & interactive drum play area.
Sherman Oaks Castle Park
Fun center with an arcade & mini-golf. Family amusement center with batting cages, arcade games & 3 miniature golf courses.
Vista del Mar Park
Pocket green space near ocean & runways. Pocket green space & recreation area with ocean & airport views plus barbecue pits & picnic spots.
Woodley Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve
Nature reserve with trails & a lake. Wildlife reserve, trails & a lake teeming with birds, butterflies & lizards, plus an amphitheater.
Conejo Valley Botanic Garden
Hilltop vistas & tours of the grounds. Set on 33 acres of hilly terrain, this site offers panoramic views & tours of its specialty gardens.
Kids Adventure Garden
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Ballona Discovery Park
Educational park with wetland plants. Educational wetland park featuring an interpretive walk & gardens with native plants.
The Museum of the San Fernando Valley
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Homestead Acre & Museum
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Coldwater Canyon Park
Greenspace with play areas & picnicking. Public park offering play equipment for kids, plus areas for picnicking & a water feature.
El Segundo Blue Butterfly Preserve
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Stagecoach Inn Museum
Repurposed hotel with antiques & curios. Reconstruction of an 1876 hotel that now houses antiques, memorabilia & furnishings of the era.
Beverly Hills Garden Park
Public park with a large garden area. Expansive, tree-filled park with fountains & jogging paths plus cacti & rose gardens.
Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park
Scenic canyon landscape with trails. Rugged canyon park with seasonal streams, diverse foliage & a few undeveloped hiking trails.
Sycamore Canyon Falls
Visit this great place for kids and families!
The Museum of Jurassic Technology
Quirky exhibits of art & natural history. Collection of microscopic sculpture & other eccentric curiosities in art, science & natural history.
Northridge Recreation Center
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Wildwood Regional Park
Park with trails & nature center. Hilly, wooded park featuring a nature center & trails, plus picnic tables, grills & restrooms.
Paradise Falls
Waterfall in a canyon park area. 40-ft. waterfall in a canyon in a rugged regional park, accessible by hiking trails.
Underwood Family Farms
Vegetable picking & an animal center. Working farm offering produce picking & interactions with animals like baby goats & rabbits.
Big Dog
Visit this great place for kids and families!
The Great Wall of Los Angeles
Iconic mural depicting state history. 2,754-foot-long mural depicting the history of California, with a focus on women & minorities.
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.
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.
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.
Granada Hills Recreation Center
Indoor & outdoor recreational activities. Standard city park with athletic fields, courts & playground, plus a community center with a gym.
Universal Studios Hollywood
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Manhattan Beach Botanical Garden
Peaceful gardens with self-guided tours. Quaint, compact botanical garden featuring a wide variety of native flowers, grasses & trees.
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.
Hermosa Beach Pier
Fishing & sweeping Pacific Ocean views. Long-standing 1,140-foot pier featuring beach & sunset ocean views, plus public restrooms & fishing.
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Museum for unusual & bizarre artifacts. Museum with kitschy oddities on display, including shrunken human heads & rare animal skeletons.
Andres Pico Adobe Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
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.
Hermosa Beach Museum
Historical society & heritage museum. Historical society featuring a quaint museum devoted to local heritage, with archival photos & more.
Hollywood Walk of Fame
Star-studded Hollywood sidewalk. Famous Hollywood sidewalk area emblazoned with stars & celebrity names since 1960.
Fort Lots-o-Fun Park
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.
Seaside Lagoon
Summertime swim spot & sandy beach. Seasonal spot for swimming, open during summer, with a sandy beach, snack bar & a play area.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Redondo Beach Pier
Dining, shopping & entertainment locale. Landmark pier known for scenic oceanfront dining, shopping & nightlife, plus music & festivals.
Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Bronson Caves
Man-made caves featured in iconic films. Seen in many iconic films, these man-made caves provide trails & scenic views of the Hollywood Sign.
Explore More Activities
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