Free & Cheap Things to Do with Kids
Explore the best free & cheap things to do with kids options for kids and families in Manhattan Beach
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.
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.
Hermosa Beach Pier
Fishing & sweeping Pacific Ocean views. Long-standing 1,140-foot pier featuring beach & sunset ocean views, plus public restrooms & fishing.
Fort Lots-o-Fun Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Seaside Lagoon
Summertime swim spot & sandy beach. Seasonal spot for swimming, open during summer, with a sandy beach, snack bar & a play area.
El Segundo Blue Butterfly Preserve
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.
Vista del Mar Park
Pocket green space near ocean & runways. Pocket green space & recreation area with ocean & airport views plus barbecue pits & picnic spots.
Torrance Beach
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.
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.
Lomita Railroad Museum
Museum devoted to steam train history. Museum exploring the history of steam trains, featuring engines & other cars, plus tours & events.
Magic Johnson Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Venice Boardwalk
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Compton Creek Natural Park
Green space with fitness & picnic areas. City greenway featuring walking paths, fitness equipment, picnic areas & an amphitheater.
The Museum of Jurassic Technology
Quirky exhibits of art & natural history. Collection of microscopic sculpture & other eccentric curiosities in art, science & natural history.
Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park
Recreation area with trails & playground. Lakeside park offering nature trails, picnic spots with BBQs, lighted sports fields & a playground.
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.
Point Vicente Interpretive Center
Park with exhibits & whale-watching. Natural & local culture exhibits in the visitor center of a waterfront park with whale-watching.
Santa Monica Beach
Visit this great place for kids and families!
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.
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.
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!
Exposition Park Rose Garden
Charming park devoted to roses. Cheerful formal park featuring a collection of roses & a gazebo.
Santa Monica State Beach
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.
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.
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.
Deane Dana Nature Center
Visit this great place for kids and families!
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.
Beverly Hills Garden Park
Public park with a large garden area. Expansive, tree-filled park with fountains & jogging paths plus cacti & rose gardens.
LA Waterfront
Visit this great place for kids and families!
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.
Robert Burns Park
Play structure & covered picnic tables. Shady neighborhood park featuring a playground for children & a small pavilion with picnic tables.
Cherry Cove Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Lookout Point Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Public Art "Aquarius"
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.
Biddy Mason Memorial Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
DTLA Arts District
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
Fish on display, a touch tank & more. Longtime aquarium showcasing Southern California fish via exhibits, a touch tank & other activities.
Kyoto Garden
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Point Fermin Park
Playground, amphitheater & trails. Grassy park atop rugged coastal bluffs featuring a playground, amphitheater, trails & picnic areas.
Blue Ribbon Garden
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Point Fermin Lighthouse
19th-century lighthouse & scenic grounds. Historic lighthouse situated on picturesque grounds with sea views & Victorian cottage gardens.
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.
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.
Signal Hill Park
Basketball, playground & picnic area. A 10-acre community park offering a basketball court, playground, BBQ areas & picnic shelters.
America Tropical Interpretive Center
Visit this great place for kids and families!
ShoreLine Aquatic Park
Green space for picnics & water views. Grassy, open park on the water offering picnic areas, a lighthouse & special events.
Hilltop Park
Small park with sweeping city views. Compact green space offering panoramic vistas, BBQ & picnic areas & walking paths.
Long Beach Firefighter's Museum
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Museum for unusual & bizarre artifacts. Museum with kitschy oddities on display, including shrunken human heads & rare animal skeletons.
Rainbow Lagoon Park
Japanese-style park with open turf lawns. Turf recreational lawns & waterfront walkways are the draw at this traditional Japanese-style park.
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.
Hollywood Walk of Fame
Star-studded Hollywood sidewalk. Famous Hollywood sidewalk area emblazoned with stars & celebrity names since 1960.
Long Beach
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Discovery Well Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Columbia Memorial Space Center
Kid-friendly exhibits about space. Modern locale featuring family-friendly, interactive exhibits about space, including a simulator.
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