Best Camping Spots & Outdoor Adventures
Explore the best best camping spots & outdoor adventures options for kids and families in Palo Alto
Bedwell Bayfront Park
Oceanside park with trails & fields. Large bayside park with expansive open spaces for flying kites & several hiking trails.
Shoreline Lake Boathouse
Scenic wildlife & recreation area. Scenic spot for bird-watching, biking, running & other recreational activities.
Shoreline Park
Park with a golf course, lake & trails. Park with a golf course, a lake with boat rentals, walking/biking trails & a Victorian house museum.
Stulsaft Park
Trails, playground, picnics & water fun. A 42-acre park featuring wooded trails as well as a playground, summer water feature & picnic area.
Redwood Grove Nature Preserve
Redwood forest with a boardwalk. This 6-acre Redwood forest features a boardwalk, observation decks, picnic tables & a rose garden.
Mountain Camp Woodside
Visit this great place for kids and families!
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.
Foothills Open Space Preserve
Small wooded preserve with bay views. Nature preserve with 212-acres of wooded ridges & ravines & an uphill trail leading to bay vistas.
Hidden Villa
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Huddart Park
Forested area with trails & picnic spots. This 900-acre, forested park offers hiking & riding trails, plus picnic areas & an archery range.
Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve
Preserve with canyon & ridge hikes. Dog-friendly preserve offering 366 acres of open space, with hiking trails through canyons & ridges.
Twin Pines Park
Green space with a creek & picnic areas. This small, scenic neighborhood park features a creek, a playground, picnic areas & a rec center.
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.
Coyote Hills Regional Park
Picnicking, hiking & biking trails. 1,266 acres of rolling hills for picnicking, bird-watching, biking, hiking & nature exploration.
Black Mountain Backpack Camp
Basic tent sites with a toilet. Campground in Monte Bello Open Space Preserve featuring basic tent sites & a toilet.
Waterdog Lake & Open Space
Park with several trails & a small lake. This hilly green park surrounding a small lake has trails of varying lengths, some of them steep.
Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve
3,137-acre park with diverse plant life. Massive 3,137-acre green space with many trails & a wide range of plant life & wildflowers.
Serra Park
Tennis courts, ball fields & open lawns. Nature area with tennis courts, ball fields, playground & picnic areas, plus manicured & open space.
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.
Laurelwood Park
Hiking trails to Sugarloaf Mountain. The city's largest park (225 acres) offers trails leading to Sugarloaf Mountain & scenic picnicking.
McClellan Ranch Preserve
Former horse ranch with a nature museum. Former horse ranch from the 1930s featuring a nature museum, community garden & historic buildings.
Stevens Creek County Park
Trails, picnic areas & a reservoir. Miles of multi-use trails, shaded picnic areas & a large reservoir for fishing & boating.
Portal Park
Picnic facilities & recreation center. Small park offering a large, reservable picnic & barbecue area, playground & recreation building.
Seal Point Park
Bayfront windsurfing area with dog park. Waterfront area featuring windsurfing, a biking trail, dog park & outdoor classrooms led by rangers.
Jack Brook Horse Camp
Visit this great place for kids and families!
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.
Rhino Adventure Gear
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Quarry Lakes Regional Recreation Area
Lakefront park offering water activities. Lakefront park offers 471 acres of space for picnicking, swimming, fishing & non-motorized boating.
Aqua Adventure Water Park
Family-friendly waterslides & pools. Recreational facility featuring waterslides, pools, swimming lessons & an on-site eatery.
Crystal Springs Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Coyote Point Recreation Area
Large playground, trails & picnic areas. Bayside park offering a sizable playground with 6 slides, as well as trails & picnic areas.
Mount Eden Park
Park with sports fields & picnic areas. Community park featuring picnic shelters & a playground, plus baseball, basketball & tennis.
Memorial County Park
Redwood forest with trails & campgrounds. This wooded parkland offers an array of wildlife, hiking trails, picnic tables & camping areas.
Redwood Glen
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Hayward Regional Shoreline
Vast wetlands park home to nesting birds. Spacious wetlands park boasting gravelled, shoreline trails known for birdwatching & jogging.
Dry Creek Pioneer Regional Park
Spacious preserve with trails & a garden. Expansive park featuring trails, a creek, gardens & farm animals, plus a seasonal barn center.
Robert E. Woolley State Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
WilderSkills Outdoor Adventures
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Mission Peak Trail Head
Hilly hiking area with scenic views. Open space featuring a steep hiking trail with sweeping valley & bay views from the summit.
Castle Rock Trail Camp
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Garin Regional Park
Hills, fields, streams & farming history. This natural area with hills, fields & streams houses a seasonal visitor center on ranching history.
Castle Rock State Park
Camping, hiking & horseback riding. Park offering 34 miles of hiking & horseback riding trails among redwoods & other regional trees.
Sanborn County Park
Lush forested park with camping & hiking. Verdant wooded park featuring RV/tent campsites, plus picnic areas & over 15 miles of hiking trails.
Sequoia Peterson Grove
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Guadalupe River Park
Riverside park with running trails. Small city park offering a visitor's center, a playground, a community garden & 2.6 miles of trails.
Waterman Gap Trail Camp
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Mission Peak Regional Preserve
3,000 mountain acres for recreation. Vast mountain preserve popular for biking, hiking, horseback riding, R/C flying and hang-gliding.
Half Moon Bay State Beach
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Eagle Spring Backpack Camp
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Other Things to See
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