Best Parks for Outdoor Fun
Explore the best best parks for outdoor fun options for kids and families in Palo Alto
Eleanor Pardee Park
Grassy fields, playgrounds & gardens. Neighborhood park with playgrounds, grassy fields, community gardens & a multipurpose concrete bowl.
Cornelis Bol Park
Long paths & a native plant garden. 13.8-acre city park featuring multi-use trails, a playground & a native plant garden.
Mitchell Park
Recreational activities for all ages. Grassy park with tennis/handball courts, horseshoe pits, playgrounds, splash pad & a fenced dog run.
Byxbee Park
Public park with earthworks & art. Birdwatching, cycling & walking are popular at this park with sculpted earth & conceptual art.
Magical Bridge Playground
Play structures around a grassy mound. Slides, swings & climbing frames around an artificial hill, plus a treehouse & bridge.
Baylands Nature Preserve
Marshland with trails & bird-watching. Vast marshland with 15 mi. of trails for walking, running & biking, plus bird-watching & kayaking.
Bedwell Bayfront Park
Oceanside park with trails & fields. Large bayside park with expansive open spaces for flying kites & several hiking trails.
Red Morton Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Stulsaft Park
Trails, playground, picnics & water fun. A 42-acre park featuring wooded trails as well as a playground, summer water feature & picnic area.
Mariposa Park
Neighborhood park with a playground. Compact, butterfly-themed park with a playground, seasonal water-play sandbox & picnic tables.
Redwood Grove Nature Preserve
Redwood forest with a boardwalk. This 6-acre Redwood forest features a boardwalk, observation decks, picnic tables & a rose garden.
Stafford Park
Open space for picnicking & play. Small community park with picnic tables, playground equipment & a separate play area for toddlers.
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.
Pioneer Memorial Park
Quaint green space with benches & paths. Small, serene park located next to the library featuring ample benches, walkways & shaded areas.
Cuesta Park
Public green space for active locals. With wide-open spaces & shaded parts, this park has a playground, tennis courts & BBQ facilities.
Edgewood Park & Natural Preserve
Woodland hiking & grassland wildflowers. 467 acres of woodlands & grasslands known for its hiking, wildflowers, bird-watching & scenic views.
Windy Hill Open Space Preserve
Forested fields for hiking & picnicking. Open grasslands & forest area with 12 miles of trails for hiking, bicycling & horseback-riding.
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.
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.
De Anza Park
Spanish Aztec-themed picnic & play area. Picnic grounds & play space with basketball, a sports field, horseshoes, skate area & climbing fun.
Seven Seas Park
Family-friendly recreation & a dog park. Neighborhood gathering place offering a dog park & lots of kid activities including a spray pool.
Coyote Hills Regional Park
Picnicking, hiking & biking trails. 1,266 acres of rolling hills for picnicking, bird-watching, biking, hiking & nature exploration.
Las Palmas Park
Tiki-themed playground, dog run & more. 24-acre tiki-themed park with a playground, water features, a dog run, tennis courts & bathrooms.
Baylands Park
Wetlands, trails & recreation areas. Developed park of 70+ acres on San Francisco Bay with playgrounds, trails & a wetlands preserve.
Braly Park
Retreat with tennis courts & Asian flair. Park featuring Japanese design plus venues for sand volleyball, horseshoes, shuffleboard & tennis.
Serra Park
Tennis courts, ball fields & open lawns. Nature area with tennis courts, ball fields, playground & picnic areas, plus manicured & open space.
Muwékma Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Leo J. Ryan Park
Waterfront green space with a boardwalk. Lakeside park featuring a boardwalk, boat launch & grassy areas, plus tennis & basketball courts.
Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve
Lake, scenic vistas & miles of trails. Varied landscape including 11 miles of trails, lake, meadows & ridge views in a 2,143-acre preserve.
Alviso Marina County Park
Popular hiking & bird-watching site. Hiking, biking & bird-watching are popular activities at this bayside park with paths & boardwalks.
Ortega Park
Recreation spot with a large playground. Park with basketball & tennis courts, a cricket pitch & more, plus lots of kids' play equipment.
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.
Raynor Park
Play areas, a field & horseshoe pits. Longtime park with dinosaur-themed play areas plus a field, horseshoe pits & picnic areas.
Portal Park
Picnic facilities & recreation center. Small park offering a large, reservable picnic & barbecue area, playground & recreation building.
Jollyman Park
Quaint place for picnics & sports. This 11.5-acre urban park contains ball fields, a playground & shaded picnic tables.
Fremont Older Open Space Preserve
Year-round hiking & biking with vistas. Scenic spread on 739 acres with rolling views & trails for hiking, biking & horseback riding.
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.
Ryder Park
A playground, splash pad & picnic area. Neighborhood park with striking, modern picnic pavilions, BBQs, a playground & seasonal splash pad.
Live Oak Park
Grass field surrounding a playground. Park grounds with a large grassy area surrounding a sand-floor playground set well off the street.
Central Park
Picnicking, a pool & recreational sports. 52-acre park with 2 playgrounds & athletic courts/fields, plus a swimming pool, picnic area & BBQs.
Quarry Lakes Regional Recreation Area
Lakefront park offering water activities. Lakefront park offers 471 acres of space for picnicking, swimming, fishing & non-motorized boating.
Charles F Kennedy Park
Play area, ball field & amphitheater. Green space with a playground, baseball field, amphitheater & occasional community events.
Central Park
Land & water activities in a scenic spot. Lakeside park with a golf course, 4 playgrounds, boat rentals, a fishing area, picnic sites & paths.
Aqua Adventure Water Park
Family-friendly waterslides & pools. Recreational facility featuring waterslides, pools, swimming lessons & an on-site eatery.
Shinn Historical Park and Arboretum
Park with gardens & a historic house. Small green space featuring scenic gardens & a 19th-century house open for occasional group tours.
Sabercat Play Area Central 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.
Always Dream PlayPark
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Magic Mountain Playground
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Seven Hills Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Gomes Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Washington Park
Playground, ball fields & courts. City park with baseball & soccer fields, tennis & basketball courts, plus a playground.
Tennyson Park
Play area, skate park & baseball field. Public green space with amenities such as a playground, skate park, lawn & baseball field.
Hayward Regional Shoreline
Vast wetlands park home to nesting birds. Spacious wetlands park boasting gravelled, shoreline trails known for birdwatching & jogging.
Hidden Lake Park
Scenic green space with a lake. Picturesque destination with a relaxing vibe featuring a lake with ducks & turtles.
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!
Jose Higuera Adobe Park
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.
Cardoza Park
Baseball, volleyball & play areas. Ten-acre park featuring a baseball field, horseshoe & volleyball courts & an outdoor amphitheater.
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.
Vargas Plateau Regional Park
Hiking trails, birds of prey & sea views. Grasslands & wooded canyons home to eagles & hawks, with gentle walking routes leading to bay views.
Village Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Kennedy Park
Green space with many amenities for kids. Big, popular park with a playground, petting zoo & train, plus greenery, trails & picnic areas.
Rotary PlayGarden
Accessible children's playground. Interactive & accessible children's playground with slides, climbing equipment & seating areas.
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.
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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