Free & Cheap Things to Do with Kids
Explore the best free & cheap things to do with kids options for kids and families in Pleasanton
Mission Hills Park
Green space with a 50-ft. slide. Neighborhood park featuring grassy open space, a playground, a BBQ pit & a 50-ft. slide.
Dublin Historic Park and Museums
Local history & 1850s-era buildings. A 10-acre park with preserved buildings from the 1850s tells the story of the city's early settlers.
Niles Canyon Railway
Vintage train rides & history exhibits. Living history museum providing rides on vintage trains (1910-1960) & exhibits on railroad history.
Forest Home Farms Historic Park
Scenic park with a Victorian-era house. Farmland featuring a Victorian house museum & public events on its lush, 16-acres.
Train of Lights
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Bishop Ranch Open Space Regional Preserve
Basic park for hiking & animal-watching. Park featuring numerous hiking trails is home to deer, red-tailed hawks & turkey vultures.
California Nursery Historical Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Central Park
Community park with sports facilities. Grassy park with a playground, community center, sports fields, skate park & seasonal splash pad.
Always Dream PlayPark
Visit this great place for kids and families!
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.
Quarry Lakes Regional Recreation Area
Lakefront park offering water activities. Lakefront park offers 471 acres of space for picnicking, swimming, fishing & non-motorized boating.
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.
Washington Township Museum of Local History
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Aqua Adventure Water Park
Family-friendly waterslides & pools. Recreational facility featuring waterslides, pools, swimming lessons & an on-site eatery.
Children's Natural History Museum
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Tennyson Park
Play area, skate park & baseball field. Public green space with amenities such as a playground, skate park, lawn & baseball field.
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.
Japanese Gardens
Tranquil botanical garden with teahouse. This 3+-acre botanical garden features traditional Japanese arrangements, a teahouse & a koi pond.
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.
Ardenwood Entrance and Tickets
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Round1 Bowling & Arcade Southland Mall
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Lake Chabot Regional Park
Scenic park for hikes, boating & fishing. Parkland featuring a 315-acre reservoir for canoeing & fishing, plus trails, picnic areas & a cafe.
Meek Park
Mansion grounds with gardens & play area. Landscaped grounds of a historic mansion with play structures, picnic space with grills & open lawn.
Kennedy Park
Green space with many amenities for kids. Big, popular park with a playground, petting zoo & train, plus greenery, trails & picnic areas.
Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Habitat for native & migrating animals. Large nature preserve housing various migrating birds, as well as native flora & fauna.
Coyote Hills Regional Park
Picnicking, hiking & biking trails. 1,266 acres of rolling hills for picnicking, bird-watching, biking, hiking & nature exploration.
Chabot Park
Disc golf, fishing & forested hikes. Leafy nature area with a big lake, hiking trails & a disc golf course, popular for fishing & biking.
Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center
Ecology center with exhibits & events. Ecology center offering exhibits, programs & activities relating to the region's estuary.
Round Valley Regional Preserve
Hiking & camping in a historic setting. Once home to Native Americans, this 1,911-acre wildlife habitat offers camping, hiking & cycling.
Washington Manor Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Mount Diablo Summit Visitor Center
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Knowland Park
Undeveloped area with diverse wildlife. This open, largely undeveloped park is the habitat for many native plants & animals.
Oakland Zoo
850+ native & exotic animals on display. Long-standing zoo features 850+ native & exotic animals, a wildlife theater & educational programs.
California Kids Fun Puppet and Magic Shows
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Alviso Marina County Park
Popular hiking & bird-watching site. Hiking, biking & bird-watching are popular activities at this bayside park with paths & boardwalks.
Marina Park
Shoreline park with mile-long trail. 30-acre park along the shore with picnic tables, a mile-long workout trail & large group shelters.
Old Borges Ranch
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Castle Rock Regional Recreation Area
Woodlands, fields, a pool & picnic site. Scenic land along Pine Creek with a pool, volleyball courts, a softball field & a large picnic area.
Sugarloaf Open Space
Natural area with picnic spots & trails. More than 3,000 acres of woodlands, grasslands & chaparral with picnic areas & multi-use trails.
Baylands Grove
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Baylands Park
Wetlands, trails & recreation areas. Developed park of 70+ acres on San Francisco Bay with playgrounds, trails & a wetlands preserve.
Alum Rock Park
Large park with mineral springs & trails. Spacious park featuring hiking & biking trails, mineral springs & several picnic areas.
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.
Baylands Observation Deck and Boardwalk
Visit this great place for kids and families!
California's Great America
Thrill rides & waterslides. Family-friendly theme park with thrill rides, water attractions, live entertainment & food options.
Baylands Nature Preserve
Marshland with trails & bird-watching. Vast marshland with 15 mi. of trails for walking, running & biking, plus bird-watching & kayaking.
Oakland Aviation Museum
Display aircraft & historical exhibits. Museum housing an extensive aircraft collection & various aviation exhibits in a historic hangar.
Roberts Regional Recreation Area
Sports & picnicking amid redwoods. An 82-acre park in a stand of second-growth redwoods, popular for picnics & recreational sports.
Balfour-Guthrie Park
Recreation spot for sports & picnics. 6-acre green space with sport courts & lighted fields, picnic tables with grills & a playground.
Civic Park
Green space with native gardens & gazebo. 10-acre park with gardens, picturesque views & a community center & gazebo used for weddings.
Seven Seas Park
Family-friendly recreation & a dog park. Neighborhood gathering place offering a dog park & lots of kid activities including a spray pool.
Chabot Space & Science Center
All about outer space plus a planetarium. Big complex featuring interactive exhibits on outer space, a planetarium, a gift shop & more.
Joaquin Miller Park
500-acre park & trails through the trees. Dog-friendly woodland park on 500 acres boasting rustic trails, meadows & picnic sites.
Shadelands Ranch Museum
Elegant 1902 house with guided tours. Genteel, historic 1902 house museum featuring period furniture, local artifacts & tours.
Bedwell Bayfront Park
Oceanside park with trails & fields. Large bayside park with expansive open spaces for flying kites & several hiking trails.
The Gardens at Heather Farm
Botanical gardens & classes. This 6-acre destination with botanical gardens hosts special events & offers classes.
Heather Farm Park
Swimming, skateboarding & a dog park. This 102-acre preserve offers a swimming complex, dog park, sports fields & a skate park.
Pyramid to Moses
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Safari Run, Sunnyvale
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Greathouse Visitor Center
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve
Historic area with hiking trails. Former coal mining site featuring expansive green space, underground tours & hiking trails.
Lime Ridge Open Space
Natural area with hiking & biking trails. Undeveloped ridgeline offering hiking & biking trails amid diverse wildlife & chaparral vegetation.
Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo
Hands-on science & nature exhibits. Child-oriented venue with animals like birds & turtles, plus interactive educational exhibits.
Mitchell Park
Recreational activities for all ages. Grassy park with tennis/handball courts, horseshoe pits, playgrounds, splash pad & a fenced dog run.
Magical Bridge Playground
Play structures around a grassy mound. Slides, swings & climbing frames around an artificial hill, plus a treehouse & bridge.
The Playhouse, Brentwood
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Lindsay Wildlife Experience
Education center with 50+ animal species. Environmental education center housing 50+ species of live, nonreleasable California wildlife.
Monarch Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden
Public garden & historic home. A 2.5-acre plot encompassing herb & rose gardens, a historic home, a carriage house & a tearoom.
Ygnacio Valley Park
Community park with standard amenities. Basic neighborhood park with ball fields, a jogging path, picnic facilities & a kids' play area.
Brentwood City Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Brazil Quarry Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Explore More Activities
Discover more events and activities happening in Pleasanton.