Unique & Hidden Gem Activities for Families

Explore the best unique & hidden gem activities for families options for kids and families in Redwood City

Filoli Historic House & World-Class Garden

Filoli Historic House & World-Class Garden

Historical estate & botanic garden. An early-20th-century country estate & botanic garden, open for docent-led tours.

Pulgas Water Temple

Pulgas Water Temple

Scenic beaux arts monument with a pool. Beaux arts monument with a reflecting pool celebrating the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct completed in 1934.

Arizona Garden

Arizona Garden

Stanford University's cacti garden. Historical cacti garden with artful views & unusual plants on Stanford University grounds.

Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University

Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University

Fine art museum with a sculpture garden. Classic & contemporary art museum with an outdoor sculpture garden featuring Rodin bronzes.

The Museum of American Heritage

The Museum of American Heritage

Exhibitions on inventions & technology. Charming museum in a 1907 home showcasing technology & inventions from the 1750s to the 1950s.

Rodin Sculpture Garden

Rodin Sculpture Garden

Famed sculptor's work in outdoor setting. Garden at Stanford's Cantor Arts Center showing 20 statues by famed sculptor Rodin (open all hours).

Imagination City

Imagination City

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden

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.

Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo

Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo

Hands-on science & nature exhibits. Child-oriented venue with animals like birds & turtles, plus interactive educational exhibits.

Laurelwood Park

Laurelwood Park

Hiking trails to Sugarloaf Mountain. The city's largest park (225 acres) offers trails leading to Sugarloaf Mountain & scenic picnicking.

San Mateo Japanese Garden

San Mateo Japanese Garden

Asian-inspired gardens with a koi pond. Spring blossoming Japanese gardens with a koi pond, pagoda & teahouse in a 16.3-acre city park.

Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center

Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Baylands Nature Preserve

Baylands Nature Preserve

Marshland with trails & bird-watching. Vast marshland with 15 mi. of trails for walking, running & biking, plus bird-watching & kayaking.

San Mateo Central Park

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.

Barron Park Donkeys

Barron Park Donkeys

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Magical Bridge Playground

Magical Bridge Playground

Play structures around a grassy mound. Slides, swings & climbing frames around an artificial hill, plus a treehouse & bridge.

Coyote Point Recreation Area

Coyote Point Recreation Area

Large playground, trails & picnic areas. Bayside park offering a sizable playground with 6 slides, as well as trails & picnic areas.

Windy Hill Open Space Preserve

Windy Hill Open Space Preserve

Forested fields for hiking & picnicking. Open grasslands & forest area with 12 miles of trails for hiking, bicycling & horseback-riding.

CuriOdyssey

CuriOdyssey

Science & wildlife center for kids. Museum for kids focusing on environmental science & wildlife with indoor exhibits & an outdoor zoo.

Magic Mountain Playground

Magic Mountain Playground

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Coyote Hills Vista Point

Coyote Hills Vista Point

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Foothills Nature Preserve

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.

Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge

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.

Redwood Grove Nature Preserve

Redwood Grove Nature Preserve

Redwood forest with a boardwalk. This 6-acre Redwood forest features a boardwalk, observation decks, picnic tables & a rose garden.

Hidden Villa

Hidden Villa

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Pioneer Memorial Park

Pioneer Memorial Park

Quaint green space with benches & paths. Small, serene park located next to the library featuring ample benches, walkways & shaded areas.

Village Park

Village Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center

Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center

Ecology center with exhibits & events. Ecology center offering exhibits, programs & activities relating to the region's estuary.

Ardenwood Historic Farm

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.

Monte Bello Open Space Preserve

Monte Bello Open Space Preserve

Destination for scenic views & trails. Large area with views of Santa Clara Valley & trails, including one for biking & horseback riding.

Central Park

Central Park

Sports field, tennis courts & playground. This 13-acre recreational area features tennis courts, a playing field, picnic spots & a playground.

Seven Seas Park

Seven Seas Park

Family-friendly recreation & a dog park. Neighborhood gathering place offering a dog park & lots of kid activities including a spray pool.

Junipero Serra Park

Junipero Serra Park

Park with impressive views of city & bay. Park offering picnic areas, a creek & walking trails plus scenic views of the city, bay & mountains.

Grundy Park

Grundy Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Children in Tree Sculpture

Children in Tree Sculpture

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Frontierland Park

Frontierland Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Sunnyvale Heritage Park Museum

Sunnyvale Heritage Park Museum

Center promoting local history & culture. Local-history museum with rotating exhibits in a replica home of the area's founding family.

California Nursery Historical Park

California Nursery Historical Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Shinn Historical Park and Arboretum

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.

Dream Time Sculpture

Dream Time Sculpture

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Train of Lights

Train of Lights

Visit this great place for kids and families!

McClellan Ranch Preserve

McClellan Ranch Preserve

Former horse ranch with a nature museum. Former horse ranch from the 1930s featuring a nature museum, community garden & historic buildings.

Meek Park

Meek Park

Mansion grounds with gardens & play area. Landscaped grounds of a historic mansion with play structures, picnic space with grills & open lawn.

Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum

Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum

Silent film museum with movie screenings. Museum in an historic former cinema devoted to silent pictures, with guided tours & a film series.

Central Park

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.

California's Great America

California's Great America

Thrill rides & waterslides. Family-friendly theme park with thrill rides, water attractions, live entertainment & food options.

Aqua Adventure Water Park

Aqua Adventure Water Park

Family-friendly waterslides & pools. Recreational facility featuring waterslides, pools, swimming lessons & an on-site eatery.

De Anza College Planetarium

De Anza College Planetarium

Venue for astronomy & laser shows. This large planetarium offers educational astronomy shows & entertaining laser displays.

Japanese Gardens

Japanese Gardens

Tranquil botanical garden with teahouse. This 3+-acre botanical garden features traditional Japanese arrangements, a teahouse & a koi pond.

Sánchez Adobe Park

Sánchez Adobe Park

Adobe home on a former mission outpost. This 19th-century adobe home on a former mission outpost offers tours & living-history programs.

Sulphur Creek Nature Center

Sulphur Creek Nature Center

Wildlife rehabilitations & education. This wildlife rehabilitation facility offers educational programs & a discovery center for kids.

Ulistac Natural Area

Ulistac Natural Area

Rustic park with native plantings. Rustic riverside park boasting trails, bird-watching & a range of native plants on 40 acres.

Gray Whale Cove State Beach

Gray Whale Cove State Beach

Sheltered cove surrounded by cliffs. Cliffs surround this sandy beach, where whales are often spotted close to the shore.

Shelldance Orchid Gardens

Shelldance Orchid Gardens

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Fremont Older Open Space Preserve

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.

The Lace Museum

The Lace Museum

Modest showcase of lace & lace history. Stalwart museum exhibiting lace, and describing its historical use & the art of lacemaking.

Secret Sidewalk

Secret Sidewalk

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Explore More Activities

Discover more events and activities happening in Redwood City.