Free & Cheap Things to Do with Kids

Explore the best free & cheap things to do with kids options for kids and families in San Leandro

Chabot Park

Chabot Park

Disc golf, fishing & forested hikes. Leafy nature area with a big lake, hiking trails & a disc golf course, popular for fishing & biking.

Oakland Zoo

Oakland Zoo

850+ native & exotic animals on display. Long-standing zoo features 850+ native & exotic animals, a wildlife theater & educational programs.

Washington Manor Park

Washington Manor Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Knowland Park

Knowland Park

Undeveloped area with diverse wildlife. This open, largely undeveloped park is the habitat for many native plants & animals.

Marina Park

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.

Lake Chabot Regional Park

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.

Oakland Aviation Museum

Oakland Aviation Museum

Display aircraft & historical exhibits. Museum housing an extensive aircraft collection & various aviation exhibits in a historic hangar.

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.

Kennedy Park

Kennedy Park

Green space with many amenities for kids. Big, popular park with a playground, petting zoo & train, plus greenery, trails & picnic areas.

Japanese Gardens

Japanese Gardens

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

Round1 Bowling & Arcade Southland Mall

Round1 Bowling & Arcade Southland Mall

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Roberts Regional Recreation Area

Roberts Regional Recreation Area

Sports & picnicking amid redwoods. An 82-acre park in a stand of second-growth redwoods, popular for picnics & recreational sports.

Pyramid to Moses

Pyramid to Moses

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Joaquin Miller Park

Joaquin Miller Park

500-acre park & trails through the trees. Dog-friendly woodland park on 500 acres boasting rustic trails, meadows & picnic sites.

Chabot Space & Science Center

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.

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.

Doug Siden Visitor Center at Crab Cove

Doug Siden Visitor Center at Crab Cove

Aquarium & marine life exhibits. Bayfront education center with an 800-gallon aquarium & interactive exhibits about marine life.

Pacific Pinball Museum

Pacific Pinball Museum

Historic & playable pinball machines. Museum displaying rare & vintage pinball machines, which are also playable, amid colorful local art.

Tennyson Park

Tennyson Park

Play area, skate park & baseball field. Public green space with amenities such as a playground, skate park, lawn & baseball field.

Children's Fairyland

Children's Fairyland

Storybook-themed amusement park standby. Vibrant, longtime amusement park pairing a storybook motif with rides & theatrical performances.

Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve

Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve

Hiking & native plants in a wooded area. This 241-acre wooded preserve features a self-guided, botanic interpretive trail & restrooms.

Temescal Regional Recreation Area

Temescal Regional Recreation Area

Oasis for picnicking, swimming & more. Urban, lakeside retreat offering swim & picnic areas, a fishing dock, trails & playgrounds.

Rockridge-Temescal Greenbelt

Rockridge-Temescal Greenbelt

Playground & creek amid redwood groves. Urban greenbelt offers a playground, climbing wall & creek amid butterfly gardens & redwood groves.

Bishop Ranch Open Space Regional Preserve

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.

Habitot Children's Museum

Habitot Children's Museum

Hands-on learning lab for kids. Museum engaging kids ages 1-5 with interactive exhibits like a wind tunnel & face-painting table.

Doyle Hollis Park

Doyle Hollis Park

Park with a playground & an amphitheater. Park featuring a playground & basketball, plus a fountain, picnic areas & an amphitheater.

Forest Home Farms Historic Park

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.

Central Park

Central Park

Community park with sports facilities. Grassy park with a playground, community center, sports fields, skate park & seasonal splash pad.

University of California Botanical Garden

University of California Botanical Garden

Sprawling collection of diverse plants. Established in 1890, this 34-acre garden features a collection of plants from around the world.

Berkeley Natural History Museums

Berkeley Natural History Museums

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Dublin Historic Park and Museums

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.

Coyote Hills Regional Park

Coyote Hills Regional Park

Picnicking, hiking & biking trails. 1,266 acres of rolling hills for picnicking, bird-watching, biking, hiking & nature exploration.

Sugarloaf Open Space

Sugarloaf Open Space

Natural area with picnic spots & trails. More than 3,000 acres of woodlands, grasslands & chaparral with picnic areas & multi-use trails.

Virginia-McGee Totland

Virginia-McGee Totland

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Codornices Park

Codornices Park

Rose garden, views, picnicking & hiking. Comprising the Berkeley Rose Garden plus areas for ball playing & hiking, picnicking & kids' play.

Quarry Lakes Regional Recreation Area

Quarry Lakes Regional Recreation Area

Lakefront park offering water activities. Lakefront park offers 471 acres of space for picnicking, swimming, fishing & non-motorized boating.

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.

CuriOdyssey

CuriOdyssey

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

Ardenwood Entrance and Tickets

Ardenwood Entrance and Tickets

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Shorebird Park

Shorebird Park

Picturesque setting with a nature center. Scenic marina park offers picnic sites, play areas & a nature center with fish & wildlife displays.

Adventure Playground

Adventure Playground

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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.

California Kids Fun Puppet and Magic Shows

California Kids Fun Puppet and Magic Shows

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Mission Bay Kids Park

Mission Bay Kids Park

Purpose-built activity center for kids. Interactive play zones, climbing structures & sandboxes in a modern kids' park with picnic benches.

Inspiration Point

Inspiration Point

Scenic overlook at a nature park. Observation area with sweeping views & interpretive plaques, plus a parking lot & trail access.

California Nursery Historical Park

California Nursery Historical Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Civic Park

Civic Park

Green space with native gardens & gazebo. 10-acre park with gardens, picturesque views & a community center & gazebo used for weddings.

Aardvark Beach

Aardvark Beach

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Safari Run, San Mateo

Safari Run, San Mateo

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Train of Lights

Train of Lights

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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.

Old Borges Ranch

Old Borges Ranch

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Leroy King Carousel

Leroy King Carousel

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Children's Creativity Museum

Children's Creativity Museum

Interactive arts & technology museum. A place for kids to explore arts & technology by making music videos, animating short films & more.

Tilden Nature Area Environmental Education Center

Tilden Nature Area Environmental Education Center

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Tilden Nature Area

Tilden Nature Area

Site for scenic hikes & wildlife views. Nature preserve featuring easy & challenging hiking trails with scenic views & wildlife sightings.

Washington Park

Washington Park

Playground, ball fields & courts. City park with baseball & soccer fields, tennis & basketball courts, plus a playground.

Exploratorium

Exploratorium

Hands-on science museum. Hundreds of interactive, educational exhibits & activities illustrating scientific principles.

Lindsay Wildlife Experience

Lindsay Wildlife Experience

Education center with 50+ animal species. Environmental education center housing 50+ species of live, nonreleasable California wildlife.

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.

Heart of San Francisco Series

Heart of San Francisco Series

Visit this great place for kids and families!

City of Burlingame Shorebird Sanctuary

City of Burlingame Shorebird Sanctuary

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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.

Castle Rock Regional Recreation Area

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.

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.

Chinatown San Francisco

Chinatown San Francisco

Famous neighborhood for Chinese culture. Iconic area with the largest assembly of Chinese eateries, shops & cultural events outside of Asia.

Bayfront Park

Bayfront Park

Waterside park for airport watching. Small bayside park next to the airport, with a walking trail & benches for watching the planes land.

Children's Natural History Museum

Children's Natural History Museum

Visit this great place for kids and families!

The Gardens at Heather Farm

The Gardens at Heather Farm

Botanical gardens & classes. This 6-acre destination with botanical gardens hosts special events & offers classes.

Helen Diller Civic Center Playground

Helen Diller Civic Center Playground

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Heather Farm Park

Heather Farm Park

Swimming, skateboarding & a dog park. This 102-acre preserve offers a swimming complex, dog park, sports fields & a skate park.

Tenderloin Playground

Tenderloin Playground

Indoor/outdoor recreational hub for kids. City-run recreational center & children's playground offering special events & classes.

Pershing Park

Pershing Park

Neighborhood park with a playground. Tree-dotted neighborhood open space with a playground, basketball courts & a picnic area.

Blake Garden UC Berkeley

Blake Garden UC Berkeley

Artful UC Berekely park for scenic views. UC Berkeley's College of Environmental Design's green space with scenic views & diverse plant life.

Helen Diller Playground

Helen Diller Playground

Play area with a climbing wall & slides. Climbing structures, sand boxes & swings in an adventure playground with a long, twisting slide.

Aquarium of the Bay

Aquarium of the Bay

Waterfront museum with aquatic animals. Aquarium with creatures from local waters, including otters, sharks & jellyfish, plus a touch tank.

Village Park

Village Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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