Best Camping Spots & Outdoor Adventures
Explore the best best camping spots & outdoor adventures options for kids and families in San Mateo
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.
Seal Point Park
Bayfront windsurfing area with dog park. Waterfront area featuring windsurfing, a biking trail, dog park & outdoor classrooms led by rangers.
Coyote Point Recreation Area
Large playground, trails & picnic areas. Bayside park offering a sizable playground with 6 slides, as well as trails & picnic areas.
Robert E. Woolley State Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Laurelwood Park
Hiking trails to Sugarloaf Mountain. The city's largest park (225 acres) offers trails leading to Sugarloaf Mountain & scenic picnicking.
Crystal Springs Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
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.
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.
Central Park
Sports field, tennis courts & playground. This 13-acre recreational area features tennis courts, a playing field, picnic spots & a playground.
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.
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.
Frontierland Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Quarry Park
Large forested park with coastal views. Eucalyptus trees & coast views highlight this large park with play & picnic areas & a 1-mi. trail.
Stulsaft Park
Trails, playground, picnics & water fun. A 42-acre park featuring wooded trails as well as a playground, summer water feature & picnic area.
Huddart Park
Forested area with trails & picnic spots. This 900-acre, forested park offers hiking & riding trails, plus picnic areas & an archery range.
Half Moon Bay State Beach
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Bedwell Bayfront Park
Oceanside park with trails & fields. Large bayside park with expansive open spaces for flying kites & several hiking trails.
Pacifica State Beach
Crescent-shaped beach known for surfing. Known for being a popular surfing locale, this crescent-shaped beach also offers trails & restrooms.
Adventure Out Surf Lessons
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Candlestick Point State Recreation Area
Scenic bayside park with views & more. Picturesque, waterside state recreation area with vistas, trails, fishing & other activities.
J V Fitzgerald Marine Reserve
Protected intertidal zone & beach. 3-mi. stretch of beach & tide pools full of marine life, including sea stars, octopuses & crabs.
San Bruno Mountain State & County Park
Hiking trails & picnic spots with views. Mountain recreation space featuring city & bay views, hiking trails, picnic areas & open meadows.
Hayward Regional Shoreline
Vast wetlands park home to nesting birds. Spacious wetlands park boasting gravelled, shoreline trails known for birdwatching & jogging.
Coyote Hills Regional Park
Picnicking, hiking & biking trails. 1,266 acres of rolling hills for picnicking, bird-watching, biking, hiking & nature exploration.
Bonaire Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Mount Eden Park
Park with sports fields & picnic areas. Community park featuring picnic shelters & a playground, plus baseball, basketball & tennis.
Glen Canyon Park
67-acre park along a deep canyon. A deep canyon runs through this park, which features sports fields, tennis courts & playgrounds.
Outdoorsie
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Gaia Guides Kids Camp
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Crane Cove Park
Beach, industrial relics & harbor views. Reclaimed area in a former shipyard, with a small beach for water sports & views of passing boats.
Mountain Camp Woodside
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Fort Funston
Steep spot for hang-gliding & hiking. Park featuring 200-foot-high bluffs for hang gliding, plus trails for hiking & horseback riding.
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.
Urban Adventure Club
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Hipcamp Outpost
Visit this great place for kids and families!
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.
Chabot Park
Disc golf, fishing & forested hikes. Leafy nature area with a big lake, hiking trails & a disc golf course, popular for fishing & biking.
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.
Lake Chabot Marina & Café
Lakeside spot for breakfast & sandwiches. This casual place overlooking the lake serves classic breakfasts, sandwiches, burgers & salads.
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.
Orange Sky Adventures
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Sulphur Creek Nature Center
Wildlife rehabilitations & education. This wildlife rehabilitation facility offers educational programs & a discovery center for kids.
East Bay Regional Park District - Public Safety
Visit this great place for kids and families!
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.
Anthony Chabot Family Campground
Campground with tent, RV & group sites. Campground in Anthony Chabot Regional Park offering a variety of tent, RV & group sites.
Garin Regional Park
Hills, fields, streams & farming history. This natural area with hills, fields & streams houses a seasonal visitor center on ranching history.
Lost Ridge Group Camp
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.
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