Unique & Hidden Gem Activities for Families
Explore the best unique & hidden gem activities for families 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.
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.
Magic Mountain Playground
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.
CuriOdyssey
Science & wildlife center for kids. Museum for kids focusing on environmental science & wildlife with indoor exhibits & an outdoor zoo.
Imagination City
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Laurelwood Park
Hiking trails to Sugarloaf Mountain. The city's largest park (225 acres) offers trails leading to Sugarloaf Mountain & scenic picnicking.
Village Park
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Central Park
Sports field, tennis courts & playground. This 13-acre recreational area features tennis courts, a playing field, picnic spots & a playground.
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.
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.
Filoli Historic House & World-Class Garden
Historical estate & botanic garden. An early-20th-century country estate & botanic garden, open for docent-led tours.
Grundy Park
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Frontierland Park
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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.
Shelldance Orchid Gardens
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Sam's Castle
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Gray Whale Cove State Beach
Sheltered cove surrounded by cliffs. Cliffs surround this sandy beach, where whales are often spotted close to the shore.
Pedro Point
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center
Ecology center with exhibits & events. Ecology center offering exhibits, programs & activities relating to the region's estuary.
Mussel Rock Park
Coastal park with scenic vistas & trails. Known for its rocky coastline, this park boasts sandy beaches, scenic ocean vistas & hiking trails.
Arizona Garden
Stanford University's cacti garden. Historical cacti garden with artful views & unusual plants on Stanford University grounds.
The Museum of American Heritage
Exhibitions on inventions & technology. Charming museum in a 1907 home showcasing technology & inventions from the 1750s to the 1950s.
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.
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).
Coyote Hills Vista Point
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.
Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo
Hands-on science & nature exhibits. Child-oriented venue with animals like birds & turtles, plus interactive educational exhibits.
Billy Goat Hill
Hilltop natural area with views & trails. This modest neighborhood green space offers a small trail network & wildlife viewing opportunities.
Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center
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The Busy Bee Activity Center
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Baylands Nature Preserve
Marshland with trails & bird-watching. Vast marshland with 15 mi. of trails for walking, running & biking, plus bird-watching & kayaking.
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.
Meek Park
Mansion grounds with gardens & play area. Landscaped grounds of a historic mansion with play structures, picnic space with grills & open lawn.
Doug Siden Visitor Center at Crab Cove
Aquarium & marine life exhibits. Bayfront education center with an 800-gallon aquarium & interactive exhibits about marine life.
The Meyers House and Garden
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Windy Hill Open Space Preserve
Forested fields for hiking & picnicking. Open grasslands & forest area with 12 miles of trails for hiking, bicycling & horseback-riding.
Pacific Pinball Museum
Historic & playable pinball machines. Museum displaying rare & vintage pinball machines, which are also playable, amid colorful local art.
Barron Park Donkeys
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Swings and Wings
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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.
Randall Museum
Children's museum on 16-acre park. Museum with wild-animal exhibits & hands-on experiences for exploring science & the arts.
Magical Bridge Playground
Play structures around a grassy mound. Slides, swings & climbing frames around an artificial hill, plus a treehouse & bridge.
Japanese Gardens
Tranquil botanical garden with teahouse. This 3+-acre botanical garden features traditional Japanese arrangements, a teahouse & a koi pond.
Children's Creativity Museum
Interactive arts & technology museum. A place for kids to explore arts & technology by making music videos, animating short films & more.
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.
Jack London's Cabin
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Sulphur Creek Nature Center
Wildlife rehabilitations & education. This wildlife rehabilitation facility offers educational programs & a discovery center for kids.
Huntington Falls
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EscapeSF
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The Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment - (The MADE)
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Pardee Home Museum
Museum in a 19th-century Italianate home. Built in 1869, this Italianate mansion houses a museum with period furnishings & decor.
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