Free & Cheap Things to Do with Kids
Explore the best free & cheap things to do with kids options for kids and families in Santa Monica
Santa Monica Beach
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Original Muscle Beach Santa Monica
Gymnastics/fitness site since the 1930s. Beach workout area, dating to the 1930s, with popular public bars, rings & ropes over the sand.
Santa Monica State Beach
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Venice Boardwalk
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Mothers Beach
Sheltered cove with playground area. Playground, picnic tables & other kid-friendly attractions at a surf-free sheltered beach.
Ballona Discovery Park
Educational park with wetland plants. Educational wetland park featuring an interpretive walk & gardens with native plants.
The Museum of Jurassic Technology
Quirky exhibits of art & natural history. Collection of microscopic sculpture & other eccentric curiosities in art, science & natural history.
Vista del Mar Park
Pocket green space near ocean & runways. Pocket green space & recreation area with ocean & airport views plus barbecue pits & picnic spots.
Beverly Hills Garden Park
Public park with a large garden area. Expansive, tree-filled park with fountains & jogging paths plus cacti & rose gardens.
Westridge-Canyonback Wilderness Park
Scenic open space with hiking trails. This expansive tract of chaparral features canyons & hills for hikers, bikers & horseback riders.
El Segundo Blue Butterfly Preserve
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Coldwater Canyon Park
Greenspace with play areas & picnicking. Public park offering play equipment for kids, plus areas for picnicking & a water feature.
Topanga State Park
Wilderness area with canyon trails. This 13,150-acre wilderness area features hiking trails winding through nearby canyons & mountains.
San Vicente Mountain Park
Vistas, hiking & a radar tower. Scenic former missile launch site with a radar tower plus hiking, biking & horseback riding trails.
La Brea Tar Pits and Museum
Prehistoric-fossil excavation site. Ice Age–fossil excavation site with an adjacent museum, plus a re-created prehistoric garden.
Vanalden Cave
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Sherman Oaks Castle Park
Fun center with an arcade & mini-golf. Family amusement center with batting cages, arcade games & 3 miniature golf courses.
Red Rock Canyon Park, Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority
Colorful rock canyon with trailheads. Unique, colorful rock formations bordering hiking trails through a canyon & offering mountain views.
Roundhouse Aquarium
No-cost ocean & marine life education. This free aquarium sits at the end of Manhattan Beach Pier & is host to classes, parties & camps.
Manhattan Beach Pier
Longtime landmark with a cafe & aquarium. This restored 928-ft. concrete pier is the oldest on the West Coast & features a cafe & an aquarium.
Top of Topanga Overlook
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Surfrider Beach
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Museum for unusual & bizarre artifacts. Museum with kitschy oddities on display, including shrunken human heads & rare animal skeletons.
World of Illusions Los Angeles
Interactive experiences in trendy museum. 3D illusions & an Upside-Down House exhibit, plus other interactive experiences in a popular museum.
Manhattan Beach Botanical Garden
Peaceful gardens with self-guided tours. Quaint, compact botanical garden featuring a wide variety of native flowers, grasses & trees.
Polliwog Park
Playgrounds, disc golf & a large pond. Park boasting a large pond & amphitheater for events plus a 9-hole disc golf course & play areas.
Robert Burns Park
Play structure & covered picnic tables. Shady neighborhood park featuring a playground for children & a small pavilion with picnic tables.
Hollywood Walk of Fame
Star-studded Hollywood sidewalk. Famous Hollywood sidewalk area emblazoned with stars & celebrity names since 1960.
Woodley Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve
Nature reserve with trails & a lake. Wildlife reserve, trails & a lake teeming with birds, butterflies & lizards, plus an amphitheater.
Universal Studios Hollywood
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Lake Balboa/Anthony C. Beilenson Park
Picnic spot & maritime-themed playground. Grassy open space with a 19,600-sq.-ft. maritime-themed playground & interactive drum play area.
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Dinosaur skeletons & rotating exhibits. From T. rex skeletons to an insect zoo, popular attraction holds more than 35-million artifacts.
Hermosa Beach Pier
Fishing & sweeping Pacific Ocean views. Long-standing 1,140-foot pier featuring beach & sunset ocean views, plus public restrooms & fishing.
Exposition Park
Public green space with museums & arenas. Urban space comprising 160 acres with arenas & museums, plus some green areas with trees & gardens.
California Science Center
Hands-on exhibits, IMAX & the Endeavor. Admission's free to permanent exhibits at this kid-friendly spot, also boasting IMAX & the Endeavor.
Malibu Bluffs Park
Sports & whale watching on the ocean. Scenic waterfront community park with sports fields & a playground, plus a whale watching station.
Exposition Park Rose Garden
Charming park devoted to roses. Cheerful formal park featuring a collection of roses & a gazebo.
Hermosa Beach Museum
Historical society & heritage museum. Historical society featuring a quaint museum devoted to local heritage, with archival photos & more.
Space Shuttle Endeavour
Visit this great place for kids and families!
The Great Wall of Los Angeles
Iconic mural depicting state history. 2,754-foot-long mural depicting the history of California, with a focus on women & minorities.
Fort Lots-o-Fun Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
S. Mark Taper Life Science Botanical Garden
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Fern Dell Nature Preserve
Outdoor space with lush foliage & trails. Serene enclave at Griffith Park featuring walking paths amid tropical foliage & a man-made brook.
Reseda Stones
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Bronson Caves
Man-made caves featured in iconic films. Seen in many iconic films, these man-made caves provide trails & scenic views of the Hollywood Sign.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood
Visit this great place for kids and families!
South Park Recreation Center
An outdoor pool, tennis courts & more. Green space with an outdoor pool, tennis & basketball courts, a baseball field & a kids' playground.
Griffith Observatory
Planetarium, telescopes & city views. This art deco landmark from 1935 features a high-tech planetarium, public telescopes & city views.
Seaside Lagoon
Summertime swim spot & sandy beach. Seasonal spot for swimming, open during summer, with a sandy beach, snack bar & a play area.
Kid Mamba Mural
Visit this great place for kids and families!
King Gillette Ranch, Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority
588-acre park in Santa Monica mountains. Sprawling ranch in the heart of Malibu Creek Watershed offers 1920s architecture, views & hiking.
Grand Hope Park
Playground, lawns & iconic clock tower. 2.5-acre urban park featuring a playground & grass lawns amid an iconic mosaic-adorned clock tower.
Redondo Beach Pier
Dining, shopping & entertainment locale. Landmark pier known for scenic oceanfront dining, shopping & nightlife, plus music & festivals.
Public Art "Aquarius"
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Vista Hermosa Natural Park, Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority
Green spaces, a playground & city views. Trails lead to picnic areas, grassy fields, a pond/waterfall, city view overlooks & a playground.
Griffith Park
Hiking trails, city views & L.A. Zoo. Urban oasis featuring hiking & equestrian trails, plus city views, the Greek Theatre & the L.A. Zoo.
Blue Ribbon Garden
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Old Los Angeles Zoo
Abandoned zoo with ruins & hiking trails. Founded in 1912, this now-abandoned zoo offers past enclosure ruins, picnic space & hiking trails.
Biddy Mason Memorial Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Augustus F. Hawkins Nature Park
Tranquil green space with nature center. Calm, 8.5-acre retreat featuring native flora & wetlands, plus a small museum with nature exhibits.
Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Malibu Creek Rock Pools
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Griffith Park & Southern Railroad
Park featuring rides on mini trains. Center for train rides on reproductions of classic American locomotives, with a mile-long track.
Kyoto Garden
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Magic Johnson Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Explore More Activities
Discover more events and activities happening in Santa Monica.