Free & Cheap Things to Do with Kids

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

Vasona Lake County Park

Vasona Lake County Park

Site with a sprawling lawn, trail & lake. Public green space with 45 acres of lawn, a multi-use trail & picnic areas plus a lake with fishing.

Visit
De Anza College Planetarium

De Anza College Planetarium

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

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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.

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Portal Park

Portal Park

Picnic facilities & recreation center. Small park offering a large, reservable picnic & barbecue area, playground & recreation building.

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The Escape Game San Jose

The Escape Game San Jose

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Central Park

Central Park

Picnicking, a pool & recreational sports. 52-acre park with 2 playgrounds & athletic courts/fields, plus a swimming pool, picnic area & BBQs.

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Immersive Gamebox - San Jose, Santa Clara

Immersive Gamebox - San Jose, Santa Clara

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Rancho San Antonio County Park & Open Space Preserve

Rancho San Antonio County Park & Open Space Preserve

Hiking area featuring a working farm. Rural nature preserve with 25 miles of hiking trails, plus a working farm & a model plane launch.

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Little Free Art Museum ("SJ FLAG")

Little Free Art Museum ("SJ FLAG")

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum

Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum

Exhibits featuring mummies & artifacts. Museum with displays on Egyptian burial practices, plus artifacts including jewelry & bronze tools.

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Lincoln Glen Park

Lincoln Glen Park

Small park with playground & green space. Small community park offering a playground & tot lot, water spray area, green space & picnic tables.

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Safari Run, Sunnyvale

Safari Run, Sunnyvale

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Monopoly in the Park

Monopoly in the Park

Green space with a giant monopoly board. Tiny park featuring a larger-than-life monopoly board, plus animal statues & benches.

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Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose

Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose

Shows, workshops & interactive exhibits. Children of all ages explore more than 150 interactive exhibits including a full-size fire truck.

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Bill's Backyard

Bill's Backyard

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Discovery Meadow

Discovery Meadow

Children's museum & sizable green space. Children's museum situated atop a sprawling green lawn used for summer festivals.

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Rotary PlayGarden

Rotary PlayGarden

Accessible children's playground. Interactive & accessible children's playground with slides, climbing equipment & seating areas.

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The Tech Interactive

The Tech Interactive

Interactive displays & an IMAX theater. Accessible, hands-on exhibits for all ages in a spacious facility, plus an attached IMAX theater.

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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.

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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.

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Eagle Park

Eagle Park

Grassy field, outdoor pool & playground. Community hub featuring a huge grassy field, a playground & an outdoor pool with swimming lessons.

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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.

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California's Great America

California's Great America

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

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Japanese Friendship Garden

Japanese Friendship Garden

Spacious & tranquil traditional garden. Covering 5.5 acres, this serene Japanese garden features a koi pond & a quaint red arch bridge.

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Mariposa Park

Mariposa Park

Neighborhood park with a playground. Compact, butterfly-themed park with a playground, seasonal water-play sandbox & picnic tables.

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Happy Hollow Park & Zoo

Happy Hollow Park & Zoo

Animals, activities & conservation focus. Small zoo with an array of animals & rides, plus an education center, petting zoo & puppet theater.

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Kelley Park

Kelley Park

172-acre green space with lawn bowling. This park, which contains a zoo & living history museum, offers picnic spots & lawn bowling greens.

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Live Oak Park

Live Oak Park

Grass field surrounding a playground. Park grounds with a large grassy area surrounding a sand-floor playground set well off the street.

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Baylands Park

Baylands Park

Wetlands, trails & recreation areas. Developed park of 70+ acres on San Francisco Bay with playgrounds, trails & a wetlands preserve.

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Baylands Grove

Baylands Grove

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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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.

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Loch Lomond Recreation Area

Loch Lomond Recreation Area

Reservoir park for fishing & boating. Scenic 175-acre reservoir park for fishing, boating & hiking (seasonal & can be closed by drought).

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Emma Prusch Farm Park

Emma Prusch Farm Park

Community farm with orchards & gardens. Compact community farm features heirloom vegetable gardens, orchards, chickens & a fair.

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Hellyer County Park

Hellyer County Park

Urban park with a multi-use, paved trail. Green space featuring a 15-mile paved trail, plus picnicking, disc golf, a dog park & a velodrome.

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Alviso Marina County Park

Alviso Marina County Park

Popular hiking & bird-watching site. Hiking, biking & bird-watching are popular activities at this bayside park with paths & boardwalks.

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Magical Bridge Playground

Magical Bridge Playground

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

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Mitchell Park

Mitchell Park

Recreational activities for all ages. Grassy park with tennis/handball courts, horseshoe pits, playgrounds, splash pad & a fenced dog run.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Alum Rock Park

Alum Rock Park

Large park with mineral springs & trails. Spacious park featuring hiking & biking trails, mineral springs & several picnic areas.

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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.

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Baylands Observation Deck and Boardwalk

Baylands Observation Deck and Boardwalk

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Arizona Garden

Arizona Garden

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

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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.

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Roaring Camp

Roaring Camp

Train rides & all-ages special events. Family-friendly park offers train rides amid natural landscapes, seasonal routes & special events.

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The Mystery Spot

The Mystery Spot

Iconic gravity hill offering tours. Opened in 1941, this roadside landmark is a tilt-induced visual illusion with tours & a gift shop.

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Bedwell Bayfront Park

Bedwell Bayfront Park

Oceanside park with trails & fields. Large bayside park with expansive open spaces for flying kites & several hiking trails.

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Mission Peak Regional Preserve

Mission Peak Regional Preserve

3,000 mountain acres for recreation. Vast mountain preserve popular for biking, hiking, horseback riding, R/C flying and hang-gliding.

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Red Morton Park

Red Morton Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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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.

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Huddart Park

Huddart Park

Forested area with trails & picnic spots. This 900-acre, forested park offers hiking & riding trails, plus picnic areas & an archery range.

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Washington Township Museum of Local History

Washington Township Museum of Local History

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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UC Santa Cruz Arboretum & Botanic Garden

UC Santa Cruz Arboretum & Botanic Garden

Rare plants & a butterfly garden. Vast collection of rare plants with a succulent garden, a butterfly area & a eucalyptus grove.

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Aqua Adventure Water Park

Aqua Adventure Water Park

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

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Explore More Activities

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