Free & Cheap Things to Do with Kids
Explore the best free & cheap things to do with kids options for kids and families in Scotts Valley
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.
Roaring Camp
Train rides & all-ages special events. Family-friendly park offers train rides amid natural landscapes, seasonal routes & special events.
Loch Lomond Recreation Area
Reservoir park for fishing & boating. Scenic 175-acre reservoir park for fishing, boating & hiking (seasonal & can be closed by drought).
Visit Santa Cruz County
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History
Hands-on exhibitions & special programs. Expansive venue with hands-on art & history exhibitions, plus special programs good for all ages.
Chanticleer Ave County Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
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.
Ocean View Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
The Santa Cruz Children’s Museum of Discovery
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
Iconic amusement park on the beach. Amusement park offers a variety of games & rides right on a mile-long stretch of sandy beach.
Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History
Wildlife, plant & archaeology exhibits. Galleries & interactive programs exploring flora, fauna, geology & peoples native to the Bay Area.
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center
Theater & interactive exhibit gallery. Educational multimedia exhibits include theater, touch pools & a remotely operated underwater robot.
Neary Lagoon Pier
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Neary Lagoon Park
Wildlife habitat with floating walkways. Wildlife refuge with trails & floating walkways, bird-watching areas, tennis courts & a playground.
Walton Lighthouse
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Lighthouse Field State Beach
Serene spot with a variety of vistas. Iconic spot with a lighthouse offers a variety of vistas & pathways for dog walking & strolling.
Santa Cruz Surfing Museum
Exhibits exploring wave-riding culture. Rotating exhibits on surfing culture & local history housed in a historic, preserved lighthouse.
Lighthouse Point
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Wilder Ranch State Park
Picnic areas, trails & horseback riding. Natural landscape with diverse activities including hiking trails, picnic areas & horseback riding.
Seymour Marine Discovery Center
Aquarium & interactive science museum. Interactive marine science museum & aquarium, with hands-on exhibits, a touch pool & a gift shop.
Blue Whale Skeleton
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Seacliff State Beach
Camping & hiking among redwoods. Versatile state beach offers a variety of outdoor activities such as camping & hiking.
Hidden Beach County Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
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.
Little Free Art Museum ("SJ FLAG")
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Lincoln Glen Park
Small park with playground & green space. Small community park offering a playground & tot lot, water spray area, green space & picnic tables.
McClellan Ranch Preserve
Former horse ranch with a nature museum. Former horse ranch from the 1930s featuring a nature museum, community garden & historic buildings.
De Anza College Planetarium
Venue for astronomy & laser shows. This large planetarium offers educational astronomy shows & entertaining laser displays.
Portal Park
Picnic facilities & recreation center. Small park offering a large, reservable picnic & barbecue area, playground & recreation building.
Immersive Gamebox - San Jose, Santa Clara
Visit this great place for kids and families!
The Escape Game San Jose
Visit this great place for kids and families!
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.
Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum
Exhibits featuring mummies & artifacts. Museum with displays on Egyptian burial practices, plus artifacts including jewelry & bronze tools.
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.
Bill's Backyard
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Central Park
Picnicking, a pool & recreational sports. 52-acre park with 2 playgrounds & athletic courts/fields, plus a swimming pool, picnic area & BBQs.
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.
Discovery Meadow
Children's museum & sizable green space. Children's museum situated atop a sprawling green lawn used for summer festivals.
Monopoly in the Park
Green space with a giant monopoly board. Tiny park featuring a larger-than-life monopoly board, plus animal statues & benches.
Japanese Friendship Garden
Spacious & tranquil traditional garden. Covering 5.5 acres, this serene Japanese garden features a koi pond & a quaint red arch bridge.
The Tech Interactive
Interactive displays & an IMAX theater. Accessible, hands-on exhibits for all ages in a spacious facility, plus an attached IMAX theater.
Happy Hollow Park & Zoo
Animals, activities & conservation focus. Small zoo with an array of animals & rides, plus an education center, petting zoo & puppet theater.
Kelley Park
172-acre green space with lawn bowling. This park, which contains a zoo & living history museum, offers picnic spots & lawn bowling greens.
Rotary PlayGarden
Accessible children's playground. Interactive & accessible children's playground with slides, climbing equipment & seating areas.
Emma Prusch Farm Park
Community farm with orchards & gardens. Compact community farm features heirloom vegetable gardens, orchards, chickens & a fair.
Safari Run, Sunnyvale
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Redwood Grove Nature Preserve
Redwood forest with a boardwalk. This 6-acre Redwood forest features a boardwalk, observation decks, picnic tables & a rose garden.
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.
Eagle Park
Grassy field, outdoor pool & playground. Community hub featuring a huge grassy field, a playground & an outdoor pool with swimming lessons.
Pioneer Memorial Park
Quaint green space with benches & paths. Small, serene park located next to the library featuring ample benches, walkways & shaded areas.
Seven Seas Park
Family-friendly recreation & a dog park. Neighborhood gathering place offering a dog park & lots of kid activities including a spray pool.
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.
Mariposa Park
Neighborhood park with a playground. Compact, butterfly-themed park with a playground, seasonal water-play sandbox & picnic tables.
California's Great America
Thrill rides & waterslides. Family-friendly theme park with thrill rides, water attractions, live entertainment & food options.
Baylands Park
Wetlands, trails & recreation areas. Developed park of 70+ acres on San Francisco Bay with playgrounds, trails & a wetlands preserve.
Baylands Grove
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Alum Rock Park
Large park with mineral springs & trails. Spacious park featuring hiking & biking trails, mineral springs & several picnic areas.
Magical Bridge Playground
Play structures around a grassy mound. Slides, swings & climbing frames around an artificial hill, plus a treehouse & bridge.
Mitchell Park
Recreational activities for all ages. Grassy park with tennis/handball courts, horseshoe pits, playgrounds, splash pad & a fenced dog run.
Alviso Marina County Park
Popular hiking & bird-watching site. Hiking, biking & bird-watching are popular activities at this bayside park with paths & boardwalks.
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.
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.
Arizona Garden
Stanford University's cacti garden. Historical cacti garden with artful views & unusual plants on Stanford University grounds.
Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo
Hands-on science & nature exhibits. Child-oriented venue with animals like birds & turtles, plus interactive educational exhibits.
The Museum of American Heritage
Exhibitions on inventions & technology. Charming museum in a 1907 home showcasing technology & inventions from the 1750s to the 1950s.
Explore More Activities
Discover more events and activities happening in Scotts Valley.