Best Family-Friendly Attractions

Explore the best best family-friendly attractions options for kids and families in South San Francisco

Sign Hill Park

Sign Hill Park

Open space with short hiking trails. A 30-acre hilltop preserve featuring several short hiking trails & habitat for birds & butterflies.

Alta Loma Park

Alta Loma Park

Park with tennis & basketball courts. Open city park with a basketball & tennis court, playing fields & a playground.

Junipero Serra Park

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.

Sam's Castle

Sam's Castle

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Mussel Rock Park

Mussel Rock Park

Coastal park with scenic vistas & trails. Known for its rocky coastline, this park boasts sandy beaches, scenic ocean vistas & hiking trails.

Village Park

Village Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Frontierland Park

Frontierland Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Billy Goat Hill

Billy Goat Hill

Hilltop natural area with views & trails. This modest neighborhood green space offers a small trail network & wildlife viewing opportunities.

Washington Park

Washington Park

Playground, ball fields & courts. City park with baseball & soccer fields, tennis & basketball courts, plus a playground.

Sánchez Adobe Park

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.

CuriOdyssey

CuriOdyssey

Science & wildlife center for kids. Museum for kids focusing on environmental science & wildlife with indoor exhibits & an outdoor zoo.

Coyote Point Recreation Area

Coyote Point Recreation Area

Large playground, trails & picnic areas. Bayside park offering a sizable playground with 6 slides, as well as trails & picnic areas.

Hearst Grizzly Gulch

Hearst Grizzly Gulch

Visit this great place for kids and families!

San Francisco Zoo

San Francisco Zoo

100 acres of animals & more. Families come for the more than 2,000 animals, kids' zoo, steam train, carousel & special exhibits.

Tank Hill Park

Tank Hill Park

Small hilltop park with city & bay views. Intimate spot with flower-lined paths & rocky outcroppings offering views of the city & the bay.

Ryder Park

Ryder Park

A playground, splash pad & picnic area. Neighborhood park with striking, modern picnic pavilions, BBQs, a playground & seasonal splash pad.

San Mateo Central Park

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

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.

Mission Bay Kids Park

Mission Bay Kids Park

Purpose-built activity center for kids. Interactive play zones, climbing structures & sandboxes in a modern kids' park with picnic benches.

Seal Point Park

Seal Point Park

Bayfront windsurfing area with dog park. Waterfront area featuring windsurfing, a biking trail, dog park & outdoor classrooms led by rangers.

Golden Gate Park

Golden Gate Park

Gardens, trails, museums & festivals. The city's 1,017-acre oasis draws hikers, bikers, art lovers & music fans, plus gardens & museums.

Children's Creativity Museum

Children's Creativity Museum

Interactive arts & technology museum. A place for kids to explore arts & technology by making music videos, animating short films & more.

Tenderloin Museum

Tenderloin Museum

Museum of this famous district. This museum tells the story of this area peopled by immigrants & iconoclasts, artists & activists.

Yerba Buena Gardens

Yerba Buena Gardens

Public park & cultural space. Several gardens share space with dramatic outdoor public art pieces, including a memorial waterfall.

Mariners Island Park

Mariners Island Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Cable Car Museum

Cable Car Museum

Vintage cable cars & mechanical displays. Antique cable cars on exhibit in the historic building that houses the cable-pulling equipment.

Ina Coolbrith Park

Ina Coolbrith Park

Compact green space with urban views. This pint-sized, unassuming tract features a steep path & views of the city & bay.

Paddock Park

Paddock Park

Lawned local park with a playground. Small neighborhood park with a modern playground, lawns, picnic tables & restrooms.

Laurelwood Park

Laurelwood Park

Hiking trails to Sugarloaf Mountain. The city's largest park (225 acres) offers trails leading to Sugarloaf Mountain & scenic picnicking.

Exploratorium

Exploratorium

Hands-on science museum. Hundreds of interactive, educational exhibits & activities illustrating scientific principles.

Coit Tower

Coit Tower

Landmark offering 360-degree city views. Storied 1930s-era building known for its WPA murals, 360-degree views & resident flock of parrots.

Lands End Lookout

Lands End Lookout

Hiking, shipwrecks & Sutro Baths access. Waterfront hiking through wildflowers, with shipwreck views & access to the Sutro Baths ruins.

The Walt Disney Family Museum

The Walt Disney Family Museum

Exhibits on the life of Disney's founder. Presidio museum exploring the life of Walt Disney featuring hands-on exhibits & original artwork.

Ripley's Believe It or Not!

Ripley's Believe It or Not!

Museum for unusual & bizarre artifacts. Museum with kitschy oddities on display, including shrunken human heads & rare animal skeletons.

Aquarium of the Bay

Aquarium of the Bay

Waterfront museum with aquatic animals. Aquarium with creatures from local waters, including otters, sharks & jellyfish, plus a touch tank.

PIER 39

PIER 39

Scenic pier with food & activities. Bustling bayside pier featuring scenic views, sea lion sightings, eateries, shops & entertainment.

Crissy Field

Crissy Field

Scenic field, beach & restored marsh. Grass field & sandy beach offering trails, a restored marsh & picturesque views of the Golden Gate.

San Francisco Carousel at Pier 39

San Francisco Carousel at Pier 39

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Laurie Meadows Park

Laurie Meadows Park

Large lawn with a path & a playground. Bordered by a path, this 7.5-acre park features a lawn with a softball backstop & a playground.

Oakland Aviation Museum

Oakland Aviation Museum

Display aircraft & historical exhibits. Museum housing an extensive aircraft collection & various aviation exhibits in a historic hangar.

Union Point Park

Union Point Park

Waterfront playground with harbor views. Green space with a nautical-themed playground & walking paths overlooking Alameda Harbor.

Discovery Museum Lookout Tower

Discovery Museum Lookout Tower

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Bay Area Discovery Museum

Bay Area Discovery Museum

Interactive kids' museum. Indoor/outdoor museum inspiring kid creativity via interactive exhibits, a play space & art classes.

Children's Fairyland

Children's Fairyland

Storybook-themed amusement park standby. Vibrant, longtime amusement park pairing a storybook motif with rides & theatrical performances.

Filoli Historic House & World-Class Garden

Filoli Historic House & World-Class Garden

Historical estate & botanic garden. An early-20th-century country estate & botanic garden, open for docent-led tours.

Dunphy Park

Dunphy Park

Oceanside park with a gazebo & courts. Waterfront space featuring sand volleyball & bocce courts, plus a gazebo & benches.

Stafford Park

Stafford Park

Open space for picnicking & play. Small community park with picnic tables, playground equipment & a separate play area for toddlers.

Shorebird Park

Shorebird Park

Picturesque setting with a nature center. Scenic marina park offers picnic sites, play areas & a nature center with fish & wildlife displays.

Adventure Playground

Adventure Playground

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Rockridge-Temescal Greenbelt

Rockridge-Temescal Greenbelt

Playground & creek amid redwood groves. Urban greenbelt offers a playground, climbing wall & creek amid butterfly gardens & redwood groves.

Cesar Chavez Park

Cesar Chavez Park

Kite flying, a dog run & bay views. Popular, 90-acre park featuring kite flying opportunities, a dog run, bay vistas & more.

Kennedy Park

Kennedy Park

Green space with many amenities for kids. Big, popular park with a playground, petting zoo & train, plus greenery, trails & picnic areas.

Oakland Zoo

Oakland Zoo

850+ native & exotic animals on display. Long-standing zoo features 850+ native & exotic animals, a wildlife theater & educational programs.

Old St. Hilary's Preserve

Old St. Hilary's Preserve

Natural area with rare wildflowers. Windswept 122-acre natural area with rare wildflowers, a historic church & bay views.

Meek Park

Meek Park

Mansion grounds with gardens & play area. Landscaped grounds of a historic mansion with play structures, picnic space with grills & open lawn.

Temescal Regional Recreation Area

Temescal Regional Recreation Area

Oasis for picnicking, swimming & more. Urban, lakeside retreat offering swim & picnic areas, a fishing dock, trails & playgrounds.

Joaquin Miller Park

Joaquin Miller Park

500-acre park & trails through the trees. Dog-friendly woodland park on 500 acres boasting rustic trails, meadows & picnic sites.

Knowland Park

Knowland Park

Undeveloped area with diverse wildlife. This open, largely undeveloped park is the habitat for many native plants & animals.

Chabot Space & Science Center

Chabot Space & Science Center

All about outer space plus a planetarium. Big complex featuring interactive exhibits on outer space, a planetarium, a gift shop & more.

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Discover more events and activities happening in South San Francisco.