Free & Cheap Things to Do with Kids
Explore the best free & cheap things to do with kids options for kids and families in South San Francisco
San Bruno City Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Jumpity Bumpity Daly City
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Central Park
Sports field, tennis courts & playground. This 13-acre recreational area features tennis courts, a playing field, picnic spots & a playground.
Bayfront Park
Waterside park for airport watching. Small bayside park next to the airport, with a walking trail & benches for watching the planes land.
City of Burlingame Shorebird Sanctuary
Visit this great place for kids and families!
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
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Frontierland Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Rockaway Beach
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Washington Park
Playground, ball fields & courts. City park with baseball & soccer fields, tennis & basketball courts, plus a playground.
Aardvark Beach
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Pacifica State Beach
Crescent-shaped beach known for surfing. Known for being a popular surfing locale, this crescent-shaped beach also offers trails & restrooms.
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.
Pershing Park
Neighborhood park with a playground. Tree-dotted neighborhood open space with a playground, basketball courts & a picnic area.
CuriOdyssey
Science & wildlife center for kids. Museum for kids focusing on environmental science & wildlife with indoor exhibits & an outdoor zoo.
Coyote Point Recreation Area
Large playground, trails & picnic areas. Bayside park offering a sizable playground with 6 slides, as well as trails & picnic areas.
Safari Run, San Mateo
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Helen Diller Playground
Play area with a climbing wall & slides. Climbing structures, sand boxes & swings in an adventure playground with a long, twisting slide.
San Francisco Zoo
100 acres of animals & more. Families come for the more than 2,000 animals, kids' zoo, steam train, carousel & special exhibits.
Randall Museum
Children's museum on 16-acre park. Museum with wild-animal exhibits & hands-on experiences for exploring science & the arts.
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.
Mission Bay Kids Park
Purpose-built activity center for kids. Interactive play zones, climbing structures & sandboxes in a modern kids' park with picnic benches.
Koret Children's Playground
Large vibrant playground with a carousel. Lively playground featuring a variety of equipment, an old-fashioned carousel & ample grassy lawns.
San Francisco Botanical Garden
Green refuge with rare plant collections. 55 acres of serene gardens showcasing diverse plants from around the world & a magnolia collection.
Gray Whale Cove State Beach
Sheltered cove surrounded by cliffs. Cliffs surround this sandy beach, where whales are often spotted close to the shore.
Osher Rainforest at the California Academy of Sciences
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Helen Diller Civic Center Playground
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Huntington Falls
Visit this great place for kids and families!
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
Interactive arts & technology museum. A place for kids to explore arts & technology by making music videos, animating short films & more.
Leroy King Carousel
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Tenderloin Playground
Indoor/outdoor recreational hub for kids. City-run recreational center & children's playground offering special events & classes.
Heart of San Francisco Series
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Murphy Windmill
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Chinatown San Francisco
Famous neighborhood for Chinese culture. Iconic area with the largest assembly of Chinese eateries, shops & cultural events outside of Asia.
Exploratorium
Hands-on science museum. Hundreds of interactive, educational exhibits & activities illustrating scientific principles.
Imagination City
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Aquarium of the Bay
Waterfront museum with aquatic animals. Aquarium with creatures from local waters, including otters, sharks & jellyfish, plus a touch tank.
Doug Siden Visitor Center at Crab Cove
Aquarium & marine life exhibits. Bayfront education center with an 800-gallon aquarium & interactive exhibits about marine life.
Magowan's Infinite Mirror Maze
Colorful maze of mirrors & archways. Arched doorways & columns form the basis for this colorful mirrored maze for adults & children.
Musical Stairs
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Sea Lions
Marina docks with sea lions galore. Docks off Pier 39 that are a favorite hangout of hundreds of sunbathing, barking sea lions.
San Francisco Carousel at Pier 39
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Sea Lion Viewing Area
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Pacific Pinball Museum
Historic & playable pinball machines. Museum displaying rare & vintage pinball machines, which are also playable, amid colorful local art.
Surfers Beach
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Fort Point National Historic Site
Civil War fortress. Fort from the Civil War era located under the Golden Gate Bridge offering cannon drills & tours.
Oakland Aviation Museum
Display aircraft & historical exhibits. Museum housing an extensive aircraft collection & various aviation exhibits in a historic hangar.
Marina Park
Shoreline park with mile-long trail. 30-acre park along the shore with picnic tables, a mile-long workout trail & large group shelters.
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.
Bay Area Discovery Museum
Interactive kids' museum. Indoor/outdoor museum inspiring kid creativity via interactive exhibits, a play space & art classes.
Children's Fairyland
Storybook-themed amusement park standby. Vibrant, longtime amusement park pairing a storybook motif with rides & theatrical performances.
Marin Headlands
Rugged coastline & wildlife haven. Stretch of coastal basalt headland & habitat for bobcats, coyote, deer & abundant birdlife.
Habitot Children's Museum
Hands-on learning lab for kids. Museum engaging kids ages 1-5 with interactive exhibits like a wind tunnel & face-painting table.
Sausalito Boardwalk
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Edgewood Park & Natural Preserve
Woodland hiking & grassland wildflowers. 467 acres of woodlands & grasslands known for its hiking, wildflowers, bird-watching & scenic views.
Angel Island State Park
Island park with campsites & city views. Large island with campsites featuring hiking & biking trails plus panoramic views of San Francisco.
Doyle Hollis Park
Park with a playground & an amphitheater. Park featuring a playground & basketball, plus a fountain, picnic areas & an amphitheater.
Washington Manor Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Bair Island Wildlife Refuge & Trail
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Angel Island Immigration Station
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Dunphy Park
Oceanside park with a gazebo & courts. Waterfront space featuring sand volleyball & bocce courts, plus a gazebo & benches.
Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center
Ecology center with exhibits & events. Ecology center offering exhibits, programs & activities relating to the region's estuary.
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
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Rockridge-Temescal Greenbelt
Playground & creek amid redwood groves. Urban greenbelt offers a playground, climbing wall & creek amid butterfly gardens & redwood groves.
Tiburon Open Space Committee
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Red Morton Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
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
850+ native & exotic animals on display. Long-standing zoo features 850+ native & exotic animals, a wildlife theater & educational programs.
Huddart Park
Forested area with trails & picnic spots. This 900-acre, forested park offers hiking & riding trails, plus picnic areas & an archery range.
Pyramid to Moses
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Meek Park
Mansion grounds with gardens & play area. Landscaped grounds of a historic mansion with play structures, picnic space with grills & open lawn.
Chabot Park
Disc golf, fishing & forested hikes. Leafy nature area with a big lake, hiking trails & a disc golf course, popular for fishing & biking.
Temescal Regional Recreation Area
Oasis for picnicking, swimming & more. Urban, lakeside retreat offering swim & picnic areas, a fishing dock, trails & playgrounds.
Joaquin Miller Park
500-acre park & trails through the trees. Dog-friendly woodland park on 500 acres boasting rustic trails, meadows & picnic sites.
Paradise Beach Park
Scenic spot for picnics, beach & fishing. Waterside park in a residential neighborhood, offering views, picnic lawns, a fishing pier & beach.
Knowland Park
Undeveloped area with diverse wildlife. This open, largely undeveloped park is the habitat for many native plants & animals.
Round1 Bowling & Arcade Southland Mall
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Virginia-McGee Totland
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Roberts Regional Recreation Area
Sports & picnicking amid redwoods. An 82-acre park in a stand of second-growth redwoods, popular for picnics & recreational sports.
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.
Berkeley Natural History Museums
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Muir Beach Overlook
Well-known spot for sweeping ocean views. An iconic staircase leads down to this windy point with sweeping views of the ocean & Pacific coast.
Blackie's Pasture
Bayside park with trails & fields. Scenic waterfront park featuring grassy fields, a playground & paths for walking & biking.
Bedwell Bayfront Park
Oceanside park with trails & fields. Large bayside park with expansive open spaces for flying kites & several hiking trails.
Explore More Activities
Discover more events and activities happening in South San Francisco.