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!

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Jumpity Bumpity Daly City

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Central Park

Sports field, tennis courts & playground. This 13-acre recreational area features tennis courts, a playing field, picnic spots & a playground.

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Bayfront Park

Waterside park for airport watching. Small bayside park next to the airport, with a walking trail & benches for watching the planes land.

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City of Burlingame Shorebird Sanctuary

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Mussel Rock Park

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

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Village Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Frontierland Park

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Rockaway Beach

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Washington Park

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

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Aardvark Beach

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Pacifica State Beach

Crescent-shaped beach known for surfing. Known for being a popular surfing locale, this crescent-shaped beach also offers trails & restrooms.

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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.

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Pershing Park

Neighborhood park with a playground. Tree-dotted neighborhood open space with a playground, basketball courts & a picnic area.

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CuriOdyssey

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

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Coyote Point Recreation Area

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

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Safari Run, San Mateo

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Helen Diller Playground

Play area with a climbing wall & slides. Climbing structures, sand boxes & swings in an adventure playground with a long, twisting slide.

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San Francisco Zoo

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

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Randall Museum

Children's museum on 16-acre park. Museum with wild-animal exhibits & hands-on experiences for exploring science & the arts.

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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.

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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.

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Mission Bay Kids Park

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

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Koret Children's Playground

Large vibrant playground with a carousel. Lively playground featuring a variety of equipment, an old-fashioned carousel & ample grassy lawns.

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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.

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Gray Whale Cove State Beach

Sheltered cove surrounded by cliffs. Cliffs surround this sandy beach, where whales are often spotted close to the shore.

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Osher Rainforest at the California Academy of Sciences

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Helen Diller Civic Center Playground

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Huntington Falls

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Golden Gate Park

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

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Children's Creativity Museum

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

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Leroy King Carousel

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Tenderloin Playground

Indoor/outdoor recreational hub for kids. City-run recreational center & children's playground offering special events & classes.

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Heart of San Francisco Series

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Murphy Windmill

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Chinatown San Francisco

Famous neighborhood for Chinese culture. Iconic area with the largest assembly of Chinese eateries, shops & cultural events outside of Asia.

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Exploratorium

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

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Imagination City

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Aquarium of the Bay

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

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Doug Siden Visitor Center at Crab Cove

Aquarium & marine life exhibits. Bayfront education center with an 800-gallon aquarium & interactive exhibits about marine life.

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Magowan's Infinite Mirror Maze

Colorful maze of mirrors & archways. Arched doorways & columns form the basis for this colorful mirrored maze for adults & children.

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Musical Stairs

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Sea Lions

Marina docks with sea lions galore. Docks off Pier 39 that are a favorite hangout of hundreds of sunbathing, barking sea lions.

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San Francisco Carousel at Pier 39

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Sea Lion Viewing Area

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Pacific Pinball Museum

Historic & playable pinball machines. Museum displaying rare & vintage pinball machines, which are also playable, amid colorful local art.

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Surfers Beach

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Fort Point National Historic Site

Civil War fortress. Fort from the Civil War era located under the Golden Gate Bridge offering cannon drills & tours.

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Oakland Aviation Museum

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

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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.

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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.

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Bay Area Discovery Museum

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

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Children's Fairyland

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

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Marin Headlands

Rugged coastline & wildlife haven. Stretch of coastal basalt headland & habitat for bobcats, coyote, deer & abundant birdlife.

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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.

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Sausalito Boardwalk

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Edgewood Park & Natural Preserve

Woodland hiking & grassland wildflowers. 467 acres of woodlands & grasslands known for its hiking, wildflowers, bird-watching & scenic views.

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Angel Island State Park

Island park with campsites & city views. Large island with campsites featuring hiking & biking trails plus panoramic views of San Francisco.

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Doyle Hollis Park

Park with a playground & an amphitheater. Park featuring a playground & basketball, plus a fountain, picnic areas & an amphitheater.

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Washington Manor Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Bair Island Wildlife Refuge & Trail

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Angel Island Immigration Station

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Dunphy Park

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

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Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center

Ecology center with exhibits & events. Ecology center offering exhibits, programs & activities relating to the region's estuary.

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Shorebird Park

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

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Adventure Playground

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Rockridge-Temescal Greenbelt

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

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Tiburon Open Space Committee

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Red Morton Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Kennedy Park

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

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Oakland Zoo

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

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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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Pyramid to Moses

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Meek Park

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

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Chabot Park

Disc golf, fishing & forested hikes. Leafy nature area with a big lake, hiking trails & a disc golf course, popular for fishing & biking.

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Temescal Regional Recreation Area

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

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Joaquin Miller Park

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

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Paradise Beach Park

Scenic spot for picnics, beach & fishing. Waterside park in a residential neighborhood, offering views, picnic lawns, a fishing pier & beach.

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Knowland Park

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

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Round1 Bowling & Arcade Southland Mall

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Virginia-McGee Totland

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Roberts Regional Recreation Area

Sports & picnicking amid redwoods. An 82-acre park in a stand of second-growth redwoods, popular for picnics & recreational sports.

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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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Berkeley Natural History Museums

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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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.

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Blackie's Pasture

Bayside park with trails & fields. Scenic waterfront park featuring grassy fields, a playground & paths for walking & biking.

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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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