Free & Cheap Things to Do with Kids
Explore the best free & cheap things to do with kids options for kids and families in Walnut Creek
Civic Park
Green space with native gardens & gazebo. 10-acre park with gardens, picturesque views & a community center & gazebo used for weddings.
The Gardens at Heather Farm
Botanical gardens & classes. This 6-acre destination with botanical gardens hosts special events & offers classes.
Heather Farm Park
Swimming, skateboarding & a dog park. This 102-acre preserve offers a swimming complex, dog park, sports fields & a skate park.
Lindsay Wildlife Experience
Education center with 50+ animal species. Environmental education center housing 50+ species of live, nonreleasable California wildlife.
Sugarloaf Open Space
Natural area with picnic spots & trails. More than 3,000 acres of woodlands, grasslands & chaparral with picnic areas & multi-use trails.
Shadelands Ranch Museum
Elegant 1902 house with guided tours. Genteel, historic 1902 house museum featuring period furniture, local artifacts & tours.
Len Hester Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
California Kids Fun Puppet and Magic Shows
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Old Borges Ranch
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Ygnacio Valley Park
Community park with standard amenities. Basic neighborhood park with ball fields, a jogging path, picnic facilities & a kids' play area.
Castle Rock Regional Recreation Area
Woodlands, fields, a pool & picnic site. Scenic land along Pine Creek with a pool, volleyball courts, a softball field & a large picnic area.
Lime Ridge Open Space
Natural area with hiking & biking trails. Undeveloped ridgeline offering hiking & biking trails amid diverse wildlife & chaparral vegetation.
Briones Regional Park
Rolling hills, wildlife sightings & more. Pastoral, 6,255-acre park with rolling hills, wildlife viewing, campgrounds & other features.
Markham Nature Area
Small nature park & arboretum. Compact, tree-topped park with winding trails, open lawns, gardens & an arboretum.
Markham Regional Arboretum
Lush nursery & garden with walking tours. Serene oasis featuring 16 acres of native & adapted floral & tree gardens, with self-guided tours.
Brazil Quarry Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Pixieland Amusement Park
Whimsical park with rides for young kids. Whimsical amusement park offers a range of carnival rides for young kids, party space & casual fare.
Matteo's Dream Playground
Visit this great place for kids and families!
John Muir National Historic Site
Hiking trail with peak & valley views. A 2.4-mile hiking trail loop that begins near the John Muir house, with scenic mountain views.
Mount Diablo Summit Visitor Center
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve
Hiking & native plants in a wooded area. This 241-acre wooded preserve features a self-guided, botanic interpretive trail & restrooms.
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.
Roberts Regional Recreation Area
Sports & picnicking amid redwoods. An 82-acre park in a stand of second-growth redwoods, popular for picnics & recreational sports.
Joaquin Miller Park
500-acre park & trails through the trees. Dog-friendly woodland park on 500 acres boasting rustic trails, meadows & picnic sites.
Martinez Museum
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Rankin Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Pyramid to Moses
Visit this great place for kids and families!
University of California Botanical Garden
Sprawling collection of diverse plants. Established in 1890, this 34-acre garden features a collection of plants from around the world.
Carquinez Strait Regional Shoreline
Waterside park with trails & wildlife. Spacious park along the water featuring nature trails & opportunities for bird & animal viewing.
Inspiration Point
Scenic overlook at a nature park. Observation area with sweeping views & interpretive plaques, plus a parking lot & trail access.
Temescal Regional Recreation Area
Oasis for picnicking, swimming & more. Urban, lakeside retreat offering swim & picnic areas, a fishing dock, trails & playgrounds.
Knowland Park
Undeveloped area with diverse wildlife. This open, largely undeveloped park is the habitat for many native plants & animals.
Central Park
Community park with sports facilities. Grassy park with a playground, community center, sports fields, skate park & seasonal splash pad.
Codornices Park
Rose garden, views, picnicking & hiking. Comprising the Berkeley Rose Garden plus areas for ball playing & hiking, picnicking & kids' play.
Berkeley Natural History Museums
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Tilden Nature Area
Site for scenic hikes & wildlife views. Nature preserve featuring easy & challenging hiking trails with scenic views & wildlife sightings.
Tilden Nature Area Environmental Education Center
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Bishop Ranch Open Space Regional Preserve
Basic park for hiking & animal-watching. Park featuring numerous hiking trails is home to deer, red-tailed hawks & turkey vultures.
Museum of History, Benicia - Arsenal Galleries
All about Benicia & military history too. Unusual museum with exhibits highlighting the history of Benicia & the military presence there.
Greathouse Visitor Center
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Oakland Zoo
850+ native & exotic animals on display. Long-standing zoo features 850+ native & exotic animals, a wildlife theater & educational programs.
Kennedy Grove Regional Recreation Area
Low-key park featuring eucalyptus trees. Quiet spot for picnics & other gatherings, with a rustic cottage, hiking trails & fragrant trees.
Rockridge-Temescal Greenbelt
Playground & creek amid redwood groves. Urban greenbelt offers a playground, climbing wall & creek amid butterfly gardens & redwood groves.
Buchanan Park
Green space with picnic areas & a pond. This 16-acre community park has shaded picnic areas with BBQ pits, a duck pond & bocce courts.
Benicia Capitol State Historic Park
Former state capitol building with tours. 1853-1854 state capitol building with a period interior, educational information & guided tours.
Virginia-McGee Totland
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Small World Park
Amusement center with train & carousel. Intimate family amusement park with a train, carousel, pond, boat, nature activities & playgrounds.
Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve
Historic area with hiking trails. Former coal mining site featuring expansive green space, underground tours & hiking trails.
Chabot Park
Disc golf, fishing & forested hikes. Leafy nature area with a big lake, hiking trails & a disc golf course, popular for fishing & biking.
Blake Garden UC Berkeley
Artful UC Berekely park for scenic views. UC Berkeley's College of Environmental Design's green space with scenic views & diverse plant life.
Children's Fairyland
Storybook-themed amusement park standby. Vibrant, longtime amusement park pairing a storybook motif with rides & theatrical performances.
Highlands Ranch Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Forest Home Farms Historic Park
Scenic park with a Victorian-era house. Farmland featuring a Victorian house museum & public events on its lush, 16-acres.
Lake Chabot Regional Park
Scenic park for hikes, boating & fishing. Parkland featuring a 315-acre reservoir for canoeing & fishing, plus trails, picnic areas & a cafe.
Doyle Hollis Park
Park with a playground & an amphitheater. Park featuring a playground & basketball, plus a fountain, picnic areas & an amphitheater.
Pittsburg Historical Museum
Visit this great place for kids and families!
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.
Riverview Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Refugio Valley Park
Play equipment, a pond & picnic areas. Park featuring a walking path around a duck pond, picnic tables, restrooms & 2 play structures.
Benicia State Recreation Area
Scenic hillside coastal park. Marshes, grassy hillsides & rocky beaches attract hikers, birders, fishers & cyclists to this park.
Contra Loma Regional Park
Neighborhood space for tennis & play. Community lawn covering 2 blocks & surrounded by trees, featuring 2 tennis courts & a playground.
Adventure Playground
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Shorebird Park
Picturesque setting with a nature center. Scenic marina park offers picnic sites, play areas & a nature center with fish & wildlife displays.
Oakland Aviation Museum
Display aircraft & historical exhibits. Museum housing an extensive aircraft collection & various aviation exhibits in a historic hangar.
Pacific Pinball Museum
Historic & playable pinball machines. Museum displaying rare & vintage pinball machines, which are also playable, amid colorful local art.
Doug Siden Visitor Center at Crab Cove
Aquarium & marine life exhibits. Bayfront education center with an 800-gallon aquarium & interactive exhibits about marine life.
Washington Manor Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Corteva Wetlands Preserve
472-acre waterfront wildlife habitat. This 472-acre tidal wetlands conservation area offers trails, wildlife-viewing & beaver ponds.
Meek Park
Mansion grounds with gardens & play area. Landscaped grounds of a historic mansion with play structures, picnic space with grills & open lawn.
Japanese Gardens
Tranquil botanical garden with teahouse. This 3+-acre botanical garden features traditional Japanese arrangements, a teahouse & a koi pond.
Dublin Historic Park and Museums
Local history & 1850s-era buildings. A 10-acre park with preserved buildings from the 1850s tells the story of the city's early settlers.
Highlands Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Marina Bay Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Antioch City Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
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