Great Places to Take your Kids in SF Bay Area

I have loved discovering many of the great places to take my kids within the SF Bay Area. Although the Bay Area is congested and expensive there are still many wonderful and inexpensive places to enjoy. Over the years I have complied a list on Google Docs. Here is the link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1N7piOmRbCdSVUohOwCscNBBKFH3CEf-lxTJAoCsTjWw/edit?usp=sharing

Here are some pics and links of some of our favorite places:

The USS Hornet- My kids and husband loved taking a tour of this retired aircraft carrier.  You can get free passes with your library card account. http://discover.aclibrary.org/

Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park - This historic fort makes you feel like you are walking back in time. It captures the pioneer spirit of families arriving in wagon trains at the dawn of the California Gold Rush. A fascinating place to visit for history field trips, kids and adults! Adults- $5, Youth $3 (Ages 6-17), Children 5 and Under Free.

Ardenwood Historic Park- It’s one of my favorite places around. We can spend all day there. They have a small train ride, a victorian mansion to tour, gardens to walk, farm animals to feed, old-fashion games to play. Pack a lunch and have picnic in the gazebo. It’s a very laid back and easy place to visit with kids

Wente Boy Scout Camp is fabulous with canoeing, horseback riding, archery... A few times a year they host a family camp weekend, where families like ours (without any Boy Scouts) can come and have fun together as a family.  

Cull Canyon, In Castro Valley is a really fun place to take kids swimming in the summer. It’s a man-made outdoor swimming lake with sandy beaches. The water is clean and even chlorinated. We spent all day here. I’ll make sure to take my kids every summer.

The tide pools at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve just north of Half Moon Bay in Moss Beach. It’s ideal to time your trip to low tide. Here is a tide calendar: http://www.protides.com/california/2193/

Golden Gate Park is beautiful, inexpensive, and easy with kids. You could spend all day just roaming all the different sights within the park. And parking is free and easy to find, unlike everywhere else in SF.

Within Golden Gate Park I recommend the Koret Children’s Quarter, the Strybing Arboretum, and seeing the Dutch Windmills on the beach. Within the Park there is also the California Academy of the Sciences. It’s a bit pricey. You can get free passes with your library cards, http://discover.aclibrary.org/, I have heard you could spend the whole day there. http://www.calacademy.org/

The Santa Cruz Boardwalk, It was built in 1907. It’s filled with amusement rides and games. We go in the summer on $1 days. All the rides, hotdogs and drinks are only a $1. It’s usually on Mon. and Tues. evenings.

Seymour Marine Center- It’s a small marine center. Very hands on. I like it a lot better than the Monterey Aquarium. You see many of the same sea creatures, but without the crowds and high prices. You can even pet a shark! You can get free tickets with your library card through, discover.aclibrary.org/

My favorite beach in Santa Cruz is Natural Bridges State Beach. It’s just north of Santa Cruz. It’s a beautiful beach with a great rock formation. There is also a nature center nearby.