Hi friends! I was born in San Francisco (UCSF, to be exact!) and grew up in the Bay Area. Now that I am all grown up with kids of my own, while we no longer live in the Bay Area, we do go there often, so we have a list of things that we can do to take our very active twin boys to keep them busy (because we all know kids can only last so long romping around at the grandparents’ house!)
So without giving a life-long introduction (don’t worry, this isn’t some recipe you have to scroll three pages forward to see, ha!), let’s give you the list of a few of the BEST Bay Area kids’ activities!
- The Oakland Zoo. Honestly, this is probably the BEST zoo in the Bay Area. Yes, we love the San Francisco Zoo, and recommend that as well, but there is something so charming about the Oakland Zoo. They have all kinds of little spaces that kids can explore that have been well-loved over time. One of my favorite things to do there is find the little tree with the slide inside of it. As a child of the 80’s I can remember, even then, it was old, and used, and so very charming. I felt like a little fairy going into my tree home and sliding down from the front door. You can also ride a gondola all the way up to a separate area with a variety of animals (and a fun playground). When you ride the gondola, it goes over a large preserve area where, if you are lucky, you can see a variety of animals running around. I mean, what kid wouldn’t love riding in one of those?? The Oakland Zoo is a GREAT activity in the Bay Area for kids.
2. The Dennis the Menace Playground. This place is so adorable. They have a really fun slide that has lots of little rollers on it, so it provides a fun sensory activity while also tiring them out as they run up and down the hill to play on it! The playground has a variety of little areas for kids to play, so if your littles get bored easily, they won’t here! My boys love to flit from one space to the next. And guess what?? There is one large fence that basically wraps around the entire thing. Of course you will need to keep your eyes on them, because its a decent size, but it feels safer since there is a fence around it. So if you are looking for Bay Area kids activities, this is a great one!
3. Hiller Airport Museum is another one of our favorite places!! When I was a nanny in Hillsborough, this was one of our favorite stops, and now it is one of my boys’ favorite places to go. They have an actual commercial airplane segment where kids can sit in the cockpit, pretend they are a passenger, or just explore the rest of the interior. It’s a great way to prepare them for their first airplane ride. They also have a lot of model airplanes on the interior that you can explore. It’s so fascinating to see how flight has changed over time!
4. CuriOdyssey Museum at Coyote Point. This place is great if you have kids under the age of 7. It has a lot of hands-on activities where children are allowed to touch and explore to their heart’s content, and like most well-tested children’s activities in the Bay Area, they also have lots of fun little areas to explore. My boys love going through the little cave, as well as playing with the scarf machine that launches the scarves into the air.
5. And while it is impossible to list every single place in the Bay Area that is great for kids to play at, and this list is certainly not exhaustive, one of our favorite places to take the kids to enjoy nature, a good walk, and some beautiful views, is Fort Funston. It sits close to Daly City, and is technically a dog park, but it has some amazing history, as it used to be, as you may guess, a fort! You can see old gunnery areas, which is really interesting. When I was a kid, it wasn’t a dog park, so I think this is a fairly recent development. That being said, its perfectly clean and enjoyable for everyone. They have walking paths, and if you want to be adventurous, you can trek down to the beach as well. I remember walking down that beach with my dad, riding bikes down the long pathways, and looking out at the beautiful city sprawled along the mountain. It’s also fun to watch the hang-gliders jumping off the edge of the cliff and soaring through the air.
Now that you know some of the best Bay Area kids’ activities, I hope you will feel more prepared as you approach the damp fog and traffic-filled corridors of the Bay Area. These places certainly have a special place in my heart, and hopefully you will make some amazing memories!
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