Golden Gate Park and Ocean Beach
San Francisco residents have been playing on the west side of the city since the 1800s, and today's families will find plenty to do and see. Start at the Cliff House complex, then visit the beach and Golden Gate Park. The zoo is also located in this area.Ocean Beach
Cliff House: Visit the National Park Service complex to learn about the area. Walk down behind the restaurant to get a good view of the ocean. The Camera Obscura, housed in the funny-looking little building that vaguely resembles a camera, is a scientific curiosity and unexpectedly beautiful, but it's not for little ones.Ocean Beach just south of the Cliff House is a good place for a run, but the water is too cold here to do much swimming and the currents can be very difficult here.
Golden Gate Park
You could spend days with the kids in Golden Gate Park. It's a big park, so be sure you have a map before you go.There are several museums in the park, including the DeYoung art museum, which was named Best Museum for Kids in California by Child magazine. They offer free Saturday morning family tours. The California Academy of Science includes an aquarium, natural history museum and planetarium. If you have similar museums back home, and the weather is nice, I recommend staying outside and enjoying some of our more unique attractions.
You can rent boats at Stow Lake (pedal boats are a great way to wear kids out) or, at the risk of adding a potentially expensive item to this year's Christmas list, watch radio-controlled boats on Spreckels Lake.
The children's playground on the Lincoln Ave side of the park has a slide rumored to have the fastest ride in the west; the 1912 carousel has no less than 62 menagerie animals to ride on; and the Japanese Tea Garden has a great wooden bridge for climbing on, followed by tea and cookies.
San Francisco Parks Trust offers free stroller tours specifically designed for babies still in a stroller and their parents.
The Zoo
The San Francisco Zoo is located south of Golden Gate Park and can be accessed from the Great Highway.More Things to Do with Kids in San Francisco: The Waterfront | Downtown | Outside San Francisco | Kid-Friendly Restaurants
