13 Inexpensive Things to do in San Francisco with Kids
Our family started a tradition that when our kids turn eight, they get to go on a short trip of their choice by themselves with either mom or dad. The only ground rules are that the flight has to be less than $200 and the trip only lasts 3 days. After watching me travel to San Francisco many times for work over the years, my oldest daughter B chose a trip with dad to the City by the Bay. Before we left, I showed her videos and pictures of all the cool things there and let her choose the itinerary. The goal was simply to spend quality time together doing the things she wanted to do! So without further ado, here is our list of the top 16 things to do with kids in San Francisco, chosen and ranked by my 8-year old daughter.
Where We Stayed
The best part of San Francisco to stay for families is near Fisherman’s Wharf. Most of the activities on this list are in close proximity to that part of town and hotels are relatively affordable (at least for a big city like this). We recommend the San Francisco Marriott Fisherman’s Wharf for families!
Things to do in San Francisco with kids
13. Eat all the sourdough things
Cost: $8.99 for a breadbowl
One of the things I explained to B is that San Francisco was famous for its sourdough and was she game to try it. The first place I took her was Boudin Bakery to try a sourdough clam chowder bread bowl and she loved it. There are several Boudin Bakery Cafes throughout the city but the one you want to visit in Boudin Bakery near Pier 45. It’s got a huge bakery and shop where they bake the bread into all kinds of cool shapes and sizes, like teddy bears and alligators, which B thought was super cool. And after trying and liking the sourdough bread bowl, she wanted to come back again and try the sourdough pizza. It was definitely a hit!
12. Chill at Baker Beach
Cost: $0
San Francisco isn’t exactly known for being a beach town but on the occasion when Karl the Fog isn’t around and the sun is peaking out, it’s still nice to visit the beach and just hang out. The beach stretches for about a mile along the western shoreline of the Presidio, so it’s a nice place to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and watch the sunset. And there are a couple things that make Baker Beach unique. One is Battery Chamberlin – an old military defense installation with a massive artillery gun you can climb around on. The other is that there are some fantastic views of the Golden Gate Bridge!
Check out our post: 7 Insanely Photogenic Golden Gate Bridge View Points
This place was big winner in my opinion – kids can run around and play in the sand to their heart’s content and burn off energy and it’s a perfect spot for a photo opp. I’m a little surprised B didn’t rank this higher because I think it’s one of the best things to do in San Francisco with kids. Maybe it’s because it was just the two of us and the weather was a little chilly. She would’ve had more fun with other kids and warmer weather.
11. Drive across the Golden Gate Bridge to the Marin Headlands
Cost: $8.80 for the toll to cross the bridge
On the top of B’s list of things she wanted to do in San Francisco was drive across the Golden Gate Bridge. She didn’t just want to see it from afar, she wanted to get up close and experience the magnitude of it. It’s hard to believe it’s 1.7 miles long and almost 800 feet tall. It’s no wonder it’s such a global icon. You do have to pay a toll to cross so I didn’t just want to drive over and back, so I made sure to talk her into doing a scenic drive along the Marin Headlands. There are so many different overlooks with beautiful views. There’s even a lighthouse and a black sands beach if you want to make a day of it. But we wanted to spend more time in the city that day so we just stopped near Battery Spencer for a view of the bridge with the cityscape behind it. It was quite the sight to see!
Another option if you have older kids is to ride a bike across the bridge. There are a few places you can rent bikes but they’re all outside the Presidio, so the bike ride is about 5 miles each way. My wife, Brittany, and I did that on a different trip with just the two of us. B had heard about how cool this was and originally wanted to do that too but settled for driving instead when I told her it would be a 10-mile bike ride.
Cost: $36/day
10. Things to do in San Francisco with kids – Palace of Fine Arts
Cost: $0
The Palace of Fine Arts sounds like it would be a museum but it’s really just a glorified park. It was built in 1915 for the Panama-Pacific International Exhibition and once hosted works of art for the expo but no longer has any art on display. There’s nothing to do besides walk around the cool-looking building, giant redwood trees, and large pond. But I still think it’s one of the best things to do in San Francisco with kids because B really enjoyed feeling like she was walking around ancient Rome.
If you want to get a European experience without spending thousands of dollars on flights, check out these other places in California that look like Europe.
9. Things to do in San Francisco with kids – Lombard Street
Cost: $0
Lombard Street is known as the crookedest street in the world, with 8 hairpin turns over just one block. Driving down it is just one of those things you have to do on a trip with kids, like visiting the world’s largest ball of yarn, just to be able to say you did it. As the driver, I thought it was kinda fun to drive but it can be a little underwhelming as a passenger. After we drove down it, we circled around, parked and took a walk down as well to take some photos. Or you could spice things up and rent one of the little yellow Go Cars to drive down it and check out some other sights as well.
8. Yoda statue at Lucasfilm HQ
Cost: $0
My kids are big fans of Star Wars, especially since The Mandalorian came out. Who doesn’t love the adorable Baby Yoda? He may not be as cute but you can still drop by Lucasfilm headquarters in the Presidio to say hi to Master Yoda. Normally, you can also tour the lobby and see some of the other film memorabilia but we went in the fall of 2021 so they were closed to the public because of Covid. But it was still fun as a Star Wars fan to be able to say we went to Lucasfilm HQ and took pictures with Yoda. The location still houses the famed Industrial Light & Magic, which has created the technology and visual effects for many of pop culture’s most beloved films.
7. Things to do in San Francisco with kids – visit Chinatown
Cost: $0 (unless you buy stuff at the shops)
I always enjoy getting the chance to expose my kids to other cultures and Chinatown is a fun place to do that. Sure, there are lots of touristy gift shops with the same San Francisco souvenirs, but there are also tons of Chinese restaurants, talented street performers, and some cool architecture as well. We stumbled across an entertaining dragon lantern dance, complete with percussionists, dancers, and dragon costumes. On top of that, one of the reasons I think it’s one of the best things to do in San Francisco with kids is the fortune cookie shop! At the Golden Cate Fortune Cookie Factory you can see for yourself how fortune cookies are made and it’s actually pretty fascinating to watch. And of course you can buy a box or two to take home.
6. Eat Chocolate at Ghirardelli Square
Cost: varies
Sure, you can buy Ghirardelli chocolate at almost any grocery store in the United States but a visit to the famed Ghirardelli Square is about so much more than just eating chocolate. Ghirardelli Square is listed on the National Register of Historic Places because it is the site of the original Ghirardelli factory, although the headquarters and factory have since moved elsewhere. But you can still visit a huge shop full of gifts, chocolates, and a dessert bar. There’s also a display where you can see how chocolate is made, which B thought was really cool. The location and a views of the Bay are also hard to beat, which is why it’s one of the best things to do in San Francisco with kids, in my opinion. We grabbed a huge cookie from the shop and then went outside to eat it next to the beach.
5. Laugh at the seals on Pier 39
Cost: $0 (unless you buy souvenirs at the shops)
Pier 39 is a total tourist trap but no visit to San Francisco with kids is complete without a stop there. First of all, the seals that hang out on the docks are hilarious. After eating our sourdough bread bowls upon arrival, that was our very next stop. Pier 39 is full of shops and restaurants and there’s even a fun carousel for kids to ride. It’s also an ideal viewpoint to see Alcatraz from afar and on a clear day you can see the Golden Gate Bridge as well. But the reason B ranked this in the top 5 things to do in San Francisco with kids is because of the seals. We could’ve spent hours just watching them wrestle, while imitating and laughing at their barks.
4. Explore a “pirate” ship
Cost: $0 with national parks pass or $15 single entry for adults, $0 for kids
If you like hidden gems, you’ll love this one! I know people who live in San Francisco and never knew that you could actually board and explore these ships. You can see them from Ghirardelli Square and from afar kids think they look like pirate ships. But in reality, the historic ships on Hyde Street Pier is called the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park. It’s run by the National Park Services, so you can use your America the Beautiful national parks pass for free entry! B thought it was so cool that she FaceTimed her siblings to show them she was on a real-life pirate ship. They even let her ring the bell at the top of the hour.
3. Take a hike at Muir Woods
Cost: $0 with national parks pass or $15 single entry for adults, $0 for kids
Visiting Muir Woods National Monument is something that had been on my bucket list for a while. Usually when I go to San Francisco, it’s for work so a) I don’t have time for a day trip and b) I don’t have a rental car to get out there. But it’s only 45 minutes from the city so it’s not too bad if you have a car. And this is another cool place for Star Wars, since the Endor scenes from Return of the Jedi were filmed nearby. I was disappointed to learn on arrival that I wasn’t actually at Muir Woods like I originally thought, but the whole place feels like Endor anyway. B and I had fun pretending we were hiding from storm troopers and looking up in the trees for Ewok treehouses.
Fortunately for me, B loves national parks and hiking just as much as I do. We had a blast walking through the forest and were amazed at the size of the giant redwood trees. And while it’s technically a national monument and not a national park, it’s still run by the NPS so it’s another place you can use your national parks pass and the kids can earn their Junior Ranger badges.
2. Ride a cable car + visit the cable car museum
Cost: $2.50 per ride, $0 for museum entry
You can’t visit San Francisco without taking a ride on one of the city’s iconic cable cars. What’s cool is that they still function the same way they did in the 1870s, when they were invented in San Francisco. It was a genius solution back then to getting around the city’s steep hills and they still work amazingly well today. Plus they’re just fun to ride.
And as a bonus, don’t just go for a ride but go see how they work. B and I thought it was pretty fascinating to see the giant wheels turning, pulling the cars up the hills (think of a huge ski lift but underground and that’s how kind of how cable cars work). The San Francisco Cable Car Museum is free and definitely worth a visit. We hopped on at the bottom of California Street, rode to the top of the hill, then walked over to the museum. And according to B, it’s the #2 things to do in San Francisco with kids, second only to…
1. Take a cruise around the Bay
Cost: $37/person with Groupon deal for a 1-hour cruise with the Blue & Gold Fleet.
At the top of B’s list when we were planning the trip was taking a cruise under the Golden Gate Bridge and it lived up to the hype – it ended up being her #1 favorite thing we did. The boat left from Pier 39 and took us to the other side of the bridge then back around Alcatraz Island and back to the pier. We didn’t step foot on Alcatraz but it was still cool to see the old prison from somewhat up close.
The day we sailed was a little overcast and foggy, so we couldn’t see the bridge from far away but when we got up close it was cool to see it up close with the towers disappearing into the fog!
Thanks for reading! We hope this gave you some good ideas for things to do in San Francisco with kids.
For more ideas for kid-friendly adventures around California, make sure to check out our California Bucket List post with 100+ ideas of activities around the Golden State.
