Exploring San Francisco with Kids

“I left my heart in San Francisco.”

I grew up in Northern California, so San Francisco isn’t a foreign city to me, but doing it with my own kids was a brand new experience. There is actually so much to do with kids that we weren’t able to get it all done in one visit, which just means we will have to go back soon!;)

The things we did accomplish were super fun and I wanted to share them with all of you.

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1) Our first stop was the Walt Disney Family Museum, of course!;) LOL! I mean, how could we not take a pit stop and pay homage to our favorite man who started it all?!? I had heard mixed reviews about taking young kids to the museum because well, it is a museum. But that didn’t stop us and I’m so glad we decided to go. I will say, our kiddos are almost 4 and almost 6 and still did not quite comprehend everything, but still had a good time. It may not be best for the runaway toddler. You start at the beginning of Walt’s life and each room has a different phase of his journey.

There were a few interactive things the kids could do, tons of photos, short videos, even a giant model of what Disneyland looked like when it first opened. The last room there were quotes from famous people all over the world reacting to Walt’s death and I definitely got teary. What an absolute amazing legacy Walt left behind for all of us, I could only hope to leave such an impact on the world like he did.

2) The Bay Area Discovery Museum was a HUGE HIT with our kids! We were hosted by them to come and enjoy all of their facilites. I think we could have spent the entire day, but we ended up doing the majority of the exhibits (minus the mud kitchen) in about 4 hours.

Some exhibits are temporary, like the Harley Davidson one above, so if you live close you could get a pass and enjoy different activities every few months.

Our kids loved all of the art rooms that had painting, kinetic sand, clay, the list goes on. So much to do indoors on a chilly day and a playground to enjoy on a sunny day too.

And if you climb up the hill right by the playground there are some pretty amazing views of the Golden Gate Bridge!!

3) The Golden Gate Bridge & Golden Gate Park are both a must do in the city. These are such iconic spots of San Francisco and are really breathtaking. My husband and I have walked the bridge before and it is super fun too, if you have time I highly suggest doing that.

You need a couple hours to go to the Golden Gate Park to enjoy all of the gardens, trails and even the super fun playground. We did the Japanese Gardens as well, which does charge an entrance fee, but for a few dollars it is definitely worth the extra cost.

4) One of the days we decided we wanted to actually spend some time in nature so we went to the famous Muir Woods. You need to get a parking pass before you go because they only allow a certain number of cars per day. This was so beautiful and well worth spending the day there. Most of the paths were paved so you can bring a stroller, even my grandmother was able to walk the trails for a bit. There are different hikes you can do, we opted for a medium length one, which the kids did totally fine. I highly suggest going out and seeing these beautiful trees and enjoying the fresh air!

5) We took the kids to Lombard Street, the most curvy street in the world. First we drove down it then we parked on a side street and walked up one side and down the other. There are actually houses on the street and it amazed us that people could live there!

6) From Lombard Street we actually just walked down a few blocks to Ghiradelli Square. We went inside the famous chocolate shop and got a few free samples and some treats to take home.

7) We jumped across the street and saw where you can catch one of the famous trollies. The line was pretty long and again, we were limited on time, so we didn’t go for a ride this time, but we did jump on one before it took off and it made for a pretty cute photo op. I think going for an actual trolley ride would be super fun to do next time.

8) We kept walking down the street and ended up near the wharf and Hyde St. Pier where there were military ships and old maritime memorabilia. We walked onto one of the ships and saw vintage cars on board, which the kids thought was pretty cool.

9) If you are up for a bit more walking then keep going and you can end up right at Fisherman’s Wharf/Pier 39. A great place to grab a bowl of the best clam chowder and watch some seals in the water.

10) If you don’t mind a quick 45 minute drive outside the city, then you will want to head to The Jelly Belly Factory! It’s completely free to the public and tours start every few minutes. They have a cafe for food and of course a gift shop to try out all your favorite Jelly Belly flavors. We had a blast!

Bonus: And of course one of my favorite things about the city is just all the golden gems you can find for taking fun pictures! There were tons of great backdrops (like garage doors) and props (like old fire trucks) for the blogger in all of us!;)

The next time we go I would love to take the kids to the California Academy of Sciences. And once the kiddos get a little older I would love to take them to the Exploratorium as well.

I am also linking to another article written by my friend Justine, who has different spots to explore with your kids in the city.

Have you ever taken your kids to S.F.? If so, what are your favorite spots?