Summer Spots for Kids: SF Bay Area

The following is a list about indoor, outdoor, trails, and kid-friendly restaurants in the Bay Area. It is not exhaustive, so feel welcome to add comments about places you recommend.  

Written in collaboration with:

Rachel Teichman ~ Tots and Plans & OOGIAH, www.totsandplans.com & www.oogiah.com

Lillian Berman ~ Kid Friendly SF, www.kidfriendlysf.com

Jessica Hahn-Taylor ~ Hill Babies SF, www.hillbabiessf.blogspot.com

Photo Credit: Conservatory of Flowers

SAN FRANCISCO

San Francisco Indoors

Aquarium of the Bay: Kids can see underwater & visit the new otter exhibit.

Conservatory of Flowers, GGP: Wonderful permanent & temporary themed flower displays.

Contemporary Jewish Museum: Children’s author exhibits and crafts projects some days.

The Creativity Museum: Technical arts experiences from music to animation. Carousel too.

Exploratorium: A hands-on way to learn about all things science in a great new location.

House of Air: Kids can jump and bounce indoors!

The Randall Museum: Animals to see and a little treehouse structure to climb. Classes too.

Recess Urban Recreation: Lots of space for free play, & classes including art & languages.

Japan Center: It’s great to visit to Japantown in any weather, but on foggy and rainy days, a visit to Japan Center is a splendid cultural experience!

San Francisco Outdoors

Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum, GGP. Discover your & your child’s inner botanist.

Crissy Field: Converted from military use to a waterfront park with a marsh, meadow & promenade. Kids can run & fly kites on the beach. Crissy Field Center has programs for kids.

Japanese Tea Garden, GGP: Authentic Japanese garden with bridges to climb and tea to try.

Park Chalet, GGP: This eatery & brewery has an outdoor space for their food and/or your own. Outdoor music & events. Make sure to visit the Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden too.

China Beach: This private feeling beach, tucked away in the Sea Cliff neighborhood is perfect for kids. Pack lightly though, you’ll need to walk down a long staircase.

South Beach Harbor: Nice toddler playground along the Embarcadero, grassy area great for dogs, marina view, new building open to public for party rentals and Java House Restaurant.

San Francisco Trails

Bayview Hill: 360-degree views; rare native plants; historic WPA staircases; stroller friendly

Fort Funston: Sunset Trail (0.75 mile; stroller friendly) & Low Tide Loop Trail ( 2+ mile, beach access). A favorite of dog owners. 200 foot high sandy bluffs, view hang-gliders.

Lands End: Impressive views of the Bay and shipwrecks, cypress trees & wildflowers.

McLaren Park: 2nd largest park in SF; dog friendly; 2.7 mile Philosopher’s Way; Louis Sutter Playground and duck pond; stone spiral at the summit of a hill; rope swing

Mt. Davidson: A short hike to the top of this mountain will give you an impressive view of the whole city. Highest point in SF.

Corona Heights: Hike up this mini mountain near Randall Museum & see a panoramic view of the city.

San Francisco Kid Friendly Restaurants:

Shulzies Bread Pudding in Hayes Valley: http://www.schulziesbreadpudding.com/

Green Chile Kitchen in NOPA

Delancey’s on the Embarcadero near South Beach

Noodle places in Japantown and Japan Center: Some favorites are Suzu, Mifune, and Benihana

Park Chalet at Ocean Beach & GGP

Boogaloo’s in the Mission

Emmy’s Spaghetti Shack in the Mission/Bernal

Pacific Catch in Inner Sunset, Marina and Marin

Dragon Well in the Marina

Super Duper in the Castro, Marina, Downtown, Mill Valley

La Paz Restaurant Pupuseria in the Mission

El Toreador in West Portal

Photo credit: Children's Fairyland

THE EAST BAY

East Bay Indoors

Bay Area Children’s Theatre, Fairyland and Freight & Salvage, Berkeley: Children’s theatre based on favorite books. The Cat in the Hat will be playing live at Fairyland this summer.

The Bladium, Alameda: Soccer, baseball and basketball classes, camps & nights out.

Chabot Space & Science Center, Oakland: Real rockets ships and educational playroom, along with a planetarium/movie theatre.

Habitot, Berkeley: Kids can take part in all kinds of make believe, educational play and art.

Junior Center of Art & Science, Oakland: Exhibits and events teach about science, art & history.

Lindsay Wildlife Museum, Walnut Creek: Kids can see animals & learn about rehabilitation.

MoCHA, Oakland: Themed art projects for kids to try out and get creative and messy.

Oakland Libraries: Summer evening events with performances & projects.

OMCA, Oakland: Exhibits, family Friday nights out & Gallery of California Natural Sciences.

Play Cafe, Oakland: Ball pit, dress-up, kitchen & baby play areas. Lots of food & seating.

Sticky Art Lab, Berkeley: Wall full of discarded household items waiting to be transformed.

Studio Grow, Berkeley & Danville: Crafting, playing, climbing, story, song & parachute time.

East Bay Outdoors

Adventure Playground, Berkeley: Kids can explore and build with discarded building supplies.

Alameda Beaches: Alameda feels like a vacation spot with its beaches & shops.

Children’s Fairyland, Oakland: Charming pre-Disneyland theme park with rides, holiday events, the longest running puppet show in the U.S. & summer overnights.

Cull Canyon, Castro Valley: Clean man-made swimming hole with lifeguards & picnic area.

The Oakland Zoo: Perfect zoo for young kids. A variety of animal exhibits and carnival rides.

Pixieland Amusement Park, Concord: Vintage style amusement park with lots of rides.

Roberts Regional Recreation Area, Oakland: Redwoods, all-access play area, grass & pool.

East Bay Trails

Berkeley Marina: Paved path for biking, running and walking.

Joaquin Miller Park, Oakland: Lots of trails, along with a playground and amphitheatre.

Lafayette Reservoir: Fishing, boating, biking, skating and walking. Check daily schedule.

Lake Merritt, Oakland: Great paved path for biking, running and walking. Waterbirds.

Lake Temescal Recreation Area, Oakland: Lake, picnic areas & playgrounds.

Tilden Park, Berkeley: 2,079 acre park, 39 miles of trails, merry-go-round, Lake Anza, train ride & feeding farm animals.

Photo credit: Marin County Parks

THE NORTH BAY

North Bay Indoors

Bay Area Discovery Museum, Sausalito: Hands-on art, science & environmental education museum. Classes, events, outdoor play spaces & performances.

The Marine Mammal Center, Sausalito: Visit the center that rescues and humanely treats ill, injured, or orphaned marine mammals, and returns healthy ones to the wild. Free admission.

Playland Sausalito: Jumpy houses, indoor play area for ages 6 & under.

Play-Well Marin Activity Center, San Anselmo: Engineering & physics education through building with LEGO blocks.

North Bay Outdoors

Blackie’s Pasture, Tiburon: Sports fields, walking & biking path. Picnic areas & playground.

Brentwood Fruit Picking: A variety of farms to pick and buy fruit from seasonally.

McNears Beach, San Rafael: Fishing, swimming pool, picnic area & snack bar.

Old Downtown Windsor: Kid friendly, charming old-style downtown in the wine country. Home of the World Famous Sonoma County Hot Air Balloon Classic that takes place one weekend each June. A must see at least once in your life!

Terra Linda Pool, San Rafael: Pool day getaway. Playground & shallow kiddie pool.

Train Town, Sonoma: Quarter scale railroad on four mile track, miniature town & petting zoo.

Safari West, Santa Rosa: Take a ride through animals living in the wild, and even camp out too. Book reservations online for visits or lodging.

Schoolhouse Canyon Park-Camping at Russian River, Guerneville: Perfect car camping under redwoods, across the street from the Russian River.

North Bay Trails

Angel Island: Island mountain in the bay, historic Immigration Station and Nike missile site; 5 mile perimeter trail; switchback trail to top of Mount Livermore

Bolinas Beach Loop: 1-mile loop through quaint downtown to beach and back; accessible during low tide

Muir Woods: Redwood forest (some trees over 600 years old); Redwood Creek watershed; 6 miles of trails, some stroller friendly

Mt. Tamalpais: 2,571’ peak, great views, 50 miles of trails, Bootjack Picnic Area, East Peak Visitor Center, Mountain Theater

Photo Credit: San Mateo County Parks

THE SOUTH BAY

South Bay Indoors

C is for Craft, Palo Alto: Drop-in time and classes for old fashioned crafting & LEGO playing.

CuriOdyssey Museum, San Mateo: Experimental wildlife center for children & families at Coyote Point.

Didalidoo, San Bruno: Indoor playspace for ages 0-4. Lots of space to climb, roll & slide.

Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo: Hands-on science exhibits & outdoor zoo with tortoises, raccoons & bobcats. A climbing area too.

Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose: Kids will learn about jobs, cultures and books while pretending.

U-Me: Open play areas for climbing, and classes all day including story time, dance and art.

South Bay Outdoors

Coyote Point Park, San Mateo: Picnics, playgrounds, bay swimming, CuriOdyssey Museum, windsurfing and boating.

Burgess Pool, Menlo Park: Sunny swimming, playground, grassy areas.

Gamble Garden, Palo Alto: Community horticulture foundation. Free entry to gardens.

Parkside Aquatic Park, San Mateo: Bay beach, boating, playground, picnic tables.

City of Pacifica: Beaches, surfing, parks, Coastside Farmer’s Market, play at Frontierland Park and other playgrounds, bowling at Sea Bowl & horseback riding at Sun Valley Equestrian.

Costanoa, Pescadero: Picnicking, spa, lodge, camping, cabins & restaurant.

Gilroy Gardens: Horticulture based, beautiful family theme park, great for young children.

South Bay Trails

Crystal Springs Regional Trail, San Mateo: 15 miles of trails, Sawyer Trail is flat and paved, reservoir views, sunny, 600 yr. old Jepson Laurel tree, Pulgas Water Temple

Mori Point, Pacifica: 32-acre wetland and coastal scrub, ocean views, beach, marsh with red-legged frogs

Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve, off Hwy 35: 3,000+ acres, 10.4 miles trails, excellent wildflowers, ridge location, oak trees, rolling hills, long views, headwaters for two creeks

San Bruno Mountain, Daly City: 2,378 acre park, 360-degree views, bogs, ravines, long views, unique fauna

Kid Friendly South Bay Restaurants:

Buck’s in Woodside

Falafel’s Drive-In, San Jose

Fish Market, San Mateo

Jeffery’s Hamburgers, Menlo Park

Benihana’s Burlingame

Word from the Lepidopterist

I published a short piece on the Starr King Open Space in Bay Nature magazine's most recent issue: http://baynature.org/issue/apr-jun-2013/

Starr King Open Space on Potrero Hill in San Francisco was known as "the field" when I was little girl, growing up a block away. I used to walk my dog, Poi Boy, here, and play here after school, sliding down the hills with cardboard under my butt. Many years later I learned Starr King is a great example of San Francisco's serpentine grassland habitat, which fosters rare native plants, many in bloom right about now. (I'm also leading a hike/picnic here on Sunday April 7th, click here).

Shortly after the issue of Bay Nature came out with my little article, editor Dan Rademacher forwarded me an email from Liam O'Brien, a famous lepidopterist (famous to me as I've laminated his lavishly detailed brochure on San Francisco's butterflies and hung it on my wall over a year ago). I was thrilled! Wow, the Butterfly Man?! For a burgeoning amateur naturalist (me), I think Liam is tops. 

Liam O'Brien, SFbutterfly.com

Liam said I could share his original email about my piece on Starr King, so here it is! 

Hey Guys -
Thought you should know because of my current issue of Bay Nature I set out for a piece of the city I'd never been too. Hard to imagine, but the fantastic Starr King Open Space had missed my radar. Margo Bors gloriously photography that accompanied the write-up made me jump on the 48 Quintara bus line ( how cool you guys even give directions...) Anyway, I got a little lost and had an amazingly encounter with a mammal for the first time in the city - a Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis) was behind a fence. I know that's not a good sign of health ( nocturnal creature in daylight = rabies? Myth?) Anyway, positioned my iPhone 5 between the mesh and was rewarded. What a beautiful pied creature! I Prayed not to be Sprayed. Down the street at Starr King, saw my only second population of Goldfields ( Lasthenia californica ) in the city. I believe the only other place in San Francisco for this Serpentine obligate is Inspiration Point in the Presidio. Thank you, Bay Nature! Liam O'Brien
San Francisco, CA
http://www.sfbutterfly.com

The Semi-Hidden Frog Habitat of Brisbane

We got an invitation to visit a place I'd never heard about--a restored frog habitat in Brisbane, that sweet town just south of San Francisco, nestled in a bayside cleft of San Bruno Mountain. 

Our new friend and naturalist extraordinaire, Paul Bouscal from San Bruno Mountain Watch, who has accompanied us on a group hike on the mountain, was rip-roaring eager to show us this "frog habitat." 

So on a blue Sunday afternoon in March, we went to see what all the hullabaloo was about, and boy were we happy we did. 

The Rendezvous Point
Paul told us to meet him at a parking lot in a suspiciously industrial part of Brisbane. As we cruised into the parking lot at 100 Cypress Lane, our car windows rolled down, we heard an intense amphibious bellowing. Somewhere amongst the enormous warehouses and tell-tale arroyo willows there were hundreds of frogs. The kids were thrilled! We were thrilled! This certainly was something to get excited about. We parked and saw that a creek that is the remnant of a freshwater marsh fed by seeps ran alongside the parking lot. And it was full of frogs!

The Frogs 
Pacific Chorus Frogs, also known as Pacific Tree Frogs (Pseudacris regilla) can be found from Canada to Mexico along the West Coast, and if you live in San Francisco or nearby, you can find a whole bunch of them in Brisbane. They range from brown to green, and the size we most commonly saw was equivalent to a phalange of my finger.  

What Was and Is--Flora and Fauna


This riparian habitat is part of restoration project spearheaded four years ago by a fellow named Jim McKissock, his volunteer group, EarthCare, and assistance from San Bruno Mountain Watch. Just a year ago the water in some areas was anaerobic and full of mosquitos, but now the critters include frogs, tadpoles, and water striders galore. 

Volunteers have removed Pampas grass, ivy, acacia, fennel, privets, and pines in order to bring back rushes, cat tails, tule, water ferns, and more. Anise swallowtail butterflies showed up on the water parsley, and other blooming plants include clarkia, ceanothus, lupine, sticky monkey flower, yarrow, evening primrose, yampa, wax myrtle, checkerbloom, and more.   


Rails to Trails
A railroad ran through here over a century ago, built in 1905. The frog habitat is located along part of Crocker Park Rails to Trails, where in the old-time days the train ran inland to fetch the quarried greywacke from out of San Bruno Mountain. 

Heading East to the Ice House
We meandered along the trail, the old rail line, heading towards the bay. 

We went through an old rail tunnel that ran beneath Bayshore Boulevard (though I've driven that road many times, I had no idea there was a tunnel below). I love tunnels, and this one was particularly cool--short in length, high ceilinged, and full of sunshine on either end.  

Back outside we came to huge puddles filled with thousands of squirming tadpoles, which was a delight for the children. 

We continued on our eastward path, passing an old brick building which Paul said was once an ice house. Back in the day, some rail cars would pick up blocks of glacial ice, originally from Tuolumne, to chill perishable goods moving up and down the rail lines. 

The big hill to our immediate north is Ice House Hill, but I never knew it until walking with Paul, who talked all about the history, plants, and animals of the area. I silently mused about how I'd like to explore there, some day. I've cruised up and down Bayshore Boulevard many times, often wondering about that hill, intensely curious about the horses I've seen grazing there. 

Mission Blue Nursery

We walked south alongside the active commuter rail line, the
kids thrilling at every passing train (and there was plenty of room between us and the Cal Train), the engineers pulling their whistles when we made the universal gesture of honking a horn as they passed. 


Not more than three minutes walk south from the old ice house was the Mission Blue Nursery. There's a road that also leads there, of course, coming from the south end. The nursery was amazing, filled with hundreds of native plants that will go towards restoration projects and be sold to you and me for our gardens and yards. We hung out for a little while, letting the kids poke around, and then returned to the frogs. 

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PHOTO ALBUM

Map to the Starting Point of this Hike

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