Are you looking for fun, educational, affordable and overall best day trips from San Francisco with kids? Then look no further. As San Francisco Bay Area locals we have explored every corner of the Bay Area and nearby counties to bring you detailed information about the best day trips from San Francisco with kids that the whole family will enjoy.
Alameda
Alameda Island is located just across the Bay from San Francisco. You can get there either by car or by ferry. We usually go there by car so that we have more flexibility. Our most favorite attraction on Alameda that would take you at least a couple of hours of exploring is USS Hornet battle ship. Vitisting the Sea, Air and Space museum located on board the ship is one of our most favorite educational day trips from San Francisco with kids. I have a detailed review of things to do on board USS Hornet in my article USS Hornet Tour: History, Space Exploration and a Bit of Hollywood.
Angel Island
A trip to Angel Island in San Francisco Bay is one of the most unique day trips from San Francisco with kids. Take a ferry to an island with excellent hiking trails and phenomenal views of San Francisco and the Bay. More information is available in this detailed review of our trip Mediterranean Adventure in San Francisco Bay.
Apple Hill
I call Apple Hill the Yummiest Place on Earth. And this is exactly why I put it on this list of the best day trips from San Francisco. Apple Hill is famous for its apple orchards, bakeries, where you can get any apple based dessert imaginable, great wineries, brewery, fun kids activities and lots and lots of charm. The best time to visit Apple Hill is from September through November when apples are in season. Apple Hill is located 2,5 hours drive from Bay Area in the foothills of the Sierras. I put together a detailed information of best things to do in Apple Hill and this short but fun introductory video:
Big Sur
Generally I do not recommend Big Sur for a day trip from San Francisco with kids because of the distance to it from Bay Area and serious traffic jams on Highway 1 in warmer months. But in winter when there are much less tourists visiting scenic Central Coast of California it is possible to take a quick day trip to see the Northern part of Big Sur including Andrew Molera State Park and Calla Lily Valley. Specific details on this itinerary will be published next week and I will link to them here.
Botanical Gardens of Bay Area
Did you know there are more than 20 botanical gardens all over San Francisco Bay Area? 17 of these botanical gardens are absolutely FREE! These are enough for more than one day trip from San Francisco with kids. You can combine some of them together since they are located close to each other. I have but together a detailed guide to free botanical gardens in Bay Area on my blog that I am happy to share with you.
Carmel-by-the-Sea
Carmel-by-the-Sea is famous for its scenic 17 Miles Drive, beautiful beaches and of course by its whimsical fairy tale architecture. I have created a detailed map of walking tour of Carmel-by-the-Sea with its most famous story book cottages and secret alleys. I would say this is one of the most magical day trips from San Francisco with kids.
Carmel Valley
Carmel Valley is famous for hiking and family friendly wineries. Garland Ranch Regional Park is one of our most favorite parks for hiking with beautiful scenery and lots of easy trails for kids. For more details about Carmel Valley check out my article The Tale of Two Towns: Things to do in Carmel Valley.
Castle Rock State Park
Castle Rock State Park in Santa Cruz Mountains offers hikers a unique experience. As the name suggests, the park is full of unique rock formations and whimsical boulders. It has a big parking lot but it gets full very fats because it is a very popular park so the best time to visit Castle Rock State Park is earlier in the morning. I created a fun video about Castle Rock trail which you can watch here:
Edgewood Park and Nature Reserve
Edgewood Park is located in Redwood City and makes for a quick and easy day trip from San Francisco with kids. It has a lot of trails and it is especially great to visit in March-April to see spring wildflowers in bloom. For more information, please, read my earlier blog post Nature Scavenger Hunt.
Elkhorn Slough
Kayaking in Elkhorn Slough is an amazing experience and a perfect day trip from San Francisco with kids. Here you can kayak with sea otters and seals and observe hundreds of sea birds all year round. Check out my guide to Kayaking Elkhorn Slough before you go.
Filoli Historic House and Garden
Filoli estate is located in Woodside just off Highway 280. It has one of the most beautiful botanical gardens in San Francisco Bay Area. Filoli is worth a day trip from San Francisco at least once a month to see different flowers, trees and shrubs in bloom. For specific information on what to see at Filoi and what special events take place at the estate each month check out my article Best Time to Visit Filoli Gardens.
Fremont
The town of Fremont in East Bay does not come to mind right off the bat as a tourist destination but in fact it can make for a great day trip from San Francisco with kids. Our two most favorite destinations in Freemont are Ardenwood Farm and Coyote Hills Regional Park. For detailed reviews of both, please, check out Fremont CA Family Road Trip Itinerary.
Gilroy
Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park is a perfect destination for a family day trip. It has 15 amusement rides, mostly geared to younger kids, 6 different gardens, 2 water play areas, 1 huge playground and several educational exhibits (my favorite ones are about butterflies and California redwoods). It has lots of shade and areas to sit and relax. I like their food court options but you are aloud to bring your own food and drinks within the Park too. We especially enjoy Gilroy Gardens special events, such as Halloween and Christmas celebrations.
Half Moon Bay
Half Moon Bay is mostly famous for its crescent shaped 4 miles beach. But there are many other things to do in this coastal town. You can hike or bike the Coastal Trail. You can visit various farms famous for pumpkin patches in the Fall and flowers throughout the year. Or you can do some cool nature crafts at Oddyssea which is very popular with kids:
Monterey
Monterey is mostly famous for its aquarium but there are so many more things to see and do in this beautiful coastal town. It would be impossible to fit everything Moneterey has to offer in one day trip from San Francisco with kids. Therefore I can suggest a couple of itineraries for you that include hiking, wildlife watching, history exploration and one of the best and biggest playgrounds within two hours drive from Bay Area:
Napa Valley
Many people think that Napa Valley wine country is for adults only. I believe you can have a great family day trip from San Francisco to Napa Valley. There are several family friendly wineries in the area with fun activities for kids as well as some other interesting educational experiences. I put together an itinerary for you that is called Family Road Trip in the Footsteps of the Movie “Bottle Shock”. I sincerely hope you will enjoy it to the fullest.
North Marin County
Marin County is located a short and convenient drive away from Bay Area. It is home to some of the best natural wonders of Northern California Coast – Point Reyes and Tomales Bay. This makes Northern part of Marin County a perfect destination for a day trip from San Francisco with kids. When we visit Marin county we usually stay for the weekend in Petaluma, just off HW 101. So my article, Exploring Petaluma and Tomales Bay, gives you a ton of information enough for several day trips.
Pacifica
I call Pacifica the Jewel of San Francisco Bay Area coast. It offers so many hiking opportunities with different terrain from coastal walks to mountain climbs. But all these hikes have one thing in common: fantastic scenic views of the Pacific Ocean coastline. In addition to that, the coastal hikes in Pacifica are great for whale watching. In December – March you can follow grey whales migration and in summer the area is frequented by killer whales that come here for the rich feeding grounds. Information on specific kids friendly hikes can be found in my post Things to do in Pacifica
Russian River
Russian River valley is one of the most scenic parts of Sonoma County and is great for hiking and kayaking. To enjoy everything this area offers to the fullest, visit Sonoma Coast State Park. Best hiking trails are to the West of HW 1 (we especially love Kortum Trail with kids) and Goat Rock State Park (video review is below). Here you will observe both fabulous views of the river and the ocean and lots of wildlife. Adults will enjoy some great wine tasting (see my Sonoma wine country section below)
Sacramento
Visiting Sacramento is the best history lesson that you can give to your children. That’s why I consider a tour of Old Sacramento the finest educational day trip from San Francisco with kids. Visiting local museums, taking a ride on a historic train and just strolling around the Old Town make up for a fun day for the whole family. For detailed information, please, read my article Time Travel in Old Sacramento.
Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz is a cool beach town. It is swarmed with people in summer so we prefer visiting it off-season. We are not big fans of crowded tourist attractions like Santa Cruz Boardwalk but if you are into carnival style entertainment you can spend the whole day just at the Boardwalk. As you may have already deduced, I am a big proponent of educational day trips from San Francisco with kids so with that in mind I recommend following our Santa Cruz itinerary that focuses on nature exploration (marine life, tide pools and butterflies). For more information on Santa Cruz, please, also check out “Scenic Highway 1” section below.
Santa Cruz Mountains
My suggested day trip from San Francisco to Santa Cruz Mountains focuses on hiking, wine tasting at family friendly wineries and art. There are, of course, many more things to do in the beautiful Santa Cruz Mountains but they will be covered in other 1 day itineraries as I go through them one by one. All details of the current itinerary are here: Santa Cruz Mountains Wine Region.
Scenic Highway 1
Scenic Pacific Coast Highway (or CA-1) is 656 miles long in total. For the purpose of day trips from San Francisco with kids we will focus on a small portion of it between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz. But even along this relatively small stretch of the road (48 miles) there are so many cool attractions that I am actually suggesting 2 different itineraries to check out on 2 different days so that you have enough time to enjoy every point of interest.
One itinerary focuses on natural wonders – Scenic CA-1 Itinerary. The other itinerary was created for the fans of surfing and the movie “Chasing Mavericks” that was filmed in the area – Road Trip Itinerary in the Footsteps of “Chasing Mavericks”. I am hoping that you will enjoy both itineraries!
Silicon Valley
When I suggest visiting Silicon Valley I don’t mean hopping between headquarters of one famous company to the other, though I would say that Google campus is pretty interesting for kids with its funny sculptures. What will be a really great educational experience for kids is visiting Computer History Museum and NASA Ames Research Center located in the Valley. A detailed kid friendly Silicon Valley 1 day itinerary can be found here: Silicon Valley Tour.
Sonoma wine country
There are lots of truly family friendly wineries in Sonoma with fun tours and activities for kids. We go to Sonoma wine country at least once a year and everybody in our family enjoys these trips. Each winery on our list has something special for kids: a pool, bocce ball courts, a playground, puzzles, etc. I have 2 articles on my blog that you will find helpful for planning your one day trip from San Francisco to Sonoma with kids:
Top Kid Friendly Wineries in Sonoma
Unique Wineries in Sonoma – Francis Ford Coppola
Stanford University
Stanford University Campus has lots of cool things to do from strolling through unusual gardens to visiting top notch museums and everything in between. And the best thing? Most of the attractions at Stanford are free of charge for general public, not just for University students and employees. I created a list of a dozen best attractions at Stanford which you can use as a guide to the University campus: Stanford University Tour.
Uvas Canyon
Uvas Canyon in South Bay offers one of the best hiking trails in San Francisco Bay Area, especially in spring, when, after a long period of rains, the canyon has several beautiful waterfalls flowing. The main trail that is about a mile long one way goes along most of the Canyon’s waterfalls. To learn more about the canyon, please, check out my detailed review: Uvas Canoyon Hiking.
This is not by any means an exhaustive list of all great day trips from San Francisco with kids. I will be adding ideas here as soon as we have a chance to explore other great destinations.
Where to stay in San Francisco:
Booking.comIf you found this information about best day trips from San Francisco with kids helpful, please do me a little favor and share this information with others, for there’s a good chance that it will help them with their travel plans. 🙂 Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram where I post many more cool photos and videos about our trips than I could include in a blog post and organize some nice giveaways!
Pin me!
