What to do with kids of widespread ages in the SF Bay Area?
We're having guests for 1-2 days in early April. A family with a 9 1/2 year old girl and twin 6 year old boys from the midwest / east coast, the kids have never been out here. Our kids are much younger, 2 1/2 and 1.
What one or two things would you suggest we absolutely do in San Francisco or the peninsula? Any suggestions on places to eat nearby those things?
Thanks for any & all suggestions!
3 Answers
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I think the California Academy of Sciences may be too old for your kids. Our 5 year old loves it, our 3 year old likes it, and our 1 year old is happy for about 30 minutes. There aren't many places for the 1 year old to hang out and do his own thing.
Go kayaking in Moss Landing! It is easy, you see lots of otters and other cool animals. You can rent double-kayaks, so one adult per kid and then one of you can take your two younger ones to a nearby beach. Note: I'm not sure how old kids have to be to go so you might want to call.
San Jose Tech Museum.
Renting pedal boats in the Shoreline Nature Preserve (though your little ones probably couldn't go but there is nice walking around there and they could feed ducks).
Go to Half Moon Bay to play on the beach. There are also some nice places to camp there right near the beach. It might even be a little late for the Monarch butterfly migration but *that* is cool to see.
The Dish Walk near Stanford is nice. Too far for the little ones, but they can just do the beginning or you can take at least the 1-year old in a backpack.
There's the outdoor sculpture garden at Stanford which is good for all ages.
There's a hotel near the Embarcadaro BART station with a glass elevator that's really fun to ride. You could combine that with walking along the water or a SF restaurant or a picnic in Golden Gate park or a cable car ride or....
Bay Area Discovery Museum!
The Marin Headlands are nice.
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A bike ride, where the older kids ride their own bikes and the younger ones are tagged along
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Any large playground or park with sand and areas for toddlers and bigger kids... like Cuesta Park in Mountain View
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Wow, that's a very short trip. Some random ideas which I think can be enjoyed by all ages: Pier 39 in SF, walk the Golden Gate bridge, ferry to Angel Island, California Academy of Sciences, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.
Nice, thanks! Yes, it is a short trip, they're just passing through.
- andrea, Feb 20, 2010