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Family outings

Family outings in San Francisco

San Francisco is lived outdoors, fog included: Golden Gate Park, the Presidio beaches, some of the country's best science museums and, an hour's drive away, giant redwoods and the ocean. The French-speaking community adds camps, scouts and a French library. Here are our addresses, checked on official websites.

Verified on 30 October 2026

Parks, beaches and playgrounds

Between Golden Gate Park, the Presidio and the protected shoreline of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, there is always a big green space a few minutes away. Always bring an extra layer: wind and fog cool things down fast.

Good to know

  • Golden Gate Park is home to Koret Playground, presented by the city as the nation's first public playground, with its vintage carousel. Source
  • Presidio Tunnel Tops is free and open every day: the Outpost playground, picnic lawns and food vendors facing the Golden Gate. Source
  • The Golden Gate National Recreation Area protects over 84,000 acres of parkland around the bay, including Crissy Field and Lands End, with free access. Source

Addresses

  • Golden Gate Park et Koret Children's Quarter

    Park

    Golden Gate Park, entre le Haight et Ocean Beach

    The city's great green lung: Koret playground and carousel, lakes, gardens, museums. Some of the roads, including JFK Drive, are reserved for walkers and cyclists.

    Source

  • Presidio Tunnel Tops

    Park

    Presidio, au-dessus de la Presidio Parkway

    The nature-inspired Outpost playground, picnics and bridge views: families' favourite weekend outing.

    Website Source

  • Crissy Field

    Park

    Presidio, le long de la baie

    Beach, marsh, cycle paths and picnics facing the Golden Gate; perfect for scooters and bikes.

    Website Source

  • Lands End

    Park

    Outer Richmond, au bout de Point Lobos Avenue

    Coastal trail with views of the Golden Gate and the Sutro Baths ruins, doable with children who like to walk.

    Website Source

  • Yerba Buena Gardens

    Park

    Entre Third Street, Fourth Street, Market Street et Folsom Street

    Gardens right downtown with a playground, carousel, ice rink and children's museum: perfect between two appointments in town.

    Website Source

  • San Francisco Zoo

    Park

    Sloat Boulevard at the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA 94132

    The city zoo, by the ocean, with a children's farm; it also runs summer camps.

    Website Source

Go further

Children's museums and science museums

The Bay is a paradise for young scientists: a hands-on science museum on the waterfront, an aquarium-planetarium in Golden Gate Park and several museums designed for little ones.

Good to know

  • SFMOMA is free for visitors aged 18 and under, all year round. Source
  • With your library card, the Discover & Go programme gives free entry to the Exploratorium and more than 35 Bay Area cultural venues, subject to availability. Source
  • The Randall Museum, the city's science and nature museum, is free, with animals, workshops and clubs for children. Source

Addresses

  • California Academy of Sciences

    Museum

    55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park

    Aquarium, planetarium, rainforest and natural history museum under one living roof; the African penguins win everyone over.

    Website Source

  • Exploratorium

    Museum

    Pier 15, Embarcadero

    More than 650 hands-on exhibits for all ages, on the bay.

    Website Source

  • Bay Area Discovery Museum

    Museum

    557 McReynolds Road, Sausalito

    The museum for little ones, at the foot of the Golden Gate on the Marin side: water play, building, nature.

    Website Source

  • Children's Creativity Museum

    Museum

    221 Fourth Street, Yerba Buena Gardens

    Art, animation and technology workshops for children, next to the Yerba Buena carousel.

    Website Source

  • Randall Museum

    Museum

    199 Museum Way, Corona Heights

    Small free science and nature museum, with animals and city views.

    Website Source

  • SFMOMA

    Museum

    151 Third Street, SoMa

    The modern art museum, free for children, with family-friendly routes.

    Website Source

  • The Walt Disney Family Museum

    Museum

    104 Montgomery Street, Presidio

    The story of Walt Disney and animation, in the Presidio, for children who already love cartoons.

    Website Source

Libraries and French books

The public library is a real family service: storytimes, free books for babies, museum passes. For French books, the Alliance Française has its own library with a children's area.

Good to know

  • The San Francisco Public Library card is free and can be requested online; it gives access to books, film streaming and classes. Source
  • Children aged 0 to 5 receive a free book every month, and the library runs free storytimes in neighbourhood branches and even in parks. Source
  • At the Alliance Française library, members borrow up to 3 books, 3 CDs and 3 DVDs for 3 weeks; two areas are set aside for children, the Salle des enfants and the young readers' corner. Source

Addresses

  • San Francisco Public Library, Main Library

    Library

    100 Larkin Street, Civic Center

    The big central library, with its children's floor; neighbourhood branches also run storytimes.

    Website Source

  • Bibliothèque de l'Alliance Française de San Francisco

    Library

    1345 Bush Street, Lower Nob Hill

    Picture books, children's novels, comics and films in French, with a children's room; borrowing for members only.

    Website Source

  • Musée francophone de San Francisco (Alliance Française)

    Museum

    1345 Bush Street, Lower Nob Hill

    Presented as the first Francophone museum of its kind in the United States, it tells the story of San Francisco's French-speaking communities; visits by registration.

    Website Source

Activities, clubs and camps in French

When school, sport and friends are all in English, keeping French up needs a boost: weekend classes, French-speaking scouting and bilingual summer camps.

Good to know

  • Education Française Bay Area (EFBA), a FLAM association, runs French classes for children at several Bay Area sites, including for children who do not speak French yet. Source
  • Groupe Paul Coze, the Bay Area's Scouts et Guides de France troop, welcomes 8 to 17 year olds for outings and camps in French, led by young leaders, phones left at home. Source
  • In summer, the Alliance Française, the Lycée Français (Ashbury, Sausalito and Ortega campuses), the École Bilingue de Berkeley, the French American School of Silicon Valley and EFBA run French or bilingual camps. Source
  • Most camps are booked by the week, with optional before and after care: families build a 'patchwork' summer mixing French immersion and American camps (science, surf, nature). Source

Addresses

  • Alliance Française de San Francisco, cours pour enfants

    Activity

    1345 Bush Street, Lower Nob Hill

    Year-round French group classes and private lessons from age 6.

    Website Source

  • Alliance Française de San Francisco, camps bilingues

    Activity

    1345 Bush Street, Lower Nob Hill

    Full-day summer camp: French and review in the morning, sport, science, arts and drama in the afternoon.

    Website Source

  • Education Française Bay Area (EFBA)

    Activity

    Plusieurs sites dans la Baie

    Part-time French school (FLAM programme) and immersion camps in summer.

    Website Source

  • Groupe Paul Coze, Scouts et Guides de France

    Activity

    Silicon Valley et Bay Area

    Cubs (8-10), scouts and guides (11-14), pioneers and caravelles (15-17), linked to the French-speaking Catholic community of Silicon Valley and open to all.

    Source

  • Camps d'été du Lycée Français de San Francisco

    Activity

    Campus Ashbury, Ortega et Sausalito

    Themed weeks (art, circus, science, cooking, sport), mostly in French, from preschool to 8th grade.

    Website Source

Through the seasons and festivities

Here summer is often cool and foggy, and the finest days fall in September and October. The calendar mixes American holidays, Lunar New Year and a French-speaking Bastille Day.

Good to know

  • Fleet Week livens up the bay in early October, with the Blue Angels air show: in 2026, from 4 to 12 October. Source
  • San Francisco's big Bastille Day celebration takes place on Embarcadero Plaza: food, music, pétanque and French-American festivities. Source
  • The Chinese New Year Parade, one of the few big illuminated night parades in North America, is the largest outside Asia. Source
  • Halloween is a neighbourhood celebration: children go door to door among decorated houses, and Noe Valley, Pacific Heights or the Sunset vie for creativity.

Addresses

  • Bastille Day à l'Embarcadero

    Activity

    Embarcadero Plaza, juillet

    The largest public gathering for the French national day in San Francisco.

    Source

  • San Francisco Fleet Week

    Activity

    Marina et front de mer, octobre

    Air show and navy ships to visit: spectacular for children, best seen from Marina Green or Crissy Field.

    Website Source

  • Chinese New Year Festival & Parade

    Activity

    Chinatown et Union Square, février ou mars

    Night parade, dragons and firecrackers: an unforgettable evening with children old enough for the crowds.

    Website Source

  • Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival

    Activity

    Japantown, avril

    Cherry blossom festival: parade, taiko drums, food stalls; 60th edition in 2027.

    Website Source

Go further

Trips under two hours away

Giant redwoods, wild coastline, bay islands and the Monterey aquarium: the region offers very different weekends without flying. Some sites require a booking, so plan ahead.

Good to know

  • At Muir Woods, a parking or shuttle reservation is required before you come. Source
  • Golden Gate and Bay ferries take you to Sausalito, Tiburon or Angel Island without a car: children love the crossing. Source
  • A car registered outside California must be registered within 20 days; for trips, renting is often simpler in the first weeks. Source

Addresses

  • Muir Woods National Monument

    Park

    Mill Valley, Marin (environ 40 minutes)

    Giant redwood forest with easy boardwalk trails suitable for pushchairs.

    Website Source

  • Point Reyes National Seashore

    Park

    Comté de Marin (environ 1h30)

    Wild coastline, lighthouse, elephant seals and whale watching in winter.

    Website Source

  • Angel Island State Park

    Park

    Baie de San Francisco, en ferry

    An island to explore by bike or on foot, picnics and 360-degree bay views.

    Website Source

  • Monterey Bay Aquarium

    Museum

    886 Cannery Row, Monterey (environ 2h)

    One of the world's finest aquariums, to combine with the Carmel coast and Big Sur.

    Website Source

  • Half Moon Bay

    Park

    Côte du comté de San Mateo (environ 45 minutes)

    Beaches, farms and pumpkins in October; surfing in French in summer with a French-speaking camp.

    Website Source

  • Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

    Activity

    Santa Cruz (environ 1h30)

    Historic beachfront amusement park, with rides for little ones and a wooden roller coaster.

    Website Source

Go further

A place has closed, something has changed? Tell us: the mums of San Francisco will thank you.

Sources for this page

The public pages these landmarks come from. The official website always prevails.

  1. 1 SF.gov, anniversaire de Golden Gate Park
  2. 2 Presidio Trust, Presidio Tunnel Tops
  3. 3 Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
  4. 4 Exploratorium, entrées gratuites et réduites
  5. 5 San Francisco Public Library
  6. 6 Alliance Française de San Francisco, bibliothèque
  7. 7 lepetitjournal.com San Francisco, camps d'été de la région
  8. 8 National Park Service, Muir Woods

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