Things to do in Sacramento with kids
Written September 2026
Museums, parks, indoor play, lunch and a bed for the night in Sacramento, with the age each one really suits and the days to go.
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Picture a three-year-old who wants to ride everything and a seven-year-old who only wants trains. Where do you go in Sacramento? Honestly, three places cover most of it. The California State Railroad Museum is for the train kid (and, it turns out, everyone else). The Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale Town sit across the street from each other in Land Park, with a tiny amusement park next door. Around them are a science museum on the river, an art museum with its own toddler room and more splash pads than you'd guess.
What trips people up here is the calendar and the heat. The Capitol is weekdays only, the Crocker and MOSAC each close early in the week, and Funderland shuts for the winter. And from June to September, anything outdoors after lunch is a gamble.
So this page says which age each place really suits, which days to go and what tends to go wrong, then lines up entry, restrooms, changing tables and stroller access side by side in one table. When the answer is no, the table says no.
Side by side
33 places. Tap a chip to narrow them down.
Paid entry · Wheelchair access
Paid entry · Restroom · Wheelchair access
Paid entry · Restroom
Paid entry
Paid entry · Restroom · Changing table
Paid entry · Restroom · Changing table · Wheelchair access
Paid entry · All ages
Paid entry · Restroom
Paid entry
Restroom
Restroom · Wheelchair access · Babies, Preschoolers, School-age kids
Restroom
Free entry · Ages 5 and up
Restroom
All ages
Paid entry · All ages
Paid entry
Paid entry
Restroom
Takes bookings
Takes bookings
No bookings
- See prices
- See prices
Wheelchair access
See prices- See prices
- See prices
How we picked
These are the places we'd send a friend with a four-year-old and a nine-year-old. Everything here was checked on its own site in September 2026, and the facts in the table come from those pages and the Play Day listing. A blank means we couldn't confirm it, not that the answer is no.
Most of it is in the city. A few are a short drive out (Rancho Cordova, Carmichael, McClellan Park) because they're too good to leave off. Folsom, Roseville and Davis have enough for a day of their own, so they get a mention at the end.
Museums, the zoo and the big days out
Land Park and Old Sacramento are about three miles apart, and each one is a whole morning, so pick one per day and park once.
California State Railroad Museum
Old Sacramento
If you only do one thing in Sacramento, it's this. Huge restored locomotives fill the hall, close enough to touch, and some of the cars you can walk right through. It's the kind of place a train-obsessed three-year-old talks about for a month, and the grown-ups end up reading every sign too.
On weekends a real excursion train runs along the river from the station nearby, on a separate ticket. There are sensory bags with headphones at the front desk for kids who find the noise a lot.
Park in the Old Sacramento or Tower Bridge garages. The museum has no lot of its own.
- Free entry
- No
- Wheelchair access
- Yes
Sacramento Zoo
Land Park
A small, shady zoo that's just the right size for ages two to eight: you can see everything before anyone falls apart. There's a giraffe deck where you can feed them, and a carousel that will get ridden more than once.
Go right at opening in summer. It's under big old trees, but by two in the afternoon in July, the animals and the kids are both done.
There's no zoo parking lot. Street parking around Land Park is free, and it fills up early on weekends.
- Free entry
- No
- Restroom
- Yes
- Wheelchair access
- Yes
Fairytale Town
Land Park
Across the street from the zoo, a storybook park where the nursery rhymes are things to climb, crawl through and slide down. There are farm animals, a little theater with kids' shows, and enough to do that a toddler can spend a whole morning.
Grown-ups only get in with a kid, which makes it feel pretty relaxed. It closes when it rains, and the hours shift with the seasons, so check before you go.
You can bring your own food, and a picnic here saves a lunch stop.
- Free entry
- No
- Restroom
- Yes
Funderland Amusement Park
Land Park
A tiny amusement park on the edge of Land Park since 1946. The rides (a train, teacups, a carousel, a little funhouse) are made for small kids, and a two-year-old can ride most of them, which almost never happens.
It closes for the winter and opens again in late winter. No outside food, so plan lunch around it.
- Free entry
- No
SMUD Museum of Science and Curiosity
River District
A hands-on science museum in an old power station on the river, a mile north of Old Sacramento. Everyone calls it MOSAC. It's full of things to push, build and test, and the planetarium shows upstairs are for kids four and up.
It's best for about five to twelve. A toddler will have fun for an hour, but that's the Crocker or the children's museum's job.
It's closed on Tuesdays.
- Free entry
- No
- Restroom
- Yes
- Changing table
- Yes
Crocker Art Museum
Downtown
A big art museum that actually plans for kids. Tot Land, downstairs in the old building, is a whole room for play, books and making things, and there are loaner strollers at the door. Do a couple of galleries, then let Tot Land be the reward.
It runs kids' programs through the year, and it's a short walk from Old Sacramento.
It's closed Monday and Tuesday. No food inside, but Crocker Park across the street has picnic tables.
- Free entry
- No
- Restroom
- Yes
- Changing table
- Yes
- Wheelchair access
- Yes
Sacramento Children's Museum
Rancho Cordova
A play museum for kids up to about eight, where everything is at their height and nothing is behind glass. It's out in Rancho Cordova now, about 20 minutes east of downtown on Highway 50, not in the city.
Go in the morning, when it's freshest. Grown-ups only get in with a kid.
- Free entry
- No
- Ages
- All ages
Sutter's Fort State Historic Park
Midtown
A rebuilt 1840s adobe fort you can walk through at your own pace, room by room. It's a quick visit, maybe an hour, which makes it a good one for school-age kids who've just started on California history.
The State Indian Museum is on the same block, small and good, with hands-on things for kids. Do both in one morning.
The entrance is the East Gate on 28th Street, and parking is street meters only.
- Free entry
- No
- Restroom
- Yes
Aerospace Museum of California
McClellan Park
A hangar and an outdoor field full of real aircraft on the old McClellan air base, plus flight simulators kids can try if you call ahead for a slot. It's for the plane kids, really, and for the over-fives.
Freedom Park is right next door, with a spaceship playground for climbers, a toddler area and a little splash pad in summer. Museum, then park, is a great afternoon.
It's open Thursday to Sunday only.
- Free entry
- No
Parks, playgrounds and splash pads
Sacramento does parks really well: big, flat and shady, most with restrooms. The splash pads and wading pools run in summer only.
William Land Regional Park
Land Park
The big old park the zoo and Fairytale Town sit on. There are duck ponds, a rock garden, an adventure play area and a wading pool in summer. If you're doing the zoo, this is your lunch and your afternoon for free.
- Restroom
- Yes
- Water play
- Yes
- Picnic tables
- Yes
Southside Park
Southside
A solar-system playground built so kids of every ability can play on it, with ramps, spinners and musical pieces, and separate areas for babies, preschoolers and big kids. There's a pond with fishing piers, a restroom right by the playground and a wading pool in summer.
Only part of the playground is fenced, so keep an eye on the street side.
- Restroom
- Yes
- Water play
- Yes
- Swings
- Yes
- Picnic tables
- Yes
- Accessible play
- Yes
- Wheelchair access
- Yes
- Ages
- Babies, Preschoolers, School-age kids
William McKinley Park
East Sacramento
East Sacramento's favorite park (everyone just says McKinley), with an adventure playground, a separate tot lot, a climbing wall and the rose garden next door. It's busy on weekends in the best way.
- Restroom
- Yes
- Water play
- Yes
- Picnic tables
- Yes
Sacramento Adventure Playground
South Sacramento
A free adventure playground run by Fairytale Town, for school-age kids who like to get messy. After school it's a drop-off program you register for.
Once a month, on the second Saturday, there's a Community Day anyone can walk into, all ages. Closed-toe shoes and clothes you don't love.
- Free entry
- Yes
- Ages
- Ages 5 and up
North Natomas Regional Park
Natomas
A big park with a lake, a baseball-themed spray park and a playground that's shaded all the way over (a big deal in July). Restrooms are by the splash pad.
- Restroom
- Yes
- Water play
- Yes
- Picnic tables
- Yes
Effie Yeaw Nature Center
Carmichael
Oak woodland trails down to the American River, where you'll likely spot deer, and a nature center with live animals and programs for little kids. It's inside Ancil Hoffman Park, about 20 minutes from downtown.
There's a per-car fee to park, and the San Lorenzo gate is locked for good, so come in from Tarshes Drive.
Watch for rattlesnakes and ticks in the warm months.
- Ages
- All ages
Indoor play, for rain or 105 degrees
Sacramento summers are hot, and the odd winter week is wet. These are the ones that save the day.
Enchanted Natomas
Natomas
A space-themed indoor playground with rocket ships to climb, for kids up to about eight. Story time and a toddler art class come with entry. Socks on for everyone, grown-ups included.
It closes on Sundays for private parties.
- Free entry
- No
- Ages
- All ages
Sky Zone Sacramento
North Highlands
The bigger of the Sky Zones, with a foam pit, a ninja course, a trapeze and a toddler zone. Plan on a very tired kid afterward.
- Free entry
- No
Rebounderz Sacramento
Arden-Arcade
Trampolines, a ninja course and climbing walls, plus a separate indoor playground for kids seven and under that you can go into with them. There's a café with pizza and a parents' lounge with wifi.
- Free entry
- No
Scandia Family Fun Center
North Highlands
Old-school mini golf, go-karts, bumper boats and batting cages, with junior rides for small kids. It's outdoors, so save it for a mild evening, not a July afternoon.
Every ride has its own height rule, so know your kid's number before you promise the go-karts.
- Restroom
- Yes
Where to eat with kids
Sacramento calls itself the farm-to-fork capital, and it shows even in the casual places. These are the ones that are good for the grown-ups and easy with kids.
Vic's Ice Cream
Land Park
A soda fountain from 1947, a few minutes from the zoo, reopened in 2026 by new local owners with the old recipes. There are sandwiches (PB&J included) and soup, so you can call it lunch before the sundae.
Gunther's Ice Cream
Curtis Park
Sacramento's oldest ice cream parlor, making its own from a 1940s recipe, with kiddie cones and clown cones. Point out Jugglin' Joe on the neon sign on the roof: if he ever drops the scoop, the ice cream's free.
Masullo
Land Park
A neighborhood pizzeria up the road from Land Park. There's a kid's pasta, and the ice cream sandwich is made with Gunther's vanilla. It's a dinner place, so go early with little ones.
Tower Cafe
Land Park
A garden patio next to the Tower Theatre and a menu that goes all over the world, with French toast people drive across town for. The menu has kids' sections for brunch and for dinner.
- Kids' menu
- Yes
Pizzasaurus Rex
Midtown
Square-slice pizza with a T. rex for a mascot, which is all a dinosaur kid needs to hear. Lots of vegan options too.
Rick's Dessert Diner, a 1950s diner with cases full of cakes and pies, is a block away for after.
Fieldwork Brewing Co. Sacramento
Midtown
A taproom with Neapolitan and Detroit-style pizza and a real kids' menu, so a brewery stop works for everybody.
- Kids' menu
- Yes
- Reservations
- Yes
Leatherby's Family Creamery
Arden-Arcade
A sit-down ice cream parlor where the kids' meal ends in a clown sundae. Burgers and grilled cheese first, then sundaes big enough to share. A birthday party here is a Sacramento rite of passage.
- Kids' menu
- Yes
- Reservations
- Yes
Orphan Breakfast House
East Sacramento
A breakfast house open every day of the year, near McKinley Park. Two things to know: it's cash only, and there's no ketchup (house salsa only), so bring a packet if yours is a ketchup kid.
- Reservations
- No
Bear & Crown
Old Sacramento
A British pub in Old Sacramento for fish and chips at a real table after the railroad museum. The kids' menu has a single banger with mash.
- Kids' menu
- Yes
Where to stay with kids
Stay downtown, by Old Sacramento or the Capitol, and nothing on this page is more than 20 minutes away.
Embassy Suites by Hilton Sacramento Riverfront Promenade
Downtown
The easy pick for Old Sacramento: every room has its own bedroom door (bedtime solved), and the boardwalks are across the street.
- Cribs
- Yes
- Suites
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes, indoor
- Free breakfast
- Yes
Delta King Hotel
Old Sacramento
Sleep on a 1927 paddlewheel riverboat moored in Old Sacramento, a short walk from the railroad museum. Staterooms are small and most sleep two, so it works best with one kid: ask for one of the rooms with a queen plus a twin.
Residence Inn Sacramento Downtown at Capitol Park
Downtown
Suites on the edge of Capitol Park, good for three or four nights, when you'd rather make dinner than go find it.
- Kitchenette
- Yes
- Pool
- Yes
- Free breakfast
- Yes
Hyatt Regency Sacramento
Downtown
Right across from the Capitol and its lawns, with a saltwater pool and cabanas. Handy for a downtown weekend on foot.
- Pool
- Yes, heated
The Citizen Hotel, Autograph Collection
Downtown
A boutique hotel in a 1925 building a few blocks from the Capitol, which says outright that kids are welcome. There's no pool, so it suits a baby or toddler better than a kid who wants to swim.
- Cribs
- Yes
- Connecting rooms
- Yes
- Suites
- Yes
Which days to go where
Weekdays only: the Capitol tour. Closed Monday and Tuesday: the Crocker. Closed Tuesday: MOSAC. Thursday to Sunday: the Aerospace Museum, and the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary if you're heading out that way. Second Saturday of the month: the Adventure Playground's Community Day.
Seasonal: Funderland closes for the winter, Fairytale Town closes when it rains, and the splash pads and wading pools run in summer only. The railroad museum, the zoo and Sutter's Fort are open every day.
If it is 105 degrees
It will be, at some point in July. Do anything outdoors at opening and move indoors by lunch: the railroad museum, MOSAC, the Crocker or one of the indoor playgrounds.
For water, the free splash pads at North Natomas Regional Park, Freedom Park and Southside Park are the easy ones, and Golfland Sunsplash in Roseville is a full water park in summer. In Elk Grove, Oasis Park and Morse Community Park have the splash pads local parents rave about.
The river
It's beautiful, and it's not for swimming, especially where the American River meets the Sacramento at Discovery Park. The currents are strong, and people have drowned there. Use a pool or a splash pad instead.
A day out
Folsom is half an hour east, with a small zoo for rescued animals, a miniature steam train around it, Sutter Street and the rebuilt Castle Park playground. Roseville has Golfland Sunsplash, Skatetown and the Maidu Museum's petroglyph trail. Davis has the insect museum (you can hold a hissing cockroach) and a splash pad in Central Park next to the Saturday farmers market.
Parking
Land Park is free street parking around the zoo, Fairytale Town and Funderland. Old Sacramento is garages. Sutter's Fort and Midtown are meters. Effie Yeaw and the county parks charge per car.
Questions
What is there to do in Sacramento with toddlers?
Start in Land Park: Fairytale Town and Funderland are both made for under-eights, and the zoo is small enough for short legs. Then the Crocker's Tot Land, the Sacramento Children's Museum in Rancho Cordova, and the indoor playgrounds like Enchanted in Natomas. In summer, the splash pads at North Natomas Regional Park and Southside Park.
What are free things to do in Sacramento with kids?
William Land Park, Southside Park and McKinley Park, the splash pads in summer, the Adventure Playground's monthly Community Day, a walk around Old Sacramento, and the Capitol tour on a weekday. The Crocker lets five and under in free.
Is the California State Railroad Museum good for kids?
It's the best thing in Sacramento for kids, full stop. Real locomotives you can walk up to and through, sized for every age. Give it two to three hours, and add the weekend excursion train along the river if you can.
Is the Sacramento Zoo worth it?
Yes, for ages two to about eight. It's small and shady, with a giraffe deck, and Fairytale Town and Funderland are across the street, so the three together make a full day. Go at opening in summer.
What should we do in Sacramento when it's too hot?
Mornings outside, afternoons inside. The railroad museum, MOSAC and the Crocker are all indoors, and the free splash pads (North Natomas Regional Park, Freedom Park, Southside Park) run all summer.
Where should a family stay in Sacramento?
Downtown, near Old Sacramento or the Capitol. Embassy Suites gives everyone a door to close, the Delta King is a riverboat, and the Residence Inn at Capitol Park has kitchens. All three are a short drive from Land Park.
Photos
California State Railroad Museum: Allie_Caulfield (CC BY 2.0) · Sacramento Zoo: Creative Captures Photography (CC BY 2.0) · Fairytale Town: DestinationFearFan (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Crocker Art Museum: SharonGulliford (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Sutter's Fort State Historic Park: Ian Howard (CC BY 2.5) · Aerospace Museum of California: Michael Hicks (CC BY 2.0) · William Land Regional Park: Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Southside Park: Jon Roanhaus (CC BY-SA 4.0) · William McKinley Park: Pena645 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Scandia Family Fun Center: Jeremy Thompson from Los Angeles, California (CC BY 2.0) · Gunther's Ice Cream: Photo Cindy (CC0 1.0) · Delta King Hotel: Quintin Soloviev (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Hyatt Regency Sacramento: Xnatedawgx (CC BY-SA 4.0) · The Citizen Hotel, Autograph Collection: BriefEdits (CC BY-SA 3.0)
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