Playgrounds and things to do with kids in Davis

Downtown Davis's park, where the Saturday farmers market sets up, with play areas and Natalie's Corner, a free splash pad for summer. Market plus splash pad is a pretty perfect Saturday.

West Davis's big park, with a climbing structure rebuilt in 2019, a tot area and greenbelt bike paths, plus a pool with water slides in summer.

Davis's community-built wooden play world: castles, turrets, bridges, a pirate ship and a huge sandbox. It's the playground every Davis parent names first, and the park around it makes a half day.

A Wildhorse park with a separate little-kid playground under shade sails, next to a bigger structure for older siblings. A good toddler pick.

An East Davis park named for its big grassy hill, which kids slide down. There's a playground and a summer city pool too.

A long ribbon of gardens along a creek on the edge of campus, flat and free and perfect for a scooter. Parking is free on weekends.

A free self-guided walk past hawks, owls, falcons and eagles that can't go back to the wild, each with its own story on a sign. Weekend visits end at noon.

A university insect collection with a live petting zoo of walking sticks and hissing cockroaches your kid can actually hold. Public hours are limited, so the free family open house days are the easy way in.