A community-built tot lot, fully fenced, with a wooden play structure, a mural-covered clubhouse and a steady rotation of shared sand toys.
A staff-run playground where kids get real hammers, saws and paint to build forts out of scrap lumber, earning tools by turning in stray nails first.
Home of the 40-foot concrete slide big kids bomb down on cardboard, plus a creek, a fenced toddler area, and a tunnel under Euclid to the rose garden.
West Berkeley's go-to: a long hillside slide, a restored creek older kids migrate to, and the Hidden Cafe right in the park. Basketball and tennis at the south end.
A bright, gated, accessible playground at Berkeley's Aquatic Park with structures sized for little kids, then lagoon paths and duck-watching when the structure loses its grip. Good wind-sheltered picnic spots nearby.
The one with the secret staircases. Rock formations to scramble on and enough tucked-away corners that older kids will disappear for a while.
Miles of flat path right on the water at the Berkeley Marina, and it's the kite spot, thanks to the wind.
Design Quest for building and testing things, an Animal Discovery Room, and one of the best views of the bay from the terrace. Open Wednesday to Sunday; $20 covers everyone from three upwards.
Cows, goats and chickens at the end of a short walk from the Canon Drive car park, and it costs nothing. Feeding is no longer allowed; the animals are still there to visit.
An enclosed toddler area and a play pad for bigger kids, under big oaks with a seasonal creek running through and old stone fireplaces at the picnic spots.
A scaled-down steam train that loops along the ridge in Tilden, $4 a ride or five for $16. Weekends and holidays year round, 11 to 6, closing at nightfall in winter.
Two playgrounds cover different ages, including a fenced tot lot with water play and a bigger climber with a long tube slide.
A restored Herschell-Spillman carousel with hand-carved animals, with a snack stand, a restroom and parking right there.
Fully fenced and built for toddlers, with stone cats, a two-level slide, a spinning teacup and a sand pit with water.
A giant children's section downtown with storytime and artist-led sessions, and it costs nothing.
Small play space for kids 6 months to 4 years, with a climbing structure and climbing wall, ride-on toys, a little swing, and shelves of books and puzzles.
Seven custom-built game rooms you play through in teams of two to six, a bit like an escape room, recommended for ages 10 and up.
Cultural center founded in 1975 behind a big painted mural, with Puerto Rican bomba and plena drum and dance workshops open to all ages.
Under-6s get in free, and the draw for that age is not the plants so much as the lizards and spiders they will find along the paths. Lots of climbing up and down.
A big lawn, two tennis courts, and an enclosed playground with a tire swing, talk tubes in the ground and a tree deck for toddlers and older kids.
Classes for children and family performances, with dancing at the front encouraged.
Paint-your-own pottery with drop-in studio time, so you do not have to commit to a class or a date.
A Marina stop with a small beach where you can hunt for crabs at low tide.
Art museum and film archive where kids 13 and under get into the galleries free, with exhibitions that change regularly and a drop-in art lab.
Terraces of 250 rose varieties with views to the Golden Gate Bridge, and a tunnel under Euclid to the concrete slide at Codornices Park.
University campus with paths to scooter on, lawns to run around, and Strawberry Creek running past Sather Gate and a eucalyptus grove, for dipping toes in.
Game store stocked with games, puzzles, D&D and miniatures, plus open gaming and rooms to rent for a group to play.
Big rock formations for early climbers, with steps carved into the stone up to a summit that looks out across the Bay.
Two playgrounds: a fenced tot area with low slides and swings, and a big climbing structure with ropes, bridges and a tall slide for older kids.
A Berkeley toy shop and kids' bookstore, the one people send you to for the thing you cannot find anywhere else.
Climbing gym with a relaxed youth climbing club for ages 7 to 15 and an advanced youth bouldering team for kids 9 and up, coached at local competitions.
Reptile shop open since 1970 that doubles as a working vivarium, with snakes, lizards, tortoises and spiders to look at and no ticket needed.
Five blocks of green with a fenced tot area in the middle and, at the east end, wooden logs and ropes to climb, tall towers and metal slides.
Art studio where kids and grown-ups make things together out of reuse materials, with open lab time, after-school classes and camps.
Kids of any age boulder here alongside a grown-up, and older ones can join camps, a climbing club or youth teams.
