Kid-friendly places in Oakland

A 12-acre Dimond District park with three play structures from tot-lot to big-kid, Sausal Creek to stomp in, paved paths for scooters, and trails toward Joaquin Miller.

An Oakland neighborhood park with a fenced playground, big trees for shade, and restrooms on site.

Redwoods in the Oakland hills with a heated outdoor pool in summer, a playground and picnic areas under the trees.

A volunteer-built Temescal classic: a sprawling wooden fortress structure, a big sand pit, and a shallow creek kids wade in on warm days. The Temescal strip's coffee and food are a block away for the grown-ups.

Mexican restaurant with a wide-open patio.

America's first storybook theme park, open since 1950, with talking Magic Key storybook boxes and the country's oldest continuously running puppet theater.

Farmers-market stand turned Temescal favorite: Peruvian rotisserie chicken, fish tacos, and aguas frescas in a colorful space.

All-suite waterfront property where every room has a full kitchen, plus free hot breakfast downstairs and an outdoor pool overlooking the marina.

Robot servers roll bowls of pho across a colorful dining room. Fast, casual, and the noodle soup is toddler-compatible by design.

A converted auto dealership turned sprawling open-air beer garden in Uptown: wood-fired pizza, communal tables, and plenty of space.

Wide open paths for bikes and scooters, with the container cranes right there across the water. Kids who like big machines will stand and watch.

Downtown Oakland's big full-service hotel with an outdoor pool, direct BART access, and suites that fit a travel crib. Walkable to Old Oakland restaurants.

Glenview's neighborhood burger joint with standout onion rings, a kids menu, and a patio, where everyone from grandma to the toddler finds something.

Planetarium shows under a 241-seat dome, hands-on exhibits, and research telescopes open on clear evenings, up in the Oakland hills, with free covered parking.

By the Oakland airport: an outdoor pool, the Bistro for a no-fuss breakfast before a flight, and sound-insulated rooms near the runways.

The 130-year-old Piedmont Avenue institution where every meal ends in a sundae the size of a toddler's head. Standard diner food and booths that fit a family.

A whole restaurant built on the one food nearly every kid eats: fancy mac and cheese in a dozen varieties, plus a kids menu, on 40th Street.

Hakata-style tonkotsu ramen with homemade noodles and pork belly chashu, plus karaage, bao buns and a burger.

California art, history and natural sciences under one roof, with touch-friendly areas for small kids and a garden that's free to enjoy.

Boats dock outside, and the ferry across the bay leaves a few steps from the door.

Two playgrounds, green space to run or picnic on, and a lake for fishing and wading. Enough different things that mixed ages all get something.

Nature play for ages 2 to 5 inside the natural sciences gallery, included with museum admission, free for kids 12 and under.

A hillside zoo where the gondola up to the California Trail is included with admission, and the ride itself is half the outing for a small child.

Family-run since 1973, with ricotta pancakes and challah French toast at breakfast and cheeseburgers with shakes.

Vegan restaurant with a long list of tasty side dishes.

A working food-sustainability project with room to play, where the growing is the point.

Four levels of playground with zip lines and look-out domes, a two-story ninja course, a bouldering wall that drops onto an air bag, and an arcade.

Burgers and fries since 2012, in a beer garden with a patio where dogs are welcome too.

Ethiopian food with an outdoor patio.

Craft beer pub since 1994 with 23 taps, plus pizzas and sandwiches.

An Italian supper in three courses every night: soup or salad, a pasta, and a choice of two desserts.

A hands-on art studio and gallery near 12th Street BART, open for drop-in on weekends.

A creekside neighborhood park with a playground and open lawn, easy to pair with a walk through the nearby village.

Indoor playground packed with inflatables, with open jump and preschool jump sessions for kids 34 inches and up.

150-foot coast redwoods along the Stream Trail, with a children's play structure about a quarter mile in.

A fenced tot lot with a gate that latches for toddlers, and the bigger helix-shaped climbers just outside it for school-age kids.

Eritrean and Ethiopian plates served with injera and salad, plus a full bar.

Boats to watch, a farmers market, an arcade and a cinema, with outdoor patios for eating. Somewhere you can arrive without a plan.

Art spaces, a library, a play space and animals in one building.

The country's oldest wildlife refuge, with a path all the way around, and Children's Fairyland and free gardens on its banks.

Thousands of roses, tall garden walls with flights of stairs, a cascading fountain kids can touch, and wild turkeys that live in the garden.

Historic planes, including a Short Solent flying boat you can tour and a replica of the Wright brothers' Vin Fiz, with open cockpit days.

Indoor skating all year downtown, and rentals start at a toddler size 6, so the very small ones are genuinely included rather than just watching.

Food hall with pizza, smash burgers and wok-fried rice around enclosed outdoor seating with a sandbox and toys, plus live music.

A Chinatown restaurant known for family-style plates served on lazy susans.

A sushi restaurant in Oakland's Glenview neighborhood.

Movie theater with its own café, so kids can eat a real meal during the film, and couches to sprawl on.

Burger spots on College and Piedmont Avenues, part of a small California chain.

A playable video game museum with thousands of games on their original hardware, plus kids' classes.

Room to run and fly a kite at Township Commons, live music, and kayaking and paddleboarding on the estuary.

Thin-crust Neapolitan-style pizza, burgers and crispy cheese curds on College Ave, with weekend brunch on the patio.

An indoor playground where kids can run, climb and play on soft play structures.

An open-air garden of Mexican food and margaritas where kids are welcome, with room for them to move while you eat.

A dirt pump track in the hills with rollers and berms where kids on bikes and balance bikes ride laps.

Climbing gym with a 55-foot lead wall and multi-level bouldering, plus a Climbing with Kids program and youth teams.

Pizza by the slice, a parent favorite for a quick bite with kids.

An Oakland vegan restaurant.

Two nature-themed play areas, a fenced one for toddlers and one for bigger kids, plus a swing built for a toddler and an older kid side by side.