# Free things to do with kids in San Francisco

Parks, playgrounds and other things to do in San Francisco that are free to get into. 21 listed.

Last updated 2026-10-03, from the newest confirmation among these places.

## The list

1. [Helen Diller Playground](https://ourplayday.com/places/helen-diller-playground) (playground, San Francisco). A super slide about 45 feet long set into the hillside, a shipwrecked boat to climb, a sand table with a water channel, and its own area for ages 2 to 5. Has: free to enter.
2. [Koret Children's Quarter Playground](https://ourplayday.com/places/koret-children-s-quarter-playground) (playground, San Francisco). Thought to be the country's first public playground, with the old concrete slides, a wave-shaped climbing wall and a 1914 carousel of 62 painted animals. Has: free to enter.
3. [Presidio Tunnel Tops](https://ourplayday.com/places/presidio-tunnel-tops-san-francisco) (attraction, San Francisco). Free parkland over the tunnels with the Outpost, a two-acre natural playground of slides, tunnels and a giant birds' nest built for two to twelve, with water features. Has: free to enter.
4. [Randall Museum Friends](https://ourplayday.com/places/randall-museum-friends-94114) (museum, San Francisco). Free museum with live animals in their habitats, a model railroad, and hands-on labs and studios. Has: free to enter.
5. [Pier 39](https://ourplayday.com/places/pier-39) (attraction, San Francisco). Two decks of shops and food built out over the water, with a carousel at the end and the sea lions barking off the far side. Loud, flat and easy to push a stroller round. Has: free to enter.
6. [Salesforce Park Playground](https://ourplayday.com/places/salesforce-park-playground) (playground, San Francisco). A free gondola runs to the rooftop park, where the play area sits three levels above the street. Has: free to enter.
7. [Yerba Buena Children’s Playground](https://ourplayday.com/places/yerba-buena-children-s-playground) (playground, San Francisco). A downtown play stop near the carousel, bowling, skating and the children's museum. Has: free to enter.
8. [Cable Car Museum](https://ourplayday.com/places/cable-car-powerhouse-and-barn-94108) (museum, San Francisco). Free, and fun for machine-obsessed kids: you can watch the giant wheels pulling the real cables under the streets. Has: free to enter.
9. [Heron's Head Park Nature Exploration Area Playground](https://ourplayday.com/places/heron-s-head-park-nature-exploration-area) (playground, San Francisco). Logs, stumps and boulders to climb, with the shoreline walk and the EcoCenter alongside. Has: free to enter.
10. [Seward Street Slides Playground](https://ourplayday.com/places/seward-street-slides) (playground, San Francisco). The slide is the whole attraction here, good for a short burst of play, with wheelchair-accessible toilets on site. Has: free to enter.
11. [Lands End](https://ourplayday.com/places/lands-end) (nature area, San Francisco). Trails through cypress and eucalyptus along the cliffs, down to the ruins of Sutro Baths, with the Golden Gate in view and old shipwrecks below. Has: free to enter.
12. [Musée Mécanique](https://ourplayday.com/places/musee-mecanique-94133) (museum, San Francisco). A free room at the wharf packed with working penny arcade machines, from a hand-cranked carnival to old strength testers. Has: free to enter.
13. [Noe Valley Town Square](https://ourplayday.com/places/noe-valley-town-square-san-francisco) (attraction, San Francisco). A small public square off 24th Street with a slide set into a low mound, room to run and seating all around the edge. The neighborhood farmers market takes it over on Saturday mornings, often with live music. Has: free to enter.
14. [San Francisco Ferry Building](https://ourplayday.com/places/san-francisco-ferry-building-94111) (attraction, San Francisco). A market hall of food stalls with the ferries going out the back. Good for grazing lunch with kids, and the Saturday farmers' market spills onto the plaza. Has: free to enter.
15. [National Maritime Museum](https://ourplayday.com/places/national-maritime-museum) (museum, San Francisco). A free art-deco building shaped like a ship at the end of Aquatic Park, with WPA murals inside and sand right outside the door. Has: free to enter.
16. [San Francisco Railway Museum](https://ourplayday.com/places/san-francisco-railway-museum-94105) (museum, San Francisco). A free single room opposite the Ferry Building with a streetcar cab kids can sit in and work the controls, right on the F line. Has: free to enter.
17. [Fort Point](https://ourplayday.com/places/fort-point) (attraction, San Francisco). A brick fort tucked directly under the Golden Gate Bridge. Free, echoing spiral staircases, cannons to climb near, and the bridge roaring overhead. Has: free to enter.
18. [Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory](https://ourplayday.com/places/golden-gate-fortune-cookie-factory) (attraction, San Francisco). A Chinatown alley the width of a hallway where two women fold cookies off a hot press by hand. Two minutes, a sample, and worth the detour. Has: free to enter.
19. [Pier 39 Sea Lions](https://ourplayday.com/places/pier-39-sea-lions) (attraction, San Francisco). Dozens of sea lions hauled out on the floating docks, barking and shoving each other off. Free, visible from the walkway, and most reliable in winter. Has: free to enter.
20. [Golden Gate Park](https://ourplayday.com/places/golden-gate-park) (park, San Francisco). 1,017 acres holding what's thought to be the country's first public playground (now Koret), a carousel of 62 animals, and rowboats on Blue Heron Lake. Has: free to enter.
21. [San Francisco Fire Department Pioneer Museum](https://ourplayday.com/places/san-francisco-fire-department-pioneer-museum-94115) (museum, San Francisco). A free room of hand-drawn engines, brass helmets and 1906 photographs, kept by volunteers. Has: free to enter.

## Other lists for San Francisco

- [High chairs](https://ourplayday.com/united-states/california/san-francisco/with-high-chairs) (63)
- [Changing tables](https://ourplayday.com/united-states/california/san-francisco/with-changing-tables) (22)
- [Kids' menu](https://ourplayday.com/united-states/california/san-francisco/with-kids-menu) (52)
- [Wheelchair accessible](https://ourplayday.com/united-states/california/san-francisco/wheelchair-accessible) (107)
- [Cribs](https://ourplayday.com/united-states/california/san-francisco/with-cribs) (33)
- [Pool](https://ourplayday.com/united-states/california/san-francisco/with-a-pool) (9)
- [Free breakfast](https://ourplayday.com/united-states/california/san-francisco/with-free-breakfast) (5)
- [Connecting rooms](https://ourplayday.com/united-states/california/san-francisco/with-connecting-rooms) (23)
- [Fridge in the room](https://ourplayday.com/united-states/california/san-francisco/with-a-fridge) (28)
- [Separate bedroom](https://ourplayday.com/united-states/california/san-francisco/with-a-separate-bedroom) (31)
- [Restrooms](https://ourplayday.com/united-states/california/san-francisco/with-restrooms) (128)
- [Water play](https://ourplayday.com/united-states/california/san-francisco/with-water-play) (5)
- [Order at the counter](https://ourplayday.com/united-states/california/san-francisco/order-at-the-counter) (40)

## About this list

Every place here is a listing on Play Day, and a place is listed only when something positive is known about it for kids. Each listing carries the kid facts (high chairs, changing tables, kids' menus, wheelchair access) A list needs at least three places to exist.

Page: https://ourplayday.com/united-states/california/san-francisco/free-to-visit. All of San Francisco: https://ourplayday.com/united-states/california/san-francisco