San Diego is a kid friendly mecca, perfect for parents with young kids either visiting or trying to find places that will accommodate their needs. The city is full of kid friendly activities – museums, parks, beaches, venues, and restaurants – all either geared toward, or at least very accessible to, families with children. Instead of going straight to SeaWorld we recommend you dive into a neighborhood in San Diego and immerse yourself in the smaller activities they have to offer. Do as the locals do and bring your kids to a nice park or restaurant, take them to a museum or a live event.
Below is our list of the best kid friendly activities in San Diego. Want to find more things to do? See our massive guide to all things to do in the city.
Kid Friendly Events and Attractions
San Diego always has something going on for kids, whether it is amusement parks, museums, events, or just good old fun in the sun. These are fun activities to do with your kids in the city.
Belmont Park
Belmont Park is an amusement park located right on the boardwalk in Mission Beach. It is small enough to be digestible in one afternoon, but big enough to keep kids (and adults) entertained for hours. There are rides for kids and adults of all ages, including an arthritic, old wooden roller coaster called The Giant Dipper that definitely does not take the turns as smoothly as it used to. There is an arcade, a laser tag area, a mini-golf course, a rock climbing wall, a zip line, a rope course, and a 7D theater called Xanadu which we have yet to visit, but seven dimensions does sound intriguing. The whole park is well maintained, clean, and easy to navigate.
The New Children’s Museum
The New Children’s Museum is an imaginative mecca of kid-friendly playfulness housed in a massive space in downtown San Diego. The children’s museum is basically a series of large art installations that kids can climb on, throw things at, swing through, play with, smash, rebuild, and get lost in – all to the vague anxiety of the parents and caregivers. Each installation at the children’s museum is built by a different artist, some local and some international, but they are all incredibly well done and surprisingly kid-friendly. Your child will almost certainly want to do:
The Ultimate Guide Through The San Diego Zoo
The San Diego Zoo is world-famous for a reason, serving as both a world-class facility for endangered wildlife rehabilitation and global conservation, and an exceptionally beautiful place to visit. Should you remove all the animals (please don’t) the San Diego Zoo would still be one of the more remarkable botanical gardens in the United States. We would dare to say this is a transformative experience. Will you see every animal in the zoo in a single day? No. But most people do not because the zoo is massive, which is why we made this great itinerary for you to easily navigate and maximize your time here.
Tappers Mini Golf Liberty Station
Tappers, located in Liberty Station at The Loma Club, has our favorite miniature golf in San Diego. The Loma Club is located at the northern end of Liberty Station and is a combination of a par three golf course, a bar that serves food, two miniature golf courses, and a large patio/courtyard with a stage where there is often live music. If this sounds like an oddly eclectic mix of things to you, you’re not wrong, but once you get there you will realize that all it just kind of works. The Loma Club has a very Caddy Shack/golf party kind of vibe to it.
Mission Bay Golf Course
Mission Bay Golf Course is a public course that is great for beginners or a casual round of golf. The course is 18 holes and they have a massive driving range alongside chipping and putting greens. Most holes at Mission Bay are par 3 and it can turn into a missile range with all the short holes aimed at each other and many beginners out there, but that is half the fun of it.
Lions Tigers and Bears San Diego Animal Sanctuary
Lions Tigers and Bears is a massive outdoor animal sanctuary home to rescued big cats and bears from all over the world. Located out in Alpine, this place is not only an amazing visit (they have so many tigers…), it is a testament to how to do animal rescue and welfare the right way. You can tell from their guided tour that this place cares about the animals and puts in the effort. You will never look at traveling circuses the same.
City Farmers Nursery
City Farmers Nursery is by far the best plant nursery in San Diego. In fact, it was recently voted the best plant nursery in the country. City Farmers is a sprawling plant nursery and gardening store in the heart of the city of San Diego, in the neighborhood City Heights, that feels more like a walk through a biodiverse paradise, mixed with a farm, mixed with a petting zoo. They have every species of plant you can think of – from fruit trees to succulents, native pollinators to fancy imported indoor plants. The staff at City Farmers are incredibly knowledgeable and eager to help, whether you have the most basic gardening question or are looking to take your already advanced garden to the next level.
The LOT Liberty Station
The LOT is a locally-owned brand of upscale movie theaters in San Diego where all of the theaters not only have handsome restaurants and a bar attached to them, but they serve delicious food and drinks in the theater itself, delivered directly to your very comfortable and very wide seat. We prefer the location at Liberty Station (in fact we think it is the best movie theater in San Diego), but all of the locations are delightful experiences and all kid-friendly. The tickets are four dollars more expensive ($23 compared to $19) than your typical sticky-bottomed, cramped-seated, poorly-fooded, crowded AMC, so why not?
The Loma Club Par Three Golf Course
The Loma Club is the perfect place for casual golfers. It is a par three golf course located in Liberty Station that has a very relaxed and easygoing vibe (there is a corn hole game set up at the tee box on hole 7, right by the beer cart). The holes are short (seven of them are 150 yards or less), the staff is friendly, and the atmosphere is basically a party. To us, The Loma Club is the best golf course in San Diego for beginners, or anyone just wanting to take it easy and not play such a formal round. On any given day you will be find beginner golfers, birthday party revelers, and families with young children. But despite its laidback nature, the course is well maintained and well worth a visit for more experienced golfers looking to hone their short game. Just beware the crossfire – things can get a little loose around hole 7 and beer number three.
San Diego Gulls Hockey Game
The San Diego Gulls are an AHL hockey team who play their games at the Pechanga Arena in Point Loma. (AHL is essentially the minor leagues and the Gulls players are like the farm team for the Anaheim Ducks). The games are accessible and the hockey is high level and I bet you didn’t even know San Diego had a hockey team did you. Wear an ugly sweater and get ready to be part of a raucous crowd.
San Diego Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum in San Diego, also known as The Nat, is a huge palatial museum in the heart of Balboa Park that has exhibits spanning the natural history of the Southern California region from the Cretaceous period to modern times. The San Diego Natural History Museum has five floors of exhibits, including the newly opened basement, all showcasing different parts of San Diego’s local wildlife and landscape over the last several million years, as well as highlighting the research that goes into learning about them.
The California Wolf Center In Julian
Just over one hour from San Diego in the laguna mountains is the California Wolf Center. There goal is to help educate the public on the different wolf species and their role in the ecosystems. They currently care for over 20 wolves, including North Western gray wolves, and Mexican gray wolves.
Kid Friendly Restaurants and Breweries
San Diego is full of young families so most restaurants and breweries are kid friendly, but this is a list of places that have plenty of space for the kids to run around and you will see tons of families with their children frequenting these spots.
Station Tavern
Station Tavern in South Park is a casual outdoor restaurant on the main strip that serves a small menu of decent bar food, but the highlight of Station Tavern is how kid friendly this place is. It seems like it was designed with kids in mind – it is a big open space with first come first serve picnic tables surrounded by basically a gravel sandbox where kids congregate and play with the toys they brought or the toys on offer from Station. Any place that is kid friendly is also dog friendly by the same standards – casual and open.
Blind Lady Ale House
At Blind Lady they do everything well – food, vibe, service, community involvement. They are like the cool kids with good taste who you want to be friends with. They are like if Keanu Reeves became the physical embodiment of a restaurant. Located on Adams Ave in the heart of Normal Heights, a diverse and casually cool neighborhood nestled between the 805 and the 15, Blind Lady Ale House is a proper ode to its location. It is charming without trying hard to be, it is high quality without being pretentious, it is eclectic but not in a self aware way.
Eppig Brewing Waterfront Biergarten
Eppig Brewing Waterfront Biergarten is a lovely open space brewery with outdoor seating on San Diego Bay in Point Loma. The location is large and spacious and perfect for a sunny day when you want fresh air and to sit by the water. Go with a large group or alone and bring a book – this is a beautiful location that serves good beer from the last Eppig location standing.
Carruth Wine Cellar – Liberty Station
The Carruth Cellar wine garden in Liberty Station is an ideal place to spend a few hours on a sunny day. The garden-patio is secluded, but spacious – lined with string lights and lush greenery. Carruth makes all their wines locally using grapes sourced around California. They have a few tasting rooms around San Diego, but the one in Liberty Station is the most spacious and kid friendly.
Harland Brewery South Park
Beer is implied in the name, but Harland is not just one of the best breweries in San Diego, it is also one of the best cafes in San Diego. Harland has three other tasting rooms, but the cafe experience is currently only available at their South Park location. Open and spacious with lots of natural light, you can get comfy at their massive U bar, one of their many tabletops, or out on their patio. Being on a quaint street corner makes it extra conducive for an early morning work session or a crispy boy with friends in the afternoon. The place is always busy, but not packed. And the South Park Harland location is family friendly, dog friendly, finch friendly, and just plain friendly.
Liberty Public Market
If you are in Liberty Station and feeling peckish you should probably head to Liberty Public Market. This place is a food hall ala Chelsea Market in New York, that has a labyrinth of small food stalls serving any type of food you can think of, plus a big open bar and several stores selling vintage clothing and jewelry. Many local San Diego restaurants have stalls at Liberty Market. Think Korean BBQ or a slice at Landini’s Pizzeria. Think fried catfish at Cane Patch Kitchen or a poke bowl at Chris’ Ono Grinds. Think Filipino bowls at White Rice and clothing with a purpose at Nobelrags. A lot of the stalls here started as local food trucks and their only brick and mortar spot is in Liberty Public Market. There is also a bar and beer store within the market itself (Bottle Craft), as well as a Stone Brewery beer garden outside. The place is big and chaotic and awesome, perfect for a night out as a couple or with the children to allow them to run around. Really you could spend hours eating and drinking and shopping here and you should be able to find something for everyone.
North Park Beer Company
North Park Beer Company’s original location, on University Ave in North Park, is a huge beer hall with a large downstairs, as well as an upstairs area that has arcade games, shuffleboard, and is often uninhabited enough during the weekdays to bring a child or two without disturbing anyone. They have a restaurant inside – Mastiff North Park – that serves brats and other bar food. This is the perfect location for large groups as the place is massive and open.
Ballast Point Brewing Little Italy
Ballast Point is one of the original breweries that started San Diego’s craft beer scene. Their Sculpin IPA made them a national name back in 2005 when most of us still didn’t know what an IPA was. Their brewery and restaurant in Little Italy has been around for years and is a great spot to have a beer and some food. It has a big, open, casual layout inside that smells of fermenting yeast and hops, as well as a large courtyard and an outdoor patio. Their food menu is not an afterthought so come with an appetite.
Village Pizzeria In Coronado
We can safely say that Village Pizzeria is the best pizza spot on Coronado because Village Pizzeria is the only pizza spot on Coronado. It is not the only place that makes pizza (there’s a couple Italian restaurants too), but it is the only true pizza spot on Coronado. Other than Dominos. Which is also great. But the good news is Village Pizzeria also makes damn good pizza. As well as great wings, garlic knots, and calzones. The pizza is New York style which means it is the style we all know and love. They serve whole pies or by the slice. They also serve good beer here, as any respectable pizza joint should. (Other than Dominos. Which, again, great place).
Pizza Port Solana Beach
Pizza Port is probably more well known for their beer (they are one of the early craft breweries of San Diego), but they did indeed start as a pizza shop too. And a damn good one at that. Their original location in Solana Beach is exactly what a local pizza shop should be – family-friendly, bustling and casual, filled with kids and teenagers and couples, all mingling at picnic tables and downing fresh out of the oven pies alongside freshly brewed beers (not the kids and teenagers, hopefully). There are arcade games in the back and TVs lining the wall with whatever sport you can think of playing. This place is the quintessential California pizza joint and it is always worth a visit.
Pure Project North Park
Pure Project brews a wide range of beers, but are probably best known for what they call their Murky IPAs, similar to hazy IPAs… but murkier. Their North Park Taproom on El Cajon Boulevard has a cozy, hidden courtyard with indoor/outdoor seating that offers a nice reprieve from the bustling street outside. They typically have a food vendor on site, often with wood fired pizza and wings. Come into this oasis and enjoy some cold beers on a hot day.
Stone Brewing Liberty Station
There are several parts to Stone at Liberty Station. There is a massive indoor area with bar seating, table seating, several rooms, an indoor water feature, and probably more places that we haven’t even seen yet. But the best part is there are two beer gardens, one having a coy pond in the middle of it and seating galore all around.
The Crack Shack – Little Italy
The Crack Shack has beer, cocktails, picnic tables, corn hole, and some of the best fried chicken in San Diego. It is our favorite casual spot in Little Italy for lunch or dinner. The restaurant is large, casual, and all outdoors because this is San Diego and you can do that here. They serve fried chicken sandwiches, bowls, salads, kids meals, and of course, buckets. The firebird sandwich is a go to if you want some spice in your life, but in the end you should probably just get a bucket of fried chicken because why mess with perfection?
Tribute Pizza
The best pizza in North Park is served at Tribute Pizza. A restaurant that pays tribute to all the famous pizzas in the world and does it well. The restaurant itself is a great space for a dinner out and slightly more upscale than the others mentioned, serving craft cocktails and a larger menu of alternatives to pizza.
Kid Friendly Parks and Outdoor Activities
San Diego is an outdoor friendly city with lots of activities to do in the sunshine. Kids will enjoy getting out into nature and running around in the fresh air at these outdoor spots.
Cabrillo National Monument
Cabrillo National Monument is like a big brother to Sunset Cliffs in Ocean Beach – it is historically significant, beautiful, and part of the National Park System. It is where the first European explorer – Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo – stepped foot on modern California in 1542 (and then immediately left and got murked in the Channel Islands a few months later and then no Europeans set foot in San Diego for over two hundred years).
Coronado Beach
Coronado Beach is a wide, white sand beach with plenty of room to find a place for the day, making it one of the better beaches in San Diego for sunbathing and other beach activities. There are restrooms and outdoor showers at two locations on the beach and lifeguards on duty all summer. The views from Coronado Beach are lovely with Point Loma to the west and Hotel Del Coronado to the east.
Trolley Barn Park
Located at the northern border of University Heights, Trolley Barn Park is a lovely open grassy park and playground. In the 1930s, this was the site of a massive trolley depot for the San Diego trolley system, hence the name. Trolley Barn Park is a great spot for hosting birthday parties, playing games in the field, bringing the kids to the jungle gym, or just resting in the grass with a book.
Torrey Pines State Beach
Torrey Pines State Beach is a wide stretch of beach from Torrey Pines State Reserve in the south to Del Mar in the north and is one of the more underrated places to spend a beach day in San Diego. The water here is clean and warm and the beach is nice and sandy all the way out. There is minimal kelp, like some of the other beaches, and probably the best part is the inlet of Los Pensaquitos Creek leading into the lagoon that is a nice calm place to swim and snorkel during high tide. The views up and down the beach are lovely with the massive cliffs of Torrey Pines State Reserve to the south. The main parking is in the North Beach lot, though there is competitive parking right on the beach, along Highway 101, and then in the South Beach lot closer to the state park.
La Jolla Cove
La Jolla Cove is a very popular place during the day, as people come from around the world to the tiny beach to watch seals sleep and fart at each other, but it is, in our opinion, much better at night. For one, the smell of pelican poop has taken a damper, possibly from not baking in the sun anymore, but the best part is there are no crowds anymore. There are still floodlights on the beach so you can see the seals and this is the time the seals are more active anyway, frolicking in the waves down below.
Father Junipero Serra Trail
The Father Junipero Serra Trail is one of the best walks you can do in San Diego County. The trail is actually a paved road that cuts through Mission Trails Regional Park and it follows along the path of the San Diego River as it winds down from the eastern mountains toward the ocean. On the west side of the trail sits South Fortuna and on the east side Kwaay Paay Peak. The steep mountains on either side make you feel like you are miles and miles from any urban areas, even though the park sits right in the middle of San Diego.
Kate Sessions Park
There are many, many lovely green areas in San Diego and many, many places with beautiful views, but Kate Sessions Park in Pacific Beach combines both, which makes it probably the best place to have a picnic in all of San Diego County. Bring a blanket or chairs, pack your own food or bring a portable grill to cook out (it is legal, just try not to set your fellow park-goers on fire), and find a spot at the top of the hill. The view is spectacular – you will see all of Mission Bay, downtown San Diego, Coronado, and on a clear day south all the way to Mexico.
Hollenbeck Canyon Wildlife Area
Hollenbeck Canyon Wildlife Area is a five thousand acre region of public land located east of Chula Vista, home to trails for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding. The landscape is mostly peaceful grass and chaparral strewn hills and low peaks, with some areas of oak forest and boulder formations. The Hollenbeck Canyon Trail is a nice 4.5 mile out and back that highlights the beauty of this region. Keep an eye out for red-tail hawks, barn owls, and golden eagles; coyotes, gray foxes, and bobcats; mule deer, rabbits, and definitely rattle snakes.
Mount Laguna Recreation Area
Mount Laguna Recreation Area is a rebuttal to those who say San Diego is just a beach town. Less than hour away, this alpine sanctuary is nestled within the Cleveland National Forest just west of Anza Borrego Desert State Park. Mount Laguna has lush forests, mountain peaks, and meadows where you can hike, car camp, mountain bike, backpack, and easily access the Pacific Crest Trail.
Piazza Della Famiglia In Little Italy
Piazza Della Famiglia has as close to a town square vibe as you will get in San Diego and if you squint it almost feels like you are in a rustic Italian piazza. The piazza almost always has something going on, from pop-up performers to scheduled live music to art walks. Couples can sit and enjoy a drink and people watch. Kids can run around the square and play on the fountain or try to trick a mime into moving. Old people can play dominos with each other.
Maple Canyon Trail
Sitting between the neighborhoods of Bankers Hill and Little Italy, the Maple Canyon trail in San Diego is one of the more accessible and beautiful urban hikes around. The trail is just under 1 mile (one way). On the way you’ll be surrounded by pretty steep canyon walls, lots of tall eucalyptus trees and green foliage (depending on the time of year), and you’ll pass under a few tall bridges, which make a great scene on the trail.
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