This post is in partnership with Barry’s Bootcamp.
Summer is a chance to slow down and do more fun activities with the kids. Around the Bay Area, there’s no shortage of incredible things to do—both local favorites and popular tourist attractions. In addition to our community calendars of local events and activities in San Francisco and on the Peninsula, we’ve compiled a summer bucket list of 100+ family-friendly activities to try.
Even if you only get to do a few of these this summer, consider your bucket list complete. But, if you’re up for the challenge, see how many you can do with your family, and let us know how it goes.
Tag your photos with #SFMBsummer for a chance to see your pictures shared on our Instagram page AND to win a prize from Barry’s Bootcamp.
The Prize
The top 3 participants who complete the most bucket list items and use the hashtag #SFMBsummer to share their adventures on Facebook or Instagram will win 5 free classes at a Barry’s Bootcamp location of their choice, a sweatshirt, and water bottle. Winners will be chosen on September 4, 2019, and notified shortly thereafter through their winning social media accounts. Photos of your children are not required.
If your account is private, remember to tag us in the post so we can see your photo! (Facebook: @sanfranciscomomsblog; Instagram: @sfmomsblog)
The Bucket List
At Home | In Your ‘Hood | San Francisco
Peninsula/South Bay | North Bay | East Bay
Print out our Summer Bucket List and see how many activities you can check off before summer ends!
Don’t forget: if you have a membership to a museum, you may enjoy reciprocal membership or discounted admission to other museums in the area, so ask before you pay! You can also check this list of free museum days.
At Home
1. Make popsicles
2. Bake cupcakes
3. Put bubbles in your water table
4. Host a neighborhood BBQ
5. Have a water balloon fight
6. Build a fort
7. Make Slime
8. Play with bubbles
9. Go for a family bike ride
10. Set up a lemonade stand
11. Fly a kite
12. Go roller skating
13. Make ice cream sandwiches
14. Eat watermelon
15. Plant an herb garden
16. Draw with sidewalk chalk
17. Have a family movie night
18. Have a tea party
19. Play family charades
20. Make S’mores
21. Play in a sprinkler
22. Complete a family puzzle
23. Play on a slip ‘n slide
24. Make a scrapbook of the school year
25. Have a living room dance party
In Your Hood
26. Play miniature golf. Check out this list of the best spots in the Bay or the new outdoor location, Stagecoach, in San Francisco.
27. Volunteer at a local charity
28. Visit a fire station
29. Go bowling
30. Visit a Splash Pad
31. Complete an Escape Room
32. Go to a batting cage
33. Visit a Farmer’s Market
34. Visit the Bay Club
San Francisco
35. Watch a movie outside at a Film Night in the Park
36. Go to a Giants baseball game
37. Picnic at Alamo Square
38. Visit the Randall Museum
39. Picnic at Off the Grid, Presidio
40. Visit the Walt Disney Museum
41. Visit the Children’s Creativity Museum
42. Ride the carousel in Yerba Buena Gardens
43. Visit the SFMOMA
44. Picnic in Dolores Park
45. Walk through a street fair
46. Hike to the top of SF’s highest peak, Mt. Davidson
47. Watch a matinee in a kid-friendly theatre: Cinemark Movie Clubhouse (West Portal) or Alamo Drafthouse (Mission)
48. Take pictures at Baker Beach
49. Play in the Dunes at Ocean Beach
50. Bike around Golden Gate Park on a Sunday (streets closed to cars)
51. Rent paddle boats at Stow Lake
52. Play a piano at SF Botanical Gardens’ Flower Piano exhibit
53. Visit the California Academy of Sciences
54. Visit Park Chalet’s kid-friendly beer garden
55. Go to the SF Zoo
56. Listen to music at the Stern Grove concert series
57. Visit Pier 39
58. Go to the Aquarium of the Bay
59. Tour Alcatraz
60. Visit Chinatown
61. Ride the Cable Cars
62. Take a ferry ride
63. Get an ice cream sundae in Ghirardelli Square
64. Bike across the Golden Gate Bridge
North Bay
65. Go to the Bay Area Discovery Museum
66. Visit the Marine Mammal Center
67. Visit the Marin County Fair
68. Hike Muir Woods
69. Picnic at Samuel P. Taylor State Park
70. Eat fresh oysters at Tomales Bay Oyster Company
71. Go wine tasting (yes, with the kids)
72. Go to Train Town
73. Lounge by the pool at Francis Ford Coppola Winery
74. Go to the Children’s Museum of Sonoma County
75. Visit Lake Sonoma
76. Go canoeing or tubing on the Russian River
77. Visit Safari West
78. Tour the Jelly Belly Factory
Peninsula/ South Bay
79. Ride CalTrain to Burlingame for lunch and a visit to the Five Little Monkeys toy store
80. Watch the surfers in Half Moon Bay
81. Ride a pony at Lemos Farms
82. Hike The Dish
83. Go to Happy Hollow Park & Zoo
84. Play games at the Area 151 Arcade
85. Visit the Marine Science Institute
86. Tour the Hiller Aviation Museum
87. Have fun at the Magical Bridge Playground
88. Go swimming at Rinconada Pool
89. Go to Off the Grid at Devil’s Canyon Brewing Company
90. Visit CuriOdyssey
91. Spend a day of fun at Gilroy Gardens
92. Explore the grounds of Filoli
93. Visit the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose
94. Camp at Big Basin Redwoods State Park
95. Go to Roaring Camp Railroads
96. Tour Live Earth Farm
97. Visit the Santa Cruz Pier
98. Visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium
East Bay
99. Go to the Oakland Zoo
100. Visit FairyLand
101. Visit the Lawrence Hall of Science
102. Tour the USS Hornett
103. Feed the animals and ride the steam train at Tilden Regional Park
104. Hike Mt. Diablo
105. Go on rides at California’s Great America
106. Go berry picking at Bacchini’s or other farms
107. Play bocce ball in Livermore
Just For You
108. Workout at Barry’s Bootcamp
109. Take a break from cooking and hire Pocket Chefs to prep family meals for the week
110. Book a massage at Burke Williams Spa
111. Spend 24 hours in Vegas kid-free
112. Take a nap!
great thanks for sharing