Bay Area Summer Bucket List – 100+ Kid-Friendly Ideas

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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

Just for You

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!

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