Places to take children in the Bay Area

We’ve been here a couple of months now and I thought I’d share a few of the fun places we’ve found.

The Exploratorium is filled with interactive science exhibits. I smiled the entire time we were there. Honestly, I’d like to go back and spend some more time there, without the kids. They have a large parking lot that was nearly full when we arrived in the early afternoon on a weekend.

Muir Woods National Monument. We did a mild trail walk which was great for the little ones. The tree cover is nearly complete, so it’s on the cold side and surprisingly hard to get good photographs on account of the lack of light. There are a couple of parking lots but it was very crowded. I had to park along the road about a 10 minute walk away.

Lawrence Hall of Science. A science museum up in the Berkeley hills. More here.

Golden Gate Park. Just gorgeous, we spent the afternoon there today. We visited the Botanical Garden, had tea in the Japanese Tea Garden and played a bit of frisbee on an athletic field. We parked on the street nearby. We also noticed an entrance to an underground “City Park” parking lot not far from the entrance to the garden.