Here’s our ultimate list of all of the beaches in San Francisco – yes, all of them! I studied the map of San Francisco, visited even the most unknown (because when the tide is high, it’s not there) of the beaches to give you the info you need on visiting them with kids!

We’ve identified whether these beaches in San Francisco are stroller friendly, scooter friendly, or better to go with a baby in carriers or walking kids and adults. Find the icons you are interested in for quick reference to see which beach in San Francisco is perfect for you and your family! 

*The first comment I got this post was about the floral dress I am wearing. Here it is. Under $35!

Are you interested in getting family photos taken at these beaches in San Francisco? Check out my advice on which of these beaches are best for family photo shoots here!

Map of Beaches in San Francisco

Aquatic Park, San Francisco with Kids

We love this bach. Gentle waves, big ships, Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz view with hot chocolate or ice cream available right around the corner. It doesn’t get any more kid-friendly than this beach!

Parking: Street or garage parking about a 2-minute walk from the beach.

Parking to Beach: Easy walk from the street to this beach. Stroller friendly path

Size of Beach: Small, and surrounded by steps. Not secluded, it’s in the middle of the Ghirardelli Square area. It is away from the main road though, so you have time to catch up to your little even if they decide to make a dash for it.

Size of Waves: Gentle

Bathrooms: At surrounding businesses in Ghirardelli Square and Fisherman’s Wharf.

Type of Beach: Sandy

China Beach, San Francisco with Kids

Besides the Aquatic Park for more of a fun morning, this is our family beach. We love to come here to unwind, and just be surrounded by nature. By far our favorite beach with the kids, even though we live closer to Ocean Beach!

Parking: Small dedicated parking lot, which is not usually full unless it’s a gorgeous day on the weekend.

Parking to Beach: Pretty easy! From the parking lot, you can either go down a ramp (wheelchair and stroller friendly) or down the steps. Henry and Andrew both like to go up and down the steps, but it’s pretty steep so be careful! Probably a 3-5 minute walk down (steps are a little faster).

Size of Beach: Small and an intimate feel. We love it because we can see the kids from every angle, and we don’t have to chase them too far. 🙂

Size of Waves: Pretty big, but it breaks pretty far, so we’ve never had an issue with our kids touching their feet in the water.

Bathrooms: Porta-potties only for now. The bathrooms are under renovation, but it’s been that way for a while so I won’t hold your breath.

Type of Beach: Rock formations with little caves. It’s gorgeous and intimate. Sandy beach.

Do you want to know more about San Francisco with Kids? Join our Facebook group, where members can share information about kid-friendly everything in San Francisco, and we would love to have you join the conversation too!

Marshall’s Beach, San Francisco with Kids

As you can see with this family (photos were taken by me, through Emily Jenks Photography), it’s totally doable. It’s a must if you are a visiting family and your family likes to hike. If your kids aren’t a fan of hiking, or not stable enough to talk or be carried, skip this one and go to another beach that has a view of the bridge. This beach is basically as up close as you can get to the bridge! The rocks are pretty cool too. The pathway, although steep at times, it’s still gorgeous with tall grass, flowers, and of course the breathtaking views.

Parking: Park either at Langdon Court Parking or at Baker Beach. There is usually plenty of parking at both, unless it’s a rare hot sunny day in San Francisco, then may get full.

Parking to Beach: You will need to hike down a pretty steep set of stairs and trail to get to the beach from either parking lot. I prefer the Langdon Court Parking lot and walk down on the Battery to Bluffs trail because it seems shorter, but you also could park closer to Baker Beach and make your way on the Batteries to Bluff Trail from that end. Google Maps shows a 7-minute walk, but it could be longer if you stopped to take in the views, and depending on how fast the kids are.

Size of Beach: Depending on the tide, the beach could get pretty small. It’s a smaller beach in general.

Size of Waves: Pretty big, but you could splash around with close supervision.

Bathrooms: None. Closest one is at Baker Beach.

Type of Beach: Sand and rocks. Lots of rocks (bigger ones).

East Beach, San Francisco with Kids

This is a great beach to come with kids too. It’s just an overall easy beach – right by the parking lot, there’s a bathroom, gentle waves, and the weather is generally as good as it gets in terms of San Francisco.

Parking: Easy! A pretty big one right off the beach.

Parking to Beach: Super easy. Parking lot right off the beach.

Size of Beach: Decently big. Big enough to walk around or chase the kids. The beach is separated by pretty low blocks of concrete. If your kid decides to make a run for it, there still is a little walkway before they get to the parking lot.

Size of Waves: Gentle!

Bathrooms: Right at the parking lot.

Type of Beach: Sandy

Do you want to know more about San Francisco with Kids? Join our Facebook group, where members can share information about kid-friendly everything in San Francisco, and we would love to have you join the conversation too!

Crissy Field Beach (by the Warming Hut), San Francisco with Kids

This is another easy beach. It’s conveniently located by the Warming Hut, where you can grab a cup of coffee or snacks for the kids. It’s gated (yay!) so the kids won’t be able to just run off. There are logs to sit on, and at low tide, you can walk on this concrete slab pretty far out. Maybe it’s because of this concrete, that it doesn’t give the “swimming beach” vibe. It’s great for sand play and a quick stop while you are exploring Crissy Field.

Parking: About a 1-5 minute walk from the beach by the Warming Hut! Depending on where you park. 

Parking to Beach: Super easy! The parking lot for the Warming Hut is right there, and rest is flat and easy to walk to.

Size of Beach: Small.

Size of Waves: Gentle.

Bathrooms: By the Warming Hut.

Type of Beach: Sandy.

Ocean Beach, San Francisco with Kids

This is our home beach. We live close to it, and such an easy trip on the N Judah. It’s vast, so you will have to chase your kids around quite a bit, and it is quite the walk to the water once you get on the beach. So I say “stroller friendly” here because there is a path along the beach to stroller around, but it would be pretty heavy to carry the stroller around once you get on the beach. Also, get ready for education on graffiti if you have inquisitive minds with you. 🙂

Parking: Lots, right off the beach.

Parking to Beach: Easy! The parking lots are basically right off of the beach and a pathway basically going all across the beach. There is a small set of steps at some parts of the beach but that’s it.

Size of Beach: Huge. Like miles and miles. So if you have an active kid that likes to run, get ready for a good exercise.

Size of Waves: Also huge. Be very careful of tides. However, there often is pools forming all over the beach where kids can play.

Bathrooms: On certain locations like on Taraval Street. Or at Beach Chalet and Lands End.

Type of Beach: Sandy

Mile Rock Beach (Lands End), San Francisco with Kids

Similar to Marshall’s Beach, you should go if your kids are into hiking or at least you can carry them. Once you get there, there’s also a lot of rocks and sticks (which could totally be fun) so it’s not easy to walk around. It also has huuuuge waves crashing into the big rocks, so definitely not for the 2 year old that gets frightened pretty easily. It’s definitely a unique beach, unlike any other in San Francisco, so if you are at Lands End, and if all of the above sounds like a good fit, go for it!!

Parking: Far away, either at Lands End parking lots, or Legion of Honor parking lot.

Parking to Beach: Pretty far. About 15-20 minute walk from any of the parking lots.

Size of Beach: Small.

Size of Waves: Huge ones crashing into big rocks.

Bathrooms: Not until the Lands End Lookout.

Type of Beach: Little bit of sandy, but rocky and sticks.

Do you want to know more about San Francisco with Kids? Join our Facebook group, where members can share information about kid-friendly everything in San Francisco, and we would love to have you join the conversation too!

Fort Funston Beach, San Francisco with Kids

This is a super cute walk to do with the kids, but it take a bit of an effort to get to and from the beach because you have to go down a pretty steep sand hill. This dog is perfect for off-leash dogs, so keep that in mind – whether you love that or you don’t. It’s gorgeous with ocean greens (I don’t know what you call those things but it’s pictured) and a secluded feel. It’s part of Ocean Beach, just more South.

Parking: Lots of parking but far away from the beach.

Parking to Beach: You will have to go down a pretty steep grade of beach sand from the parking lot and a little bit of hiking. Going down might be easy, but you need some strength to go back up!

Size of Beach: Big, it’s connected to Ocean Beach.

Size of Waves: Huge

Bathrooms: At Fort Funston parking lot.

Type of Beach: Sandy

Wave Organ Beach, San Francisco with Kids

Seriously. It’s a big secret because this beach technically doesn’t exist for most of the day. You must go there during the super low tide. We discovered it because we were so excited to show the kids the wave organ. To our disappointment, we couldn’t hear anything because it was low tide and the waves weren’t hitting the “organ” part. To our delightful surprise, there was a little beach! View of Alcatraz and the city skyline, super gentle waves. We had a blast. And the wave organs blocked the wind, so even though it was a super windy day (which it usually is there), it wasn’t windy on the beach! So it’s basically a win-win spot with kids. High tide = cool wave organ, low tide = cute calm beach!

Parking: There’s some by the St. Francis Yacht Club, but besides that, East Beach Parking lot is the closest.

Parking to Beach: Pretty easy. From either parking lot, it’s a flat surface (wheelchair and stroller friendly). Maybe about a 5-10 minute walk depending on where you are coming from.

Size of Beach:  Small to non-existent during high tide. There are pretty big steps you have to go over to get to the walking path, and then a walking path (pretty narrow), so best to keep your eye out if you have a climber. The street is pretty far away though.

Size of Waves: Gentle on one side.

Bathrooms: At St. Francis Yacht Club or East Beach.

Type of Beach: Sandy, but sometimes nonexistent

Do you want to know more about San Francisco with Kids? Join our Facebook group, where members can share information about kid-friendly everything in San Francisco, and we would love to have you join the conversation too!

Baker Beach, San Francisco with Kids 

Probably one of the most famous beach in San Francisco so doesn’t need much of an introduction. It’s gorgeous, it’s iconic, it’s a nudist beach. 🙂

 

 

Parking: Big dedicated parking lot, which is on the beach.

Parking to Beach: Super easy. There’s a big parking lot, and the beach. Not much walking necessary.

Size of Beach: Big! Not as big as Ocean Beach, but it’s still pretty big that you do have quite a bit of chasing around if you are with a wild child. If you go down by the water, you do have a good amount of chances to catch up to this wild child before he/she reaches the parking lot.

Size of Waves: Pretty big. Definitely keep your eye open.

Bathrooms: Right at the parking lot.

Type of Beach: Sandy – almost black sand depending on the time of the day.

There you have it! Have you gone to any of these beaches? Let us know what you think!

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