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200+ Free and Fun Things to Do in San Francisco

Famtastic List, North America, San Francisco, Travel, U.S.

October 26, 2018

Free in San Francisco – you may think it’s hard to come by. In the city where an average hotel price is $397 per night, apartment rent around $3500, and pricing of a house is $1.61 million, I think all families need a good dose of free things to do in this city!

Here are about 200 free things to do and see in this beautiful, but expensive city. So save your money on activities, and put that all into your down payment for a home or a beautiful hotel. 🙂 Enjoy!

(I wanted to write descriptions to each of these places, and I am working on it, but I would have never posted this if I waited until it was perfect! This post is a working progress – I am a one mom-fulltime working-women show, so doing my best. 🙂 Check back often to see what’s updated! I also welcome guest writers. If you would like to contribute to this post for credit, please fill out this contact form.)

Are you interested in budget travel or San Francisco and want to know more? Read more here:

Visit One of These Free Tourist Attractions

Most of these places need no introductions (so I will be brief) but I wanted to point out that these tourist attractions are free!

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The Place	What to Expect
Golden Gate Bridge	Walking across this bridge is completely free!
Coit Tower	Admission to the ground floor of the tower is free for everyone, and the view from this area is amazing!
Golden Gate Park	Walking around the park is absolutely free, and there are many places to visit. Our favorite free places are the Stow Lake, Bison, and the grounds at Conservatory of Flowers (we love to roll down their grassy hill)! Check out our post on how to spend a weekend in Golden Gate Park for more free fun!
Fort Point	While you go walking on the bridge, check out this place under the bridge!
Sea Lions at Pier 39	They are there, morning and night, we really could sit there for a while just looking at them take naps, fight, and swim around!
Fisherman’s Wharf	There are so many more free things to do at the Fisherman’s Wharf – check out all the free things to do in Fisherman’s’ Wharf here.
Chinatown	Our kids love coming here – it’s colorful and so much to see walking around. You can spot so many different animals (ceramic ones usually) through the windows of the shops.
Lombard Street	Although it’s not the most crooked street in San Francisco as most believe (it’s actually Vermont Street), it IS the most crooked and gorgeous street! Either walking up and down it, or driving down the street, it’s all free and fun in SF!
Union Square	It’s not all for shopping. Walk around the square to people watch, or enjoy free music that happens periodically. Watch as the cable car passes by. During the holidays, the tree and the decorations are not to be missed! Take a picture with one of the hearts too!
North Beach	Take in the smell of garlic and pizza while checking out sites like the Saints Peter and Paul Church, or go to the Joe Dimaggio Playground.
Haight + Ashbury	Unlike North Beach, it may not smell as nice, but it’s the place to take in the hippy history/ culture. It is more popular for the older kids for browsing cool shops there.
Mission District	All the tacos and burritos (not free), and murals and churches. Walking around this district is free and not-to-be-missed if you are in San Francisco!
Other Neighborhood Walks	Apparently (according to Wikipedia), there are 119 neighborhoods in San Francisco! Wow. Basically, walking around in any of these neighborhoods will provide you with lots of entertainment. We love to just go over to a neighborhood, try an appetizer or a treat at a few places, or check out the playgrounds.

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Visit One of These Free Museums

Randall Museum has an indoor petting zoo!

The Place	What to Expect
Cable Car Museum	The museum admission is free, and you can check out the history of the cable car. Perfect for kids who love “choo-choos”!
Wells Fargo History Museum	It’s small, but so much to see, and free! There is a stagecoach replica you can ride, you can use a vintage bank machine, and send a message via working telegraph to another Wells Fargo Museum!
Randall Museum	Just go. That’s all I can say about this amazing museum! It makes you wonder how it’s free and open to the public! (Check out our in-depth guide so you know what to expect.)
San Francisco Maritime Museum
Presidio Officers’ Club Museum	We love this place – it’s a hidden gem! The exhibits involve native history usually. They often have kids activities classes, and a little play/reading room.
Historic Fort Baker
Musee Mecanique	Free to enter, and many are 25 cents to play! A collection of old school (some go way back) arcade games you can play! It’s seriously fun for all ages. Read more about it here.
Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory
SF Fire Museum
National Historic Hyde Street Pier
DeYoung’s Observation Tower and Cafe	The museum may not always be free, but it’s always free to go up to the observation tower, overlooking the park, and the Cafe has a nice outdoor area you can run around.

Visit One of These Places on Free Days and Times

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The Place	When It’s Free
Japanese Tea Garden	Free before 10am on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Kids under 4 are free.
San Francisco Botanical Gardens	Always free for SF residents, school groups, and members. Free everyday from 7:30am-9am. Second Tuesday of every month. Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, New Years Day.
California Academy of Sciences	Certain days are Community Free Days (e.g. Sept 23-25, 2018) so check their website. Free for school groups and kids under 3. There are neighborhood free days if you live in San Francisco. (Also check on the website for dates.) Also participate in Discover and Go (through SF library), Community Access Ticket Service, and Museums for All.
Aquarium of the Bay	Once in a blue moon, they have a free day. Like “ocean day” one year.
DeYoung Museum	First Tuesday of every month and Friday Nights at DeYoung, certain exhibits are open to the public with live music.
Asian Art Museum	First Sunday of every month.
SFMOMA	Free for kids 18 and under. Family Free days throughout the year if you go with someone under 18.
Children’s Creativity Museum	Once in a while, they have free days, like Ocean Day.
Museum of the African Diaspora	Free for kids under 12 and active military.
Exploratorium	They have free community days posted on the website but generally: Pi Day, Mothers Day, and few other community days/nights. Free for Museums of All members, California public school teachers, certain school groups, the Community Pass Program, and Discover and Go.
San Francisco Zoo	Free days for SF residents throughout the year. They also have free days for certain people throughout the year like “if you are a year of the monkey” or dads on father’s day, moms on mother’s day.
Conservatory of Flowers	First Tuesday of every month.
Legion of Honor	First Tuesday of every month.
GLBT History Museum	First Wednesday of every month.
Yerba Buena Gardens Museum	First Tuesday of every month.
Museum of Craft and Design	First Tuesday of every month.
Contemporary Jewish Museum	First Tuesday of every month.

Visit Free Community Gardens Around the City

Just don’t take the veggies but it’s a great opportunity to show your kids how their favorite (or not-so-favorite) veggies grow! There are over 38 throughout the city! Some you can visit for free, some you have to be members of to grow your own (monthly fee).

Garden for the Environment on 7th Ave
Hooker Alley Community Garden
Alice Street Community Gardens
Please Touch Community Garden
Fort Mason Community Garden
Golden Gate Park CommUNITY Garden
TNDC Tenderloin People’s Garden

Go to One of These Farmers Markets and Other Places for Free Samples

Mission District Dandelion Factory (Chocolate samples)
Ghirardelli Square – Ghirardelli Chocolate Store (Chocolate Samples)
Stonehouse California Olive Oil Samples
Ferry Building Farmers’ Market
Inner Sunset Farmers’ Market (Sundays)
Civic Center Farmers’ Market
Crocker Galleria Farmers’ Market
Fort Mason Center Farmers’ Market
Noe Valley Farmers’ Market
Alemany Farmers’ Market
Mission Bay Farmers’ Market
Mission Community Market
4th Avenue and Geary Farmers Market
Fillmore Farmers’ Market
Castro Farmers’ Market
Divisadero Farmers’ Market
Clement St. Farmers Market
Parkside Farmers Market
Stonestown Farmers Market
North Beach Farmers Market

Take in the View from These Viewpoints

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Inspiration Point at Presidio
Twin Peaks
Grand View Park
Billy Goat Hill
Lands End Lookout

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Visit One of These Amazing Free Public Spaces

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Yerba Buena Gardens
Solve It! Think Out of the Box area on Level 2 of Building P (Play area with wooden games and puzzles)
Transamerica Redwood Park: This park has redwood trees brought from the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Tenderloin National Forest
City Hall and surrounding park
Palace of Fine Arts
De Young’s Sculpture Garden
Stow Lake, Golden Gate Park

Visit a Rooftop Garden

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Transbay Park (Salesforce Park)
Roof Garden at 343 Sansome Street
Roof Garden at 100 First Street
Westfield Mall Sky Terrace

Go Check Out These Instagram Worthy Murals

Murals in Chinatown

Murals in Chinatown
Murals in the Mission
Murals in the Marina
Beach Chalet
Murals in North Beach

Visit One of These Famous Parks with Something Special

I once read that there are over 100 parks and playgrounds in San Francisco. All free. But I honestly don’t have the time to list them here and no one wants to read such a long post. So that will be for another day, another post. For now, check out these parks that has a little more than the usual slides and sandboxes (which reminds me – I thought they were going to get rid of them?!).

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Seward Street Slides
Koret Playground Slides & Carousel
Dolores Park
Alamo Square – Full House House
Painted Ladies
Giants Fan Lot (slides, giant baseball glove, etc) at AT&T Park (Free on non-game days)
Golden Gate Park – Bisons
Golden Gate Park – Watch Model Boats Racing
Golden Gate Park – Free Fishing Lessons at Casting Ponds
Golden Gate Park – Butterfly Habitat
Duboce Park (dog-run)

Go on a Hunt for These Hidden Treasures

What’s inside the little door?

Hunt for the Hearts around San Francisco
Golden Gate Park – Find the Faery Doors: Have you seen those tiny little doors, especially in the Music Concourse area of Golden Gate Park? Go on a search! Find them all! Henry and Andrew both love finding them and opening them to see what’s inside.
GeoCatching throughout the city

Visit One of These Amazingly guide to these beaches

There are 10 beaches in San Francisco. Some of them are hidden – or not there at all during some parts of the day! For more information on these beaches, check out our guide to these beaches!

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Baker Beach
Ocean Beach
Crissy Field East Beach
Crissy Field West Beach
Aquatic Park
Wave Organ Beach (when it’s low tide)
China Beach
Fort Funston
Marshall’s Beach
Mile Rock Beach

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Watch Free Sports

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Giants AT&T Park – Lookout Spot
Golden Gate Park Soccer Fields
Golden Gate Park Baseball Fields
Watch bikers and skateboarders at one of these skate parks
Archery Fields in Golden Gate Park

Visit One of 27 Libraries for Free Events and Play (I mean… Reading) Space

San Francisco has 27 branches of libraries across the city, and many of them have playspaces! Not only that, but they have kid-friendly events throughout the year like drag queen storytime, weekly story time, and seasonal events for holidays like the Chinese New Year and Halloween!

Attend These Free Events and Festivals Throughout the Year

Cherry Blossom Festival in Japan Town in April!

Yerba Buena Gardens Festival
Presidio’s Creative Family Fun
Presidio Picnic
Off the Grid
Pier 39’s Events (Annual Celebrations, 4th of July, New Years, etc.)
San Francisco Mime Troupe
Shakespeare Festival
National Night Out
Cherry Blossom Festival
North Beach Festival
Union Street Festival
TreasureFest
Bay Area Science Fest’s Discovery Day
New Year’s Festivities at Fisherman’s Wharf
4th of July Festivities at Fisherman’s Wharf
Fleet Week
Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival
Chinatown Mid-Autumn Moon Festival
Excelsior Arts & Music Festival
The Wharf Fest
Potrero Hill Festival
All the holiday celebrations (100+) – so many are free!
Glen Park Festival
Taiwanese American Cultural Festival
Union Street Spring Celebration
Haight Street Fair
Juneteenth Festival

There are dozens of events going on for free in San Francisco every month! To keep up to date with these events, join our San Francisco Family Travel + Activities group on Facebook!

Check Out These Free Parades Throughout the Year

St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Pride Parade
Philipino Pride Parade
Northern California Cherry Blossom Parade
Chinese New Year Parade
Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade
Cesar Chavez Festival and Parade
Carnaval
Italian Heritage Parade

Listen to Free Music

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Golden Gate Park Band at the Music Concourse
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass (usually first weekend of October)
Wave Organ during High Tide
Polk Street Blues Festival
Pop-Up Bands
Chinese Percussionists in Chinatown
SF Free Folk Festival
Stern Grove Concerts
Fillmore Jazz Festival
Flower Piano at the Botanical Gardens (in July)

Go to Neighborhood Block Parties

Inner Sunset Flea: They block off part of Irving Street on Second Sundays May through November. They have vendors but also a lot of fun activities like giant connect 5 and bubbles!
Sunday Streets: Gigantic block parties in many neighborhoods of San Francisco generally March – October!

Step Up (or Down) These Iconic Steps

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Lyon Street Steps
16th Avenue Mosaic Steps
Lincoln Steps
Musical Stairs
Chinatown Steps

Go on a Hike at One of these 30+ Hikes

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Do you love hiking with your kids? We have you covered! Check out one of these 30+ FREE Kid-Friendly Hikes in San Francisco. These include amazing places like Lands End (and Sutro Baths), Palace of Fine Arts, and More!!

Winter Seasonal Free Events and Activities

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Go check out one of these displays and events (many of them are free) during the holidays!

There you have it!

We love love love that we have so many options for free activities in San Francisco! Did we miss anything? Hope this will keep you busy during your stay or while you live here. 🙂