California is arguably the greatest family destination on earth — home to the world’s most beloved theme parks, world-class aquariums, hands-on science museums, and magical experiences that children and parents remember for a lifetime. And right here in Monterey County, we have some of the best family attractions anywhere on the California coast.

102. Spend a Day at Disneyland Park

Walt Disney’s original Magic Kingdom — opened in Anaheim in 1955 — remains one of the most enchanting places on earth, with meticulously themed lands, beloved classic rides, and the kind of storytelling magic that moves parents just as much as it delights their children. From the Haunted Mansion to Space Mountain to the newly expanded Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, there’s no experience quite like stepping through those gates for the first time. Book ahead, arrive early, and give yourself at least two full days to do it justice. Learn More →

103. Explore Disney California Adventure Park

Disney California Adventure celebrates the diversity and energy of the Golden State itself — from the thrilling Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout and Radiator Springs Racers to the soaring Pixar Pier boardwalk. The Pixar-themed land is a visual delight for families with younger kids, while older kids and adults love the more intense rides and the incredibly detailed Cars Land. Combined with a visit to Disneyland next door, it’s a complete California adventure. Learn More →

104. Tour Universal Studios Hollywood

Universal Studios Hollywood is the world’s oldest operating major movie studio and theme park — where families can experience the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, ride the incredible Jurassic World ride, and take a behind-the-scenes tram tour of working film sets. The stunt shows, special effects demonstrations, and themed lands make it as much a film school as an amusement park. It’s a thrilling, uniquely Hollywood experience that celebrates the movies in spectacular fashion. Learn More →

105. Explore the San Diego Zoo

The San Diego Zoo is consistently rated among the finest zoos in the world — a 100-acre paradise in Balboa Park where gorillas, koalas, giant pandas, and over 3,500 other animals live in naturalistic habitats that set the global standard for humane zoo design. The aerial gondola ride provides a sweeping overview of the entire park, and the Children’s Zoo area lets smaller visitors interact with farm animals up close. Budget a full day — this is a destination zoo that rewards every hour you give it. Learn More →

106. Visit LEGOLAND California

LEGOLAND California in Carlsbad is purpose-built for the 2–12 age group, with rides, shows, and interactive play areas that celebrate the limitless creativity of LEGO. Miniland USA recreates famous American cities and landmarks entirely out of LEGO bricks — including a brick-by-brick San Francisco and Hollywood — with remarkable detail and playful humor. The water park add-on and Ninjago interactive ride are particular family favorites. Learn More →

107. Explore Hands-On Exhibits at the Exploratorium in San Francisco

The Exploratorium on San Francisco’s Embarcadero is not just a science museum — it’s a philosophy of learning made physical, with over 650 interactive exhibits that challenge visitors to observe, question, and discover for themselves. Every exhibit was designed by scientists and artists working together, and the result is a place where children and adults alike find themselves genuinely absorbed for hours. The Tactile Dome — a completely dark, touch-only sensory experience — is genuinely unforgettable. Learn More →

108. Visit the California Academy of Sciences

The California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park is one of the most remarkable natural history institutions in the world — housing a living coral reef aquarium, a four-story rainforest biome full of free-flying tropical butterflies, a full-scale planetarium, and a rooftop garden all under one living green roof. The albino alligator and the Philippine coral reef tank are particular kid favorites. It’s the rare museum that is genuinely worth visiting again and again. Learn More →

109. Explore the Monterey Bay Aquarium

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is, quite simply, one of the greatest aquariums in the world — and for Monterey County families, it’s right in our backyard on Cannery Row. The living kelp forest exhibit, the Open Sea tank with its drifting schools of sardines and lurking sharks, the touch pools, and the beloved sea otter program represent the pinnacle of aquarium design and conservation mission. Take out-of-town guests here and watch their eyes widen — every single time. Learn More →

110. Ride Historic Cable Cars in San Francisco

San Francisco’s cable cars — the world’s last manually operated cable car system, designated a National Historic Landmark — have been climbing the city’s dramatic hills since 1873, and riding one is both a genuine thrill and a piece of living history. The Powell-Hyde line offers the most spectacular views, cresting Nob Hill before descending to Ghirardelli Square and Fisherman’s Wharf. Hang from the running board as the city slides past below and try not to grin. Learn More →

111. Walk the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk — less than an hour from Monterey — is the last surviving Victorian seaside amusement park on the West Coast, and its Giant Dipper wooden roller coaster (1924) and Looff Carousel (1911) are both National Historic Landmarks. The combination of a sandy beach, crashing Pacific waves, corn dogs, and classic carnival rides makes it one of the most beloved family destinations in California. A warm summer evening here is pure Northern California magic. Learn More →

112. Visit the California Science Center

Los Angeles’s California Science Center in Exposition Park is a world-class hands-on science museum with free general admission — making it one of the greatest bargains in Southern California family travel. The centerpiece is the Space Shuttle Endeavour, displayed in breathtaking vertical launch position in the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center. Interactive ecosystems exhibits, an IMAX theater, and the outdoor Rose Garden rounding out a truly exceptional day. Learn More →

113. See the Space Shuttle Endeavour at the California Science Center

The Space Shuttle Endeavour — displayed at the California Science Center in an awe-inspiring vertical launch configuration with its external tank and solid rocket boosters — is one of the most extraordinary objects on public display anywhere in the world. Standing at the base of the 184-foot stack and looking up is a physical experience of scale and ambition that simply cannot be replicated. The adjacent exhibit on the Space Shuttle program provides all the context for a deeply moving tribute to human exploration. Learn More →

114. Explore the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County — the largest natural history museum in the western United States — houses one of the finest dinosaur halls in the world, a spectacular gem and mineral collection, a living butterfly pavilion, and a beloved collection of California native animals. The Dueling Dinosaurs exhibit, featuring two nearly complete T. rex and Triceratops skeletons, is jaw-dropping. Free for LA County residents on select days, it’s an essential family stop in Exposition Park. Learn More →

115. Tour the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose

The Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose — housed in a distinctive purple building designed by Mexico City architect Ricardo Legorreta — is one of the finest children’s museums in California, with engaging exhibits on science, technology, culture, and the arts designed for children from infancy through age 10. The “Streets” neighborhood exhibit, where kids run a grocery, drive a fire truck, and work in a construction zone, is perennially popular. A wonderful rainy-day destination in the South Bay. Learn More →

116. Visit the San Francisco Zoo

The San Francisco Zoo sits at the ocean’s edge in the city’s fog-swept Sunset District, home to over 2,000 animals including African penguins, snow leopards, and Gorilla World — one of the finest great ape habitats in any American zoo. The Children’s Zoo with its barnyard animals and the carousel are perennial family favorites. The combination of zoo admission and nearby Ocean Beach makes for a full, memorable San Francisco family day. Learn More →

117. Watch a Live TV Show Taping in Hollywood or Burbank

Free tickets to television show tapings — game shows, talk shows, sitcoms, and reality competitions — are available through audience booking services, and attending a live taping is a uniquely LA experience that pulls back the curtain on how television is made. Shows tape at studios in Hollywood, Burbank, and Culver City, and many welcome audience members as young as 16 (some even younger). It’s free, fascinating, and genuinely behind-the-scenes California magic. Learn More →

118. Tour the Walt Disney Family Museum

Located in the Presidio of San Francisco, the Walt Disney Family Museum is an extraordinary tribute to the life and imagination of Walter Elias Disney — with ten galleries of original artwork, early Mickey Mouse animation, and a massive scale model of Disneyland as it looked at its 1955 opening. It’s not a theme park experience but a deeply moving exploration of creativity, perseverance, and the making of American popular culture. Disney fans of any age will be genuinely moved. Learn More →

119. Go Tidepooling at Cabrillo National Monument or Point Lobos

California’s rocky intertidal zones are among the richest on the Pacific Coast, teeming with sea stars, hermit crabs, anemones, chitons, and the occasional octopus hiding under a boulder. Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego and Point Lobos State Natural Reserve near Carmel both offer exceptional tidepooling at low tide — and for Monterey County families, Point Lobos is practically in the neighborhood. Check tide tables, wear shoes with grip, and leave everything where you find it — these are living ecosystems. Learn More →

120. Play at Dennis the Menace Park in Monterey

Dennis the Menace Park in Monterey is a local legend — a beloved playground designed in 1956 with the creative input of Hank Ketcham, the comic strip creator who lived in Monterey, featuring a steam locomotive, a suspension bridge, a rock climbing wall, and an enormous roller slide that generations of Monterey kids have sped down. Set beside El Estero Lake in the heart of the city, it’s completely free and absolutely beloved by every child who visits. A must-do for any family on the Peninsula. Learn More →

121. Explore the Touch Pools at the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History

The Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History offers a small but beautifully curated collection of exhibits on the natural and cultural history of the Santa Cruz coast — and its tidepool touch tanks, where kids can handle sea stars, urchins, and hermit crabs under careful supervision, are a genuine delight. The museum’s location in a historic Carnegie library building beside Neary Lagoon Bird Sanctuary makes the setting as special as the exhibits. Free admission makes it an easy family stop. Learn More →

122. Explore MY Museum in Downtown Monterey

MY Museum — the Monterey County Youth Museum — is a beloved community institution in downtown Monterey designed specifically for children 8 and under, with nine gallery areas and over 50 hands-on exhibits where kids can operate a farm stand, be a firefighter, build with giant foam blocks, and explore the natural world of Monterey Bay. It’s the kind of place where toddlers run from exhibit to exhibit with complete joy, and parents find themselves genuinely entertained alongside them. A true Monterey treasure. Learn More →

123. Ride the Roaring Camp Steam Train Through the Redwoods

The Roaring Camp Railroads in Felton — just over the Santa Cruz Mountains from Monterey — operates one of the last authentic narrow-gauge steam railroads in America, climbing steep grades through old-growth redwood forest to the summit of Bear Mountain on trains powered by genuine 19th-century steam engines. The living redwoods, the scent of woodsmoke, and the sound of the steam whistle echoing through the forest combine for an experience that feels genuinely timeless. A short but utterly magical family adventure. Learn More →

124. Watch the Sea Lions at Pier 39 in San Francisco

In 1989, following the Loma Prieta earthquake, a colony of California sea lions began hauling out on the boat docks at Pier 39 — and they never left. Today over 1,000 sea lions may be piled on the docks at peak season, barking, jostling, and flopping over each other in spectacular marine mammal fashion. It’s completely free, endlessly entertaining for kids of all ages, and one of those spontaneous, unplanned California wildlife moments that nobody planned but everyone loves. Learn More →

125. Pick Out a Pumpkin in Half Moon Bay

Half Moon Bay — the World Pumpkin Capital — transforms into a family paradise every October, with farms lining Highway 92 stacked high with pumpkins of every shape, size, and color imaginable, and the famous Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors over its October weekend. The sight of kids running through a coastal pumpkin patch with fog rolling in from the Pacific is a California autumn memory that lasts a lifetime. Learn More →

126. Step Into a Storybook at Children’s Fairyland in Oakland

Children’s Fairyland on the shores of Lake Merritt in Oakland opened in 1950 as the nation’s first storybook theme park — a small, immersive world of miniature sets, live animals, puppet shows, and gentle rides that is perfectly scaled for the under-8 crowd. It was Walt Disney’s favorite children’s park, and some say it was an inspiration for Disneyland. Beloved by generations of Bay Area families, it remains a genuinely enchanting and completely unpretentious place. Learn More →

127. Play at the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito

The Bay Area Discovery Museum sits at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge in Sausalito within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area — making its outdoor plaza views among the most spectacular of any children’s museum in the world. Inside, hands-on exhibits on science, art, and nature are designed for children from six months to ten years, and the outdoor Bay Hall lets kids splash, dig, and explore the natural environment of the San Francisco Bay. The setting alone makes it unforgettable. Learn More →

128. Take a Safari Tour at Safari West in Santa Rosa

Safari West is a 400-acre African wildlife preserve in the Sonoma hills where giraffes, cheetahs, white rhinos, flamingos, and hundreds of other animals roam through open habitats — and guided open-air safari vehicles bring visitors within extraordinary proximity to these magnificent creatures. Founded in 1993 and now home to nearly 1,000 animals, it offers a genuine safari experience without leaving California. Overnight glamping in African-style tent cabins makes it a truly unforgettable family adventure. Learn More →

129. Go Sledding at a Sierra Snow Park

California’s Sierras receive some of the deepest snowfall in North America, and Caltrans-operated Sno-Parks from Donner Summit to Mammoth offer family-friendly sledding, snowshoeing, and tubing areas for a simple daily vehicle permit fee. There’s something universally joyful about watching children experience their first real snowfall — and the drive up Highway 50 or US-395 through snow-draped Sierra scenery is spectacular in its own right. Dress in layers, bring chains, and check Caltrans road conditions before you go. Learn More →

130. Pick Apples and Eat Pie at Apple Hill Near Placerville

Apple Hill in El Dorado County — a community of over 50 family farms and orchards in the Sierra Nevada foothills east of Sacramento — becomes a fall pilgrimage destination every September through December, when visitors pick fresh apples, browse for cider, pies, and artisan goods, and enjoy the gorgeous autumn colors of the gold country hills. The drive through Highway 49 wine country on the way makes it a full Central California autumn road trip. Learn More →

131. Ride the Wooden Coaster at Knott’s Berry Farm

Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park is California’s original theme park — predating Disneyland by eight years — and its legendary GhostRider wooden roller coaster, at 4,533 feet of twisting track, is one of the longest wooden coasters in the world. Knott’s has also preserved its Western ghost town heritage with shootouts, a gold panning area, and the boysenberry products (jam, pie, wine) that made the Knott family famous in the first place. A classic California theme park with deep family roots. Learn More →

132. Visit SeaWorld San Diego

SeaWorld San Diego has evolved dramatically in recent years — shifting its focus from performing orca shows toward immersive animal encounters, marine conservation education, and thrilling theme park rides. The Emperor roller coaster, Manta’s stingray touch pool, and the up-close interactions with dolphins, sea turtles, and rescued animals make for a genuinely enriching family day. The San Diego location’s commitment to rehabilitation and rescue gives visitors a deeper connection to the ocean animals they encounter. Learn More →

133. Explore the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach

The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach is California’s largest aquarium and one of the most visited in the country — home to over 11,000 animals representing 500 species from the Pacific Ocean’s three great habitats: Southern California/Baja, the Tropical Pacific, and the Northern Pacific. The new Pacific Visions wing, featuring an immersive 5K film experience, and the popular bamboo shark and stingray touch pools make it a must-do on any Southern California family itinerary. Learn More →

134. Ride the Ferris Wheel at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier

The Santa Monica Pier’s Pacific Park amusement park is home to the Pacific Wheel — the world’s first solar-powered Ferris wheel — which lifts riders 130 feet above the Pacific for sweeping views of the Santa Monica Mountains, Malibu coastline, and the glittering blue water stretching to the horizon. The pier itself, with its amusement rides, aquarium, historic carousel, and beachside atmosphere, is one of the great family experiences in Los Angeles. Walking out to the end of the pier as the sun sets over the Pacific is pure California bliss. Learn More →

Download the Complete Guide

Want all 250 experiences in one place? Download our printable PDF guide — perfect for road trips, planning sessions, or keeping on the fridge as a reminder of everything California has to offer.