Heading to SF for a week in October with our two kids (will be 10 & almost 8). Since my husband will be in meetings half the week, I could use advice about how to entertain them. We'll do Alcatraz for sure, but what else is a must-see?

We're trying to decide if we should head out of town after the meetings end for more outdoor-type adventures...Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Big Sur? How far away are these places, and what would be best with kids? Are there any nice resorts in the Napa/Sonoma area that might be an option?

Any hotel/restaurant recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Kelly

Our kids (11,13,16) enjoyed Muir Woods and I wishe we had had more time to spend there. They wanted to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge and ride a cable car but no time (we were there on a quick weekend trip for a family wedding). They did enjoy driving from the top to the bottom of the crooked part of Lombard street (twice). I have never been to the Exploratorium, but I hear it is an excellent hands-on science museum. If there is a science museum near where you live, check to see if they belong to the national association (don't know it's official title). If you are a member of your own town's science museum and they participate, you can get your whole family into a bunch of excellent science museums all over the US and the world for free. Our local museum charges $35 for a one-year family membership. What a bargain if you have kids and like to travel.

Kelly:
Here's some of my childrens' favorites when they were young...
The Steinhart aquarium...fabulous fish surround on the top floor. Sharks, barracuda, yellow tail etc, swim all around you. It's great!
The De Young art museum - kids are free with an adult, and it's a great place to begin an art education. Website:
http://www.thinker.org/fam/education/families.html
Of course Fisherman's wharf, including the tall ship museum. Dad still likes this one.
My youngest daughter, who is now 24, and lived in San Fran for four years while she attended college, continues to eat occasionally at Fisherman's Grotto #9. She loved the carpet as a child, and it still draws her back. (You just can't tell what will appeal to children sometimes)
A walk across the Golden Gate bridge is a sure winner for kids, and of course the Exploratorium.
Muir woods is a wonderful place for a picnic, as is seal rock.
Just down the coast in Santa Cruz is an old amusement park that my mom and dad used to take me to and our kids also had fun there when they were little. I think it's about an hour's drive.
One suggestion: if you're not from California, consider driving up the coast to see the redwoods. 8 and 10 is perfect for driving through trees..it's a sure winner!
Sorry for running on so long, but No Cal has been a joyous place for my family.
Mary

You have received some excellent suggestions.

Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, and Big Sur are too far to be considered day trips unless you wish to spend all day driving.

Hi Kelly. Another fun thing for the kids might be an ice cream at Ghiradelli Square. You can see the chocolate being made right there. For more info, you can check out www.ghiradelli.com

I've never been to this next place (only heard of it), but it sounds fun: the Pez Museum. It's located in Burlingame, so if you have a car, that's an idea. They too have a Web site: best.com/~pez94010/pez/index.shtml

And I agree that the winding part of Lombard Street is a real blast for kids. Have a great trip to that beautiful city!

SF is a great city for kids. The Exploratorium is wonderful, the Marin Headsland and up to Point Reyes Seashore is also great, Muir Woods, Chinatown, cable cars and the cable car museum, of course Alcatraz. We live in the Bay area and had a 9 year old visitor last summer. He most enjoyed a day trip to Santa Cruz to the Boardwalk and a surfing lesson, Monterey Aquarium and kayaking in the Monterey Bay with the otters (might be cold in October--play this by ear). Don't think Napa/Sonoma is a place for kids. There's too much other good stuff. Do take them walking on the GG bridge--round trip is about 3 miles as I recall. You can hop a ferry and go to Sausalito or Tiburon just for the experience of the ferry. Down in San Jose is the High Tech museum. More than enough for a week. For a post meeting trip, I would recommend the Gold Country (do a search here) or Yosemite. Big Sur is drop down gorgeous, but again, not a place I think of for kids.

Golden Gate Park is a nice place for kids. The aquarium, planetarium, Japanese Tea Garden and DeYoung art museum are all right there. Last time I visited the aquarium they had a large penguin enclosure, with bleacher seats so you can watch them eat at feeding time. One of the handlers made the mistake of wearing long, dangling, shiny earrings, and the penguins were more interested in trying to snatch her earrings than in the fish she was giving them. It was very amusing.

The planetarium offers a star and planet show which is nice, and has a piece of rock from the moon on display, which is kind of cool. You can buy a kite on the wharf or at Ghiradelli Square and just fly your kite in the park if you like. Big open areas with lots of space for kids to run around. Sometimes there are even outdoor concerts in the amphitheatre there.

As a kid, I can remember being grossed out by the stench of dead fish at Fisherman's Wharf. Same goes for Chinatown. Too many weird sights and smells. I wouldn't suggest eating around either place if you have finnicky eaters. As an adult I love both places now, but as a kid there was no way I was going to eat there. Ghiradelli Square had some nice, family type places if I recall correctly, and chocolate always seems to be appealing.

The Exploratorium at the Palace of Fine Arts is a blast for kids! Very hands on, entertaining, and informative. The kids can sculpt with magnetic sand, stand against a giant screen and have a flash go off, then turn around and look at the image of their own shadow, play games with optical illusions, all kinds of fun stuff. This place always seems to be crowded, so try to go early on a weekday.

Santa Cruz is a great day trip, not too far, gorgeous setting and a fun boardwalk right on the beach. Kids love it. The old wooden roller coaster there dates from the 1920's I believe.

Have fun, SF is a great city.

Wow!! All I can say is THANK YOU to all who replied so promptly! We've only done SF as adults, so I'll use ALL the great kid advice. And to think, some people discouraged us from taking the kids along!?!

Thanks again (and keep the ideas coming),

Kelly

Kelly:
Since you asked for more...we had a family dinner last night, and we were reminiscing about our trips to San Francisco because of your post.

Sara,(24)Ocean Beach because there are so many sand dollars and other great shells.
The bison paddock at Golden Gate Park.

David, (he's 28 now) says he still has the penny cable car souvenir he made at the wharf, and he was very high on the Ripley's museum visit he and dad took. For me this was strictly a guy thing - the girls and I went shopping.

Missy, (30) remembers how much she loved downtown. She is my city girl, and I had forgotten how much she enjoyed being surrounded by tall buildings. A shopping trip, even at 5 or 6 was time well spent for her.

Thanks Kelly for your post - it made for some great conversation, and we have planned a family reunion trip for September. Our 2 grandchildren are 3 and 6, and we must get them on the San Fran track!

You know I had to give my two cents worth.

Sony's METREON is great if the weather is cold.

Great IMAX Theatre featuring a film called "Wild California" just spectacular. They also have an outstanding area just for kid's with the theme of "Where the Wild Things Are" ?? that they will love. There is a great public park outside with fountains and a vintage Carousel from the old Playland at the beach ($1.00 per ride). Also an ice skating rink and bowling alley. Right across the street is the the aclaimed "Museum of Modern Art".

Remember that on the first Wednesday of each month is free admission day in San Francisco.

The Zoo, Museum of Modern Art and the Steinhart Aquarium are all free...

Have funnnnnnn

Kellym
We just returned from SF in June (as well as up the coast of California--you can search for our intinerary in this forum).
My kids (boys) enjoyed the ballparks ... will yours enjoy a football game? Baseball season should be over by October but football begins.

The kids LOVED the Exploratorium. The best science center -- they gave it a 10! We spent the whole day there since there were so many things to do.

Muir Woods was a fun afternoon, hiking through the giant redwoods. And believe it or not, they actually enjoyed a winery tour in Napa Valley.

Take them to the top of San Francisco at Coit Tower. We strolled along Fisherman's Wharf after dinner; they got a kick out of the street performers.

Ghiradelli Square was interesting (and yummy!) and they got to see how chocolate is made. Golden Gate Park was a good place for a stroll. We walked from the Exploratorium, through the Ft. __???__(forgot the name), down along the harbor (bring a frisbee for a break) and over to Fisherman's Wharf. It was a lot of walking but enjoyable along the way.

If you want to get away from SF, drive over to Sacramento, the capital. We also took that side trip (after debating it in this forum)and the boys really enjoyed it. They liked Ft. Sutter (with costumed "interpreters" in this historical fort and a "cool" cannon that gets shot during the day)) and the tour of the capitol building. Along the way is the Jelly Belly factory (we didn't stop) and if you feel like driving further west is the Gold Bug Mine. It sounded interesting, but we didn't go there. Search for it on the web and decide for yourself.
San Jose is supposed to have an interesting technology museum although we didn't stop there either.
Enjoy Baghdad by the Bay!

We go to meetings in Sf all the time and frequently bring along the kids. Mine are 13 and 15 now, but when they wer your kids age, they loved waling all over town. Their favorites were Pier 39, The San Francisco Place (if the weather is chilly or wet, its indoors), Chinatown (they love Asian food and all the shops), Lombard Street(a quick ride and off to dinner somewhere), and because we all like to stroll, we would walk from Union Square all the way up through Chinatown into North Beach and all the way to the Wharf and Ghiradelli or North Beach for a bite at one of the Italian Restaurants for dinner or maybe just a cannoli and coffee.....Its a ritual to walk halfway to Shangri-La...we do it in Rome, too.....our kids are used to it. We did it with friends from the east coast and we had to hail a cab to return! A great place to go is for Indian food....There's a good one on Eddy Street "New Delhi", I think its called.....no need for reservations, and the owner just dotes on kids. My kids also like Kuletos (on Powell) but you might want to reserve there, especially on weekends. Enjoy.

Thanks again everyone! Mary, I'm so glad my post prompted your family to relive some of their fond childhood vacation memories. I can only hope that someday my kids will do the same.

GBelle, I actually DID find your itinerary the other night, and it was very useful (and impressive!).

I think I've got a pretty rough idea of our week. My main goal is to secure lodging right now. We fly in 10/13 (late) and will be staying at the SF Marriott which is right across from the Moscone Center. We will have 4 full days in the city to do all the fun kids stuff recommended on this forum (Exploratorium, Golden Gate Park, Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz, etc.)

Late on 10/17 we're going to drive up to a wonderful little place called Vintner's Inn, near Santa Cruz. This will be our "home base" for exploring the "north", including Pt. Reyes, Lake Sonoma, Russian River, and as many redwoods as we can possibly see. This way we'll also get a little wine country fix while doing lots of outdoor activities with the kids. We fly out 10/20 mid-day, so it will be a relatively quick week.

Another question...is October whale season along the coast? If so, what is the best way to catch a glimpse of them? Also, any recommendations (activities, restaurants, views) for the Santa Rosa/Sonoma area would be greatly appreciated. Are there any beaches up along the coast where the surf isn't TOO violent?

Thanks again!!

Kelly

Hello Kelly, if your staying in the Santa Cruz area then you will be south of SF. Sanat Cruz is famous for it's Boardwalk and pier. There is a loyal surfing community there as well. Santa Cruz is close to Monterey and Big Sur.

If you want to visit the North Bay regions (Sonoma and Napa Valley's, Russian River) then you may want to make Santa Rosa, Guerneville, the city of Sonoma or Bodega Bay your home base. October is a great time to visit the Bay Area because there is less fog at the beaches and the inland area's are cooler. There are several Whale wathing spots all up and down the coast by my favorite is at Jenner by the sea. Jenner is located at the end of the Russian River and usually has Sea Lions breading and sunning right on the beach. HWY 1 can take you all the way from Santa Cruz through SF to Jenner.

And by the way your hotel is SF is right across the street from the Metreon Complex and the Yerba Buena Gardens.

Kelly, I think you meant the Vintner's Inn near Santa Rosa--north of the city and near the Sonoma, Mendocino coast. Take the kids to Pt. Reyes National Seashore--the rangers do a wonderful job explaining stuff to kids and there's a recreation of a Miwok village with a ranger who is Indian himself to explain about it. There's also Pt. Reyes Lighthouse for those with strong legs. October will most likely be too early for whales--traditionally they are in this area December to April. Are either of the kids girls? If so, don't miss the street vendors from Ghiradelli to Fisherman's Wharf--inexpensive jewelry--and each vendor is licensed by the city to sell. A nice street to wander is Union Street in Cow Hollow. And, even though it's tourity, have one dinner at Fisherman's Wharf--Alioto's is slightly better than Scoma's. If you are there on a Sunday, make a reservation for Beach Blanket Babylon matinee--it's the only time children are admitted, so it's got to be Sunday, but I think they would get a kick out of the outrageous costumes and silliness of it all. If one of the kids is a boy (especially, because it appeals to mechanical stuff) visit the Cable Car Museum. And, our 9 year old visitor didn't seem particularly impressed with the Metreon and my husband found it outrageously expensive for simple refreshments. He did, however, love Coit Tower and walking the GG Bridge (be sure to bring jackets! on the bridge as well as on Alcatraz, no matter what the temps in the city itself.) Lastly, in your Vinter's Inn is the fabulous John Ash&Co restaurant--do not fail to have a meal here--you owe it to yourselves for being good parents!

I stand corrected! Silly me, of course, I meant Vintner's Inn near Santa Rosa. The sad thing is that I have a map of northern CA right next to me on my desk!

We actually stayed there several years ago for one brief night (just us grown ups), but were unable to eat at John Ash. We won't make the same mistake this time. It is a lovely place.

Both our children our boys, so while in the city we'll try to make it to the Cable Car Museum. Beach Blanket Babylon also sounds fun. Too bad about whale season. We spent 2 weeks this past winter in Hawaii and caught the "whale watching bug"!

Thanks again fodors posters! After spending hours surfing the web for various info, it finally dawned on me to check this place out (it was invaluable for Hawaii also). I couldn't have been more correct!

Kelly

Kelly - After you return from Alcatraz, stoll over to the very next pier (#45) and tour the USS Pampanito, an historic WWII Submarine that is run by the National Maritime Museum Association. It is both fun and educational. Dave

Cable Car Museum is at Mason and Washington, so stop while riding the Powell/Mason car. It's free, will only take about half an hour and you can go downstairs and see the actual cables in motion.Even if you can't get a space back on another car, it's a downhill walk from there to wherever you might want to go next. Little boys like this stuff!

Just back from CA. Spent 3 nights in San Francisco with son (12) and daughter (10). Liked Alcatraz, loved the Exploratorium, Cable car rides, and walking through Chinatown. Also spent a beautiful afternoon at the Cliff House. There is an antique arcade downstairs called the Musee Mechanique. It has all kinds of old time penny arcade machines (that now cost anywhere from 5 cents to mostly a quarter). My kids really loved it. It was interesting for them to see how different arcade games were then from now. They also spent an hour on the beach there playing in the sand. (We live an hour from the Atlantic coast and they still want to go 3000 miles to play in the sand!) Have a great trip!

Hi, Kelly,
I'm surprised nobody's mentioned Fort Point, a Civil War-era fort located directly under the SF end of the Golden Gate Bridge. My kid, and all those I know, just loved being able to run up and down the old stairs, looking at the canon and out the canon slots, and watching the surfers who tempt fate and the rocks nearby. The views of the bridge are awesome, as are views of the shipping passing under the bridge.