The Best Beaches in
San Francisco for Kids
When families come to visit San Francisco, they don’t normally consider seeing the beaches in the city.
However, San Francisco has some great beaches where kids can play and grown ups can enjoy the beautiful California views.
Coastal Views from Urban Beaches
San Francisco is well known for famous sights like the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and Lombard Street. It’s also popular for its world-class food scene, diverse culture, and mild whether.
What it isn’t automatically known for, however, are its beaches, which is quite a shame.
While San Francisco isn’t exactly know for having the warm, tropical beaches you’d find in places like Hawaii or Mexico, the beaches here still offer picturesque views and great places for outdoorsy families to create memories in.
In this post, we’ll talk about some of the absolute best, family-friendly beaches in San Francisco and also touch on some other great outdoor spaces in Northern California that your family will love.
Without further ado, here are the best kid-friendly beaches in San Francisco
1) Aquatic Park Cove
The first kid-friendly beach in San Francisco we’ll talk about is Aquatic Park Cove. While it might not be the most picturesque beach on this list, it does offer so many great things for families to enjoy.
The beach at Aquatic Park Cove leads into the San Francisco Bay. This means that the water here is much calmer than the rougher waves at beaches that lead to the Pacific Ocean. In fact, because of the calmer water, you can often find local swimmer taking their daily laps here.
In addition, since this beach in a more touristy part of town, there is a lot over other great things to do in the area aside from the beach.
PROS:
- Calm water
- Good for wading and swimming
- Views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz
- Views of old historic ships
- Close to other San Francisco attractions: Ghirardelli Square, Fishermans Wharf, and Pier 39.
- Plenty of restaurants and shops in the area.
- Smaller beach
- Limited paid parking
- Hard to find free parking
- Restrooms aren’t easily accessible
2) Crissy Field:
East Beach
Crissy Field’s East Beach is another great San Francisco Beach that is great fro kids.
Like Aquatic Park Cove, the bay water offers a calm place for kids for splash and wade.
It’s also located in the San Francisco Presidio, which means theres a lot of local wildlife and history in this area to explore.
PROS:
- Calmer water
- Close to biking and hiking trails
- Close to a great playground: Outpost Playground
- Lot’s of free parking
- Bigger beach
- Close views of the Golden Gate Bridge
- No easily accessible restroom
- Parking can be hard to find on busy weekends, holidays, and hot days.
3) West Bluff
Picnic Area
The West Bluff Picnic Area boasts of calm, bay water that’s great for splashing in and a small beach area that’s perfect for building sand castles on.
This are is a very popular spot among San Francisco locals, especially on rare, hot days in the city.
In addition to the calm waters, the West Bluff Picnic Area has a great walking path, grassy areas, picnic tables, and barbecue grills, which all make it a great place for families to spend time.
PRO:
- Calmer waters
- Amazing views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Marin Headlands
- Walking path
- Picnic tables
- Barbecue grills
- Can get really busy on holidays and weekends
- Gets really busy on hot days
- Bathrooms are not easily accessible
- No free parking. All parking is metered.
4) Mile Rock Beach
Another beach that kids will like playing is is Mile Rock Beach.
Mile Rock Beach is actually a hidden cove in San Francisco’s Lands End Recreational Area that requires a short, easy hike to get to.
This beach is rocky, so don’t expect to build sand castles here.
However, this cove, is perfect for rock stacking, which is a challenging, beach activity that a lot of kids have fun with.
It is also a great place to have a lunch by the crashing waves.
PROS:
- Amazing views of the Pacific Ocean
- Stunning, crashing waves
- Great place for rock stacking
- Simply getting here is an adventure.
CONS:
- No easily accessible restrooms
- Requires a hike to get to
- Parking is far from the beach
- Water is rough. No swimming or wading here.
5) Ocean Beach
Ocean Beach is the biggest beach in San Francisco.
Located on the west side of San Francisco, it is far from major tourist spots like Fishermans Wharf and the Golden Gate Bridge, which means its also far from the crowd.
Because of this, it’s a popular beach amongst San Francisco locals.
Ocean Beach is 3.5 miles long. This means that, compared to other San Francisco beaches, it offers far more space for kids to run, jump, and play in.
One thing to keep in mind, however, is that this beach leads to the Pacific Ocean and it’s rough current, so the water here might be too rough to swim in, but it’s still a great place to fly kites, build sand castles, and watch the local surfers.
PRO:
- Tons of space to play
- Plenty of free parking
- Rarely ever too crowded even on hot days
- Has a great promenade for walking, running, skating, and biking
- Close to Golden Gate Park
CONS:
- No easily accessible bathrooms
- The waves can be too rough to swim in
- The walls of the promenade are covered in graffiti (It is, after all, an urban beach. Many locals actually accept the graffiti art as part of Ocean Beach’s charm)
6) Baker Beach
Baker Beach is a great, kid-friendly beach located on the western shoreline of the Presidio of San Francisco.
Baker Beach is only about a mile long, but its offers some really spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin Headlands located on opposite side of the bay.
This beach also offers a handful of picnic tables and barbecue grills that are available to the public.
The water here might be to rough for youngsters, but it’s still an amazing t place for picnics, kite-flying, and sandcastle-building.
PROS:
- Picnic area with tables and barbecue grills
- Easily accessible bathrooms
- Free parking
- Amazing views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Marin Headlands
- Rough water
- Parking lot is small
- Can get really crowded on hot days
Things to Remember for a Great Beach Day in
San Francisco
- Wear layers OR pack clothes for the changing weather. San Francisco is notorious for its ever-changing micro-climates.
- Don’t expect many warm, sunny beach days. San Francisco remains pretty mild all year round with the temperature usually in the 50s-60s.
- The ocean and bay water is chilly!
- The ocean water can be rough and usually isn’t great for swimming.
- Pack a picnic, but please remember to clean up after yourself.
- Be on the lookout for interesting sand-dollars, kelp, crabs, and snowy plover.
- Bring sand toys. The sand is perfect for building sand castles.
- Remember that a beaches in San Francisco are not tropical beaches. Go in expecting a lovely, cool, coastal beach day.
- There are no lifeguards at any San Francisco Beach.
In Conclusion
Kid-Friendly Beaches Exist in
San Francisco
It’s true. San Francisco is definitely not be famous for having warm, tropical beaches.
However, that doesn’t mean that kid-friendly beaches don’t exist in the City by the Bay. In fact, the City has several great beaches where families can enjoy some great outdoor play by the water.
As long as you go into a San Francisco beach day expecting mild weather and amazing views, you and your family will have a truly unforgettable time splashing in the Pacific Ocean and building epic sand castles in one of the most beautiful cities in the US.
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