Last updated on March 31st, 2024 at 05:36 pm
Are you looking for fun things to do in San Francisco with teens or older kids? I’ve got you covered!
With its breathtaking sights, family-friendly attractions, fun activities, and that iconic Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco Bay Area is a great family vacation destination. I’ve lived in California for more than 20 years and love exploring this area of the state. As the mom of a teen, we visit San Francisco often and always have an amazing time.
Top 5 Picks: Things to Do in San Francisco with Teens
If you are just looking for a quick list of the canât miss, very best things to do in San Francisco with teens, here are our Top 5 recommendations.
âș Walk or bike across the Golden Gate Bridge
âș Cruise over to Alcatraz Island and tour the infamous prison and grounds
âș Take a hike in Muir Woods
âș Learn about San Francisco’s dark history on a Ghost Tour
âș Check out the California Academy of Sciences, which includes an aquarium, planetarium, four-story tall rain forest, and natural history museum!
Keep reading for more details on these top five activities, plus many more fun things to do with teenagers in San Francisco, California.
Family Friendly San Francisco Activities
From Alcatraz to the Zoo, here are 30 things to do in San Francisco with teens and older kids.
1. Visit Alcatraz
Arguably one of San Franciscoâs most famous landmarks, Alcatraz Island is a must-do excursion when visiting San Francisco. If you are looking for the very best things to do in San Francisco with teens, Alcatraz should be at the top of your list! I went for the first time as a teenager myself, and have been there many times over the years with my own teen.
The infamous prison once housed Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly and the Birdman of Alcatraz. Today, it is run by the National Park Service and you can tour the old prison and the islandâs grounds.
There is an excellent audio guide that includes memories of former prisoners and guards. It is nice to be able to listen and go at your own pace, rather than having to follow around a tour guide in a group.
The night tour is especially spooky, and offers extras like access to the prisonâs hospital.
Alcatraz Island is located in the San Francisco Bay and can be reached only via Alcatraz Cruises. The Alcatraz Ferry Terminal is located at Pier 33 on The Embarcadero, and the trip each way takes only about 15 minutes.
This is a very popular tour, with tickets sometimes selling out weeks in advance. Make sure to reserve your tickets as soon as you have a date!
2. Ride a Cable Car
Did you know that the San Francisco Cable Cars are the only moving National Monuments in the entire country?
No trip to San Francisco would be complete without hopping on a cable car ride! My son absolutely loved hanging off the side of the cable car. We took the cable cars just about everywhere.
Two of San Franciscoâs three cable car lines come into the Fishermanâs Wharf area: the Powell-Hyde and the Powell-Mason lines. Both originate in Union Square. The California line runs the other way, originating in the Financial District. You can take the cable cars to Chinatown.
Make sure you look down Lombard Street, the crookedest street in the world, as you pass. Youâll also get treated to a breathtaking view of the bay!
At $7 per ticket, cable car rides are expensive, so if you plan to use other San Francisco public transportation, purchase a Muni passport that provides unlimited access.
3. Aquarium of the Bay
Who says the aquarium is just for little kids? Teens and adults will love it, too!
Located at the foot of Pier 39 on Fishermanâs Wharf, the Aquarium of the Bay is a great stop to spend an hour or two.
The Aquariumâs coolest feature is its 300 feet of clear tunnels. Youâll get a scuba diverâs view as 20,000 of San Francisco Bayâs most amazing animals (including sharks, eels, fish and octopus) swim overhead.
There are also daily educator-led animal feedings and interactions, hands-on science experiments, sustainable seafood discussions and more. There are nice views of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge from the Aquariumâs outdoor decks.
âș Click here for discount tickets to Aquarium of the Bay
4. California Academy of Sciences
Established in San Franciscoâs Golden Gate Park in 1853 and beautifully renovated in 2008, this fantastic museum is an aquarium, planetarium, rain forest and natural history museum all rolled up into one. In total, 40,000 live animals call the California Academy of Sciences home!
We enjoyed this museum way more than expected! The highlight was the rainforest. Up a circular ramp, four stories high, brightly colored butterflies, frogs and other critters flit about. On the lower level, there is an impressive aquarium.
On top, there is a 2.5-acre rooftop garden waiting to be explored.
Check the times and donât miss the penguin feeding, planetarium shows, or swamp talk with the Academy’s albino alligator, Claude.
5. Bike the Golden Gate Bridge
Biking across the bridge was the thing I was most looking forward to on our trip, and it did not disappoint!
We took a tour with Unlimited Biking, which has several locations across the city. The tour includes lots of stops and photo ops, and it made such a difference to have a knowledgeable guide along for the ride to point out landmarks, historic buildings, and share some interesting facts.
If youâre looking to explore San Francisco by bike, Unlimited Biking makes it a fun and convenient experience. The tour rolls through Fishermanâs Wharf, the Presidio, the Marina, the Palace of Fine Arts, Crissy Field, and across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito.
You can either ride back or do what we did and opt to take the ferry back to San Francisco. I especially recommend this option if you have younger kids, as the ride back will require a very steep uphill climb.
Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge was crowded (but to be fair we did it on a Saturday) but it is truly an iconic experience and one of the best things to do in San Francisco with teens who love to be active. Overall, we had a great time and our guide was fantastic!
If you are not sure you can handle the ride, have no fear! Bikes with an electric assist for going uphill are available for just a small extra surcharge.
6. Visit Fishermanâs Wharf and Pier 39
Follow the sounds of barking sea lions to Pier 39, where you can sail the bay on one of their many water excursions, ride the carousel, shop, dine, and more.
Enjoy free daily shows by local street performers and musicians or explore a variety of attractions. Yes, it is touristy, but you canât visit San Francisco without checking the area out!
Other fun activities for kids and teens near Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf include the Aquarium of the Bay, Museum of 3D Illusions, the San Francisco Carousel, Frequent Flyers, and Musee Mecanique (more on this cool free museum below!).
You will also find Madame Tussauds Wax Museum nearby.
Walk out to the end of the pier for some of the best views of Alcatraz, Angel Island and the bridge.
âș For a fun and quirky stay near Fisherman’s Wharf, check out our review of Hotel Zephyr San Francisco.
7. Take a Hike in Muir Woods
Muir Woods is the only place on this list outside the city limits, but absolutely worth the short drive (across the Golden Gate Bridge!) for families visiting the San Francisco Bay Area. Iâd be remiss not to include it on this list of fun things to do in San Francisco with teens and kids, especially if you are a family of nature lovers.
Muir Woods National Monument is home to some of the oldest trees on Earth â and the tallest! The redwoods in Muir Woods tower at more than 200 feet tall, and some are more than 1,500 years old.
There is a very easy 2-mile trail that is flat and scenic and easy for families with small kids. For more experienced hikers, there are a variety of trails to choose from with varying degrees of difficulty. All will give you fantastic up-close views of nature and these majestic trees.
There is a Visitors Center, gift shop and cafe, and ranger talks are provided throughout the week.
Admission to Muir Woods National Monument is free for children up to age 15, while teens and adults 16 and older must pay $10 admission. For more information and to make required parking reservations (for crowd control), visit the National Park Service’s website.
8. San Francisco Love Tour
See the best of San Francisco from aboard a 1970s VW hippie bus. We took this tour and absolutely loved it! It is a unique experience and fun way to see San Francisco!
Complete with shag carpet and 60s era music, San Francisco Love Tours takes you around the city to see the major sights and roots of San Francisco’s hippie culture. The vans take only up to 6 people at a time, so itâs an intimate experience and the small vehicle can go places that big tour buses cannot.
Two photo stops are included on the two-hour tour, and a picture in front of the VW is a great photo opp in itself.
San Francisco Love Tours welcomes children, but to ensure everyone has a good time, families with kids 4-years old or younger are asked to buy-out the tour (6 spots) and bring their own car seat for safety.
âș Explore San Francisco from the comfort of a vintage VW van on the San Francisco Love Tour
9. Take a Bay Cruise
Viewing San Francisco from the bay is a great way to take in the cityâs beautiful skyline and learn a little bit about its history.
Head down to the waterfront and take a short, narrated cruise that will introduce you to the city skyline, the Bay Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island and more. If you’re lucky you may even spot some sea life!
When the weather is nice, you can go sailing on one of two 55-foot catamarans with Adventure Cat Sailing Charters.
âș Sail under the Golden Gate Bridge on this fun and unique Catamaran cruise on San Francisco Bay
10. Hard Rock Café
This isnât an attraction per se, but if your teen is a music-lover like mine, dining at the Hard Rock CafĂ© is an experience not to be missed! Hard Rock Cafe San Francisco is located at Fishermanâs Wharf, so it is convenient to pop in for a bite between activities.
In addition to a yummy meal, youâll experience a one-of-a-kind rock ânâ roll atmosphere with over 250 pieces of memorabilia. My son loves music so we had fun just walking around the restaurant and checking out some of the displays while waiting for our food.
Speaking of food, our meal was fantastic! My son had a steak and I enjoyed an amazing steak salad. The salad was huge! Fresh mixed greens tossed in a blue cheese vinaigrette, with pickled red onions, red peppers and Roma tomatoes, finished with crispy shoestring onions and blue cheese crumbles.
My son also ordered the Strawberry Basil Lemonade, which looked like a beautiful cocktail but of course was non-alcoholic. Very refreshing on a sunny day in San Francisco!
11. Walt Disney Family Museum
Located in a historic building in the Presidio, the Walt Disney Family Museum honors the remarkable life story of Walt Disney.
The museum features 40,000 square feet of interactive exhibits and galleries detailing the life and legacy of Walt Disney and the company he founded. Enjoy daily screenings of Disney classics, a scale model of Disneyland, and contemporary interactive exhibits.
Since we are huge Disney fans, and my teen has been visiting Disneyland since he was a toddler, this museum was a must for us!
âș Click here for discount tickets to the Walt Disney Family Museum
12. Take the Ferry to Oakland
Oakland is often overlooked as day trip destination for more sophisticated locales such as Napa Valley or Monterey. But a day trip to Oakland is a fun and easy jaunt, offering lots of things to do and great places to eat, as well.
The scenic ferry ride from San Francisco to Oakland is more than transportation, it is part of the fun! Boats depart from the historic Ferry Building and drop you right at Jack London Square.
Once there you can grab lunch along the waterfront, Stop by Plank for arcade games and bowling, or even rent a kayak to explore Oakland’s waterfront by boat.
13. Go on a Ghost Tour
Is your teen thrilled by ghost stories and the macabre? Then you will definitely want to take a ghost tour!
The Haunt offers a family-friendly Haunted San Francisco Ghost Tour through Chinatown and Gold Rush alleys.
Armed with ghost hunting gear like a Spirit Box, dowsing rods, and your own EMF detector, you’ll unearth stories of forgotten graves, the devastating Great Earthquake of 1906, and the residual hauntings that persist.
At any moment, your EMF meter might signal paranormal activity, and you’ll investigate further with your ghost hunting tools. This tour is considered family-friendly and not too scary.
14. Eat Sourdough Bread at Boudin Bakery
If San Francisco is synonymous with any one food, itâs sourdough bread. And as someone who never turns down some good carbs (kinda my downfall in life), you better believe we were not visiting San Francisco without a stop at Boudin Bakery CafĂ©!
Downstairs is the retail shop where you can buy fresh-baked bread and other treats to go. At the café, order the soup of the day in a sourdough bread bowl, or one of the many fresh sandwiches and salads.
We had lunch one day at the Bistro Boudin Restaurant, which is a more upscale eatery located on the cafĂ©âs upstairs level. My son and I shared a Caesar salad and an amazing sandwich, but honestly the real star of the meal was the basket of fresh bread they bring to the table beforehand.
15. Cartoon Art Museum
Located in Fishermanâs Wharf, the Cartoon Art Museum houses nearly 7,000 original pieces of cartoon art, including comic books, graphic novels, anime, political cartoons, and much more!
Visitors of all ages can view original cartoon art, as well as have fun making their own comics and animations.
16. The Escape Game
Have you ever gone to an Escape Room? It has been on our list of things to try for a while, so when we discovered that San Francisco had an awesome one, we signed right up!
Located in the Financial District, The Escape Game is San Franciscoâs #1 escape room and immersive adventure. There are five 60-minute adventures to choose from â Gold Rush, Special Ops, The Heist, Prison Break and Playground. We did the Gold Rush room; it was very challenging and super fun, and gave us a good chance to work together and bond solving problems and decoding the clues.
Since escape rooms can be very challenging and only recommended for young adults ages 13 and older, this is the perfect activity to experience with your teens!
17. The Ferry Building
Opened in 1898 as a train transportation hub, the Ferry Building is now a waterfront farmersâ market, shopping mall and gourmet food hall.
Stroll through the gourmet eateries and shops and take in the buildingâs historic architecture and the wonderful Bay Bridge views! This is definitely not a full day’s activities and younger kids might find it boring, but the Ferry Building is an excellent place for families to grab a casual meal or even just an ice cream or sweet treat.
18. Cable Car Museum
If your kids enjoy riding the cable cars, theyâll love visiting the Cable Car Museum!
Here, youâll learn how the whole cable car system works, including a look at the gripping mechanism that every car extends below the street level.
Located in Nob Hill along the Powell-Mason and Powell-Hyde lines, the Cable Car Museum an easy stop on your way to Union Square, Chinatown, or the surrounding areas. It is fairly small and only took us about an hour to see and read everything on display. Best of all, the museum in free!
19. Visit the Exploratorium
Recently named by CNN as the #1 Spot for Kids in the country, the Exploratorium is an attraction not to be missed if you are visiting San Francisco with kids. Teens will appreciate it, too!
The totally reimagined Exploratorium reopened in 2013 in its new home on the waterfront at Pier 15. There are both indoor and outdoor exhibits. This hands-on museum encourages guests to touch, explore and play with 600 exhibits. Investigate the living world, experiment with thoughts, feelings and behavior, explore the local environment, think with your hands and much more.
The Exploratorium houses a cafe and a waterfront restaurant, both serving seasonal and sustainable cuisine.
TIP: Another kids museum you might want to check out is the Bay Area Discovery Museum, and the New Media Arts Center is perfect for fans of Star Wars!
âș Click here for discount Exploratorium tickets
20. Ghirardelli Square
A San Francisco landmark since 1862, this former chocolate factory is now a three-level shopping and restaurant center. The main showpiece is the Ghiradelli store, where you can buy ice cream and desserts in the soda shop, and chocolate souvenirs at the Ghiradelli store.
Ghirardelli Square was a must-see stop for us, but to be honest, now that Ghiradelli chocolates are available everywhere (like, even Target) and Disney California Adventure park in Anaheim even has a replica of their soda shop on Pacific Wharf, itâs kind of lost its uniqueness and charm.
21. Hang Out with Cats at KitTea
This place was not on my original itinerary, but a Facebook ad popped up on my phone and next thing you know my son and I are sipping tea and playing with string on the floor with six other people and a roomful of cats!
To be fair, we love cats. And visiting a cat cafĂ© has been on my travel wish list for a long time. (How Facebook knew that, Iâll never know!)
KitTea is divided into two spaces: a regular café where you can watch the cats through a window, and a cat lounge where you can go in and get hands-on with the cats. Included with admission to the lounge ($25) is an unlimited offering of four handpicked Japanese green teas.
If $25 sounds steep, just think of it as a donation. It takes a lot of litter, kibble and vet bills to care for all those awesome rescue cats. Many of who are adoptable, by the way.
KitTea also offers special movie nights and Cats on Mats yoga nights, so check out their website if youâre interested in paying the kitties a visit while in San Francisco.
Kids are welcome, but must be 6-years or older on weekdays and 9-years or older on weekends. Kids (and adults) of any age are welcome on the café side, which has a large viewing window of the Cat Lounge.
If your older kids love animals, this hands-on experience is one of the most unique and special things to do in San Francisco with teens. .
âș Click here to find out more about visiting the Cat Lounge at KitTea!.
22. Visit the Palace of Fine Arts
Youâll recognize the Palace of Fine Arts right away as one of San Franciscoâs most beautiful and famous landmarks. Built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition, the Palace of Fine Arts is now a historic landmark poised beside a placid lagoon. We biked past it on our way to cross the Golden Gate Bridge.
23. Go to the Theater
San Francisco has one of the worldâs most renown theater and arts scenes.
If you are visiting San Francisco at Christmas, take your kids to see the Nutcracker, the iconic holiday ballet. The Nutcracker actually made its American debut in San Francisco in 1944. Since then, it has been a holiday tradition every year in San Francisco. (On a related note, if you are in San Francisco during the holidays, be sure to check out the Victorian Gingerbread house at the Fairmont San Francisco!)
Throughout the year, you can catch a live performance at one of the cityâs many theaters. We saw a great Broadway-style musical at the San Francisco Playhouse, located right in Union Square. Thereâs also the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Ballet, and many more live theater options.
24. Musée Mécanique
The Musee Mecanique collection includes over 300 vintage and novel coin operated machines. Itâs a must-see attraction for vintage game lovers and history buffs, and a fun way to show your kids what games were like before Xbox.
Items include coin-operated pianos, antique slot machines, hand-cranked music boxes, and various vintage arcade games. The arcade games are all in working condition and can be played.
Admission is free, but youâll have to bring some quarters if you want to play any games.
25. Catch a Ball Game
Visiting San Francisco during baseball season? Head to a day game at Oracle Park. The stadium is right on the bay, so you can enjoy the views on a sunny day.
26. Spend an Afternoon at Chrissy Field
Part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Chrissy Field is an expansive green area with expansive views of the bay and Golden Gate Bridge. Ride bikes, walk, play on the lawn, fly a kite or pack a picnic and enjoy an afternoon of leisure.
There is a quaint cafĂ© at Chrissy Field called the Warming Hut – once a U.S. Engineer Storehouse but transformed in 2001 into a cafĂ© and gift shop run by the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.
27. Ice Skating in San Francisco
If you are visiting during Christmas in San Francisco, consider taking your family ice skating! This is one of the most fun things to do in San Francisco with teens.
- The Safeway Holiday Ice Rink in Union Square: This is probably the most popular of all the San Francisco Bay Area outdoor ice skating rinks. Families can skate in San Franciscoâs iconic plaza beside a gorgeous tree and surrounded by festive lights and the sounds of the holiday season. If youâve ever visited Rockefeller Center in New York City during the holidays, youâll definitely get that same vibe in Union Square!
- The Holiday Ice Rink at Embarcadero Center: Located adjacent to the Hyatt Regency and across from San Franciscoâs historic Ferry Building, the Holiday Ice Rink at Embarcadero Center offers views of the Bay Bridge and waterfront.
28. Check Out Chinatown
Chinatown is one of San Franciscoâs most notable neighborhoods, but often overlooked by travelers visiting San Francisco. San Franciscoâs Chinatown is actually North Americaâs first and largest, so it carries a unique history worth exploring!
The best way to take in Chinatown is on a walking tour. We did it with Walks (as part of their Alcatraz Island Ticket with Chinatown Tour & Cable Car Tour), and it was such a benefit to be able to explore the streets while hearing back stories and bits of history from a professional tour guide. It made the visit very engaging, especially for my teen who might otherwise not have been very interested.
Located next to North Beach and the Financial District, Chinatown is easy to reach on foot or by cable car.
With its distinct architecture, exotic shops and restaurants, abundant street art and even a fortune cookie factory, a visit to Chinatown is definitely worth a spot on your San Francisco itinerary!
29. Wells Fargo Bank History Museum
There used to be lots of Wells Fargo Museums in California, but now the one in San Francisco is the only one! and it is very special! In 1852 â at the dawn of the gold rush â the first Wells Fargo Bank opened at this spot in San Francisco.
This Museum is two stories high and has some great displays of gold mining tools. Kids can even climb aboard a stagecoach!
30. Visit the San Francisco Zoo
The first time I visited the San Francisco Zoo many years ago, I was not impressed. But it has come a long way!
The zoo is a nice city zoo, but with some truly fantastic exhibits that kids will love! Our favorite area was the African Savanna, a 3-acre mixed-species habitat with giraffes, zebras, antelopes, and birds. There is a wildlife trail, carousel and the Little Puffer steam train, which winds through the 100-acre zoo.
Young kids will love the Childrenâs Zoo, which allows for close-up encounters with goats, sheep, ponies, and horses in the Family Farm. Kids can touch small mammals, reptiles, and amphibians along the Nature Trail, and crawl through tunnels in the Meerkat and Prairie Dog exhibit.
Check the zooâs website for a daily schedule of animal feeding times.
âș Click here for discount tickets to the San Francisco Zoo
Final Thoughts: San Francisco with Teens
If I had to pick just one thing to do in San Francisco with teens, it would be riding bikes across the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s active, iconic, and fairly inexpensive (just the cost of renting bikes) unless you want to take a guided tour.
We also loved visiting some of the unique museums in San Francisco, and of course Alcatraz was a hit with a bonus boat ride included!
Truth be told, traveling with teens can sometimes be a challenge. The key is to pack your vacation with fun activities that appeal to their interests. Luckily, San Francisco has lots of options and is the perfect place to visit with teens!
âș Looking for more fun ideas for things to do in San Francisco with teens and kids? Check out this article on family-friendly things to do at night in San Francisco.
Save These Things to Do in San Francisco with Teens for Later!
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Ingrid says
I totally get the detour to the cat cafe! That’s one of my favourite things to do especially since we moved to Asia. In Seoul, we found one cafe just 30 minutes before closing but we had to play with them a bit.
Elizabeth says
This makes me think of my trip to San Francisco several years ago. I did several things on your list like visit the aquarium, Alcatraz and Fisherman’s Wharf. I would love to make another visit because there are quite a few places I didn’t get to. The California Academy of Sciences sounds really interesting and it would be nice to get outside of the city and hike in Muir Woods .
Lee Morton says
What is your recommendation for where to stay? 2 adults, 4 kids
Gwen Kleist says
Hi Lee! I always recommend the Fisherman’s Wharf area for families visiting San Francisco, as it is right near many fun attractions and very safe! I would take a look at Hotel Zephyr, the Marriott, or Marriott Courtyard – all are within walking distance to the waterfront and cable cars. Enjoy!