Fun Places to Visit with Children in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area

Summer has begun, the kids are bored and everyone is ready to get out of the house, but where to go? The East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area has lots of fun places to go and explore. These are a couple of our favorite places and will especially be a favorite of anyone who loves animals. All are reasonably priced and provide hours of fun.

Oakland Zoo - The Oakland Zoo is a fun little zoo with wonderful animal exhibits. Little ones can easily walk the entire zoo in a couple of hours. The exhibits are very natural looking and a great example of a zoo doing the ri. The Zoo has most of the big animals - tigers, lions, elephants - to name just a few. The Children's Zoo is newly redone and has lots of fun play areas for the kids. Hop across the lily pads. Go down the rabbit slides. Climb among the turtle eggs. Lunch is very reasonably priced, but if you decide to bring your own, the Zoo has a great meadow near the Sun Bear Exhibit. Afterwards, the Zoo has a small ride area right outside the main entrance. The train ride is one of our favorites. The tracks go through the Zoo and most conductors stop at a very lovely vista which overlooks the Bay. The Oakland Zoo is open daily from 10am to 4pm, closed Thanksgiving and Christmas.

http://www.oaklandzoo.org/

Ardenwood Historic Farm - Located in Fremont, Ardenwood is a working farm with animals and turn-of-the-century farm equipment and a train the operates on a limited schedule. Activities at the Farm vary depending on the time of the year. Pick popcorn (still on the cob), help dig for potatoes, see huge clusters of butterflies, help feed the animals or just wander around and enjoy all that the Farm has to offer. Ardenwood Historic Farm is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays, year round, including Labor Day and Memorial Day.

http://www.ebparks.org/parks/ardenwood

Lindsey Wildlife Museum - The Lindsey Museum is located in Walnut Creek, and is regularly open Wednesday - Friday 12-5 pm and Saturday - Sunday 10-5 pm. The Lindsey Museum is a great place for kids to learn about native California animals up close and personal. The Museum does several presentations about the animals who have now found a home at the Museum. The animals at the Museum are non-releasable animals that were injured or rescued from a private home.

http://www.wildlife-museum.org/

Sulphur Creek Nature Center - Sulphur Creek is part of the Hayward Recreation and Park District. There are no fees to enter the Park. Similar to the Lindsey Museum, Sulphur Creek helps to rescue and rehabilitate native California wildlife. Sulphur Creek has animals as small as birds and mice to larger animals like coyotes and eagles. Sulphur Creek is set in a beautiful outdoor area with a creek running through it and lots of wildlife can be found on the walking paths. Sulphur Creek also operates an Animal Lending Library where for a small fee, you can bring home a small animal for a week. Park Hours 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Tuesday through Sunday.

http://www.haywardrec.org/sulphur_creek.html