Looking for indoor activities and things to do on a rainy or bone-chillingly cold and foggy day in San Francisco Bay Area with kids? We also discovered that we need to stay inside when it’s extremely smokey outside due to wildfires. 🙁

Here are over 100 places to go! Days with kids inside the house can make you a little stir crazy. These are perfect outings and indoor activities with kids if you are in the San Francisco Bay Area. The fun doesn’t have to end just because it’s raining when you live in a place like San Francisco with kids!

Think Indoor Sports – Bowling, Bocce Ball, Ping-Pong, and Miniature Golf (+ most places involve wine)

As long as kids can walk or like balls, they will love any of these activities on a rainy day! These places listed are all indoors so they are perfect for a rainy day activity in the San Francisco Bay Area with kids.

Most bowling places will have a ramp you can help younger kids drop the ball and watch it roll. Bocce ball – well, you may have to ignore all rules and drink your wine and let your kid just throw some heavy balls around. Ping Pong too – no high expectations if your kids are small, but we are all for balls they can throw without really hurting anyone.

Tip: Always a good idea to call ahead to reserve or check for crowds.

San Francisco

• We love this traditional bowling place nestled in the urban woods at Presidio Bowl.
• Bowl under cool lights at Lucky Strike, right by AT&T park.
• Bowl and skate (if your kids are old enough) at Yerba Buena Skate and Bowl.
• Urban Putt is our favorite place. It’s not big, but there is so much to look at. Try to get there right when they open or on a weekday for an extra family-friendly vibe. Kids under 5 are free.
• SPiN for indoor ping pong action! Check their website for private events and reservation info, so you don’t get there on a rainy day with your kids just to find out that it’s closed to the public!

North Bay

• AMF Boulevard Lanes in Petaluma not only has bowling but pool tables and arcade games too.

South Bay

• Take in the ocean view on the way to, and while you are at Pacifica Sea Bowl. It will make a nice nap drive (for your kids) on the way home.
• Campo di Bocce in Los Gatos has 4 indoor bocce ball courts. Call ahead when you see rain in the forecast to make a reservation!
• Bel Mateo Bowl was my old stomping grounds, but new updates seem to make it a must-check-out!

East Bay

• Campo di Bocce in Livermore and Fremont also has some indoor bocce ball courts. Call ahead when you see rain in the forecast to make a reservation!
• This Table Tennis Center in Alameda has open play hours most days of the week!

 

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Indoor Museums on a Rainy Day in San Francisco with Kids

Did you know that San Francisco by itself has over 50 museums? Not all of them are super kid-friendly, but these are definitely approved by parents! Rainy days in San Francisco are a perfect excuse to go to an indoor museum with your kids.

San Francisco

• Hate to share our hidden treasure – Presidio Officer’s Club has a little nature museum, a cozy lounge (with a restaurant attached to it where you can get a glass of wine – or a margarita) and a play area that’s open to the public and it’s free (not the wine or the margarita). Shhhhh don’t get this place too crowded!
• Asian Art Museum offers stroller tours and family fun days.
• Ripley’s Believe It or Not was established in 1918 – whaaat? Open every day of the year. Buy your ticket online to save! May not be appropriate for younger kids, so do a little digging before you go.
• Cable Car Museum won’t take you long to go through, but you and your littles will be able to see antique cable cars from the 1870s along with mechanical devices that make up the cable cars!
• Creepy dolls alert! But if you are not scared by looking at the photos on their website, check out the Musee Mecanique – museum housing a collection of more than 300 coin-operated mechanical musical instruments and antique arcade machines.
• Get your scientist’s hat on at the Exploratorium!
• Cal Academy of Sciences can be a zoo on a rainy day, but it’s still so much fun. The only place where you can see an albino alligator and gaze at the stars at the same time!
• Some say it’s more for adults and older kids, but we still like to take our toddler to the Walt Disney Family Museum for a quick trip, especially on a rainy day! Check out our thorough guide and review before you go so you know what to expect!
• Magowan’s Infinite Mirror Maze at Pier 39 is a trip down “the most psychedelic place one can legally reach in the city”. Do you dare? Kids under 5 are free.
• Get creative and run around at the Children’s Creativity Museum. The carousel is covered too!
• Not only do they have cool art, but they also offer arts and crafts times for kids at De Young! They also have a FREE kids space you can check out. It’s small, but such a nice addition to the museum!
• Definitely geared more towards adults, but nevertheless, we love the SFMOMA! Never too early to expose our kids to modern art!
• Randall Museum is reopened and they have drop-in art studio times! They are an amazing SF museum that will be in your family’s regular rotation. Indoor petting zoo and other fun activities. Check out our in-depth guide so you know what to expect, bring, and all that useful info!
• Asian Art Museum offers stroller tours and family fun days.
• Ripley’s Believe It or Not was established in 1918 – whaaat? Open every day of the year. Buy your ticket online to save! May not be appropriate for younger kids, so do a little digging before you go.
• Cable Car Museum won’t take you long to go through, but you and your littles will be able to see antique cable cars from the 1870s along with mechanical devices that make up the cable cars!
• Creepy dolls alert! But if you are not scared by looking at the photo’s on their website, check out the Musee Mecanique – museum housing a collection of more than 300 coin-operated mechanical musical instruments and antique arcade machines.
• Get your scientist’s hat on at the Exploratorium!
• Cal Academy of Sciences can be a zoo on a rainy day, but it’s still so much fun. The only place where you can see an albino alligator and gaze at the starts at the same time!
• Some say it’s more for adults and older kids, but we still like to take our toddler to the Walt Disney Family Museum for a quick trip, especially on a rainy day! Check out our thorough guide and review before you go so you know what to expect!
• Magowan’s Infinite Mirror Maze at Pier 39 is a trip down “the most psychedelic place one can legally reach in the city”. Do you dare? Kids under 5 are free.
• Get creative and run around at the Children’s Creativity Museum. The carousel is covered too!
• Not only do they have cool art, they also offer arts and crafts times for kids at De Young! They also have a FREE kids space you can check out. It’s small, but such a nice addition to the museum!
• Definitely geared more towards adults, but nevertheless, we love the SFMOMA! Never too early to expose our kids to modern art!
• It’s always a good day to go to The Musem of Ice Cream! Make sure your phone is charged because it is a totally Instagramable experience!
• Randall Museum is reopened and they have drop-in art studio times! They are an amazing SF museum that will be in your family’s regular rotation. Indoor petting zoo and other fun activities. Check out our in-depth guide so you know what to expect, bring, and all that useful info!

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North Bay

• Bay Area Discovery Museum seems like a perfect place for a sunny day, but it’s also a great activity on rainy days. Yes, you will have to walk outside in between buildings, but a lot of the museum is indoors! We love coming here when it’s raining because it tends to be less crowded.

• Children’s Museum of Sonoma County has plenty of indoor space to run around for kids 10 years and younger.

South Bay

• Some parts of the CuriOdyssey in San Mateo is outside, but there’s plenty of inside fun to be had here! (Even some animals you can see from an indoor tunnel!)
• Hiller Aviation Museum – it won’t take you long to go through this place, but it’s a lot of fun! It can get crowded during special events, but otherwise, it’s an easy place to go through!
• Check out mammoth fossils, be a shopkeeper at the rainbow market, or play with water (indoors) – you can do it all on a rainy day at the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose
• Palo Alto’s Junior Museum has a temporary location while moving to a new one in October 2020, but it has a hands-on science exhibition and little animals!

East Bay

• Museum of Children’s Arts in Oakland – check their open studio time to create something! Check their calendar for upcoming events on a forecasted rainy day!
• Oakland Aviation Museum is part outside, but there’s an inside portion too!
• This place has been on our bucket list for so long, but we still have yet to go- Jelly Belly Factory Tour! Open daily! It’s a self-guided tour (kind of a must with small kids) with free samples. We have no idea why we haven’t done it yet… (Moving away from the computer slowly and getting my car keys…)
• Chabot Space and Science Center is a pretty big place great for all ages. They have a tot’s room even if your kid isn’t into “science” yet!
• Habitot Children’s Museum in Berkeley has a firehouse, water play, infant-toddler garden, little reading tent, wind tunnel, train table, and a face-painting table!

Sacramento

• Drive up during nap time on a rainy day and your kid will love waking up at the California State Railroad Museum! Have dinner in Old Sac, put on PJs afterward (you and your kid), and hope for a quiet sleeping drive back! This museum is awesome, rainy day or not. Even if your kid isn’t too into trains, they will be after coming here!

 

 

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Indoor Activities – Play Spaces

These places may get crazy on a rainy day, but strength in numbers, right? Ok, maybe try going the first or the last hour they are open, or around nap time. Either way, these places are awesome for things to do on a rainy day for your rambunctious kids!

San Francisco

• So much fun at Recess Urban Recreation. Not only do they have an awesome play space (and a separate one for little kids), they have fun classes too. Perfect for a rainy day in San Francisco with kids!
• We love Play Haven – parking available, coffee, and tables and chairs where you can sit and watch your kids play from near or afar.
• Check out their schedule for their open jump time to get ants out of pants at Pump it Up. Kids under 34 inches are not allowed.
• As long as you are 3 years old and up, you can have fun jumping around at the House of Air!
• Imagination Playhouse has a giant slide with climbing structures, a ball pit, and art classes!
• Gymboree Play and Music has classes and open gym hours for up to 5 years old!
• Tiny Tots Gym and Tot Times at various SF Park and Rec are a great way to get to know neighborhood kids and get out there on a rainy day.
• Main Street Mamas Club House – The Open Nest at the Stonestown Mall. Check their calendar for any events or drop-in options to play!
• Did you know that most of San Francisco’s libraries have a little play/reading space for kids? They usually have lots of kids books and some toys, puzzles, and hands-on activities!

North Bay

• Kids Party Central in Santa Rosa also has open playtimes with climbing structures, giant slides, and bouncing areas.

South Bay

• Party like animals at the Safari Run at San Mateo and Sunnyvale with big mazes, climbing tunnels, giant slides, and parents lounge!
• Diddalidoo in San Bruno is a play space for 4 years old and younger. So, if you have younger ones, you don’t have to worry about big kids stomping all over.
• La Petite Playhouse in Redwood City is an underwater-themed playhouse with slides, tunnels, and parents seating area to induce one good nap afterward!
• Billy Beez in San Jose will have your kids buzzing with excitement on a rainy day!
• Peek-a-Boo used to be in West Portal, but coming soon to Daly City! This place will guarantee a good nap after. Special area for small kids, a reading area, train sets, and of course, can’t forget the giant slide!

East Bay

• Kids Gym in Berkeley is a 10,000 square foot facility for kids 11 and under. Zip lining and rock wall climbing? Your kids will wish it rained all the time. 
• Twirl in Alameda is a total Instagrammable play space. Colorful and playful. It will definitely bring light to your rainy day.
• The Fun Zone at the Bladium Sports and Fitness Club has areas for kids 18 months to 6 years old to run around, jump, and overall have a blast! (Free wifi for the adults!)

 

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Indoor Activities – Swimming Pools

Getting wetter may not be the first thing on your mind as a rainy day activity with kids, but why not!? Check out these indoor pools next time you are trapped inside staying dry. Getting wet may be the most fun thing to do in the San Francisco Bay Area with kids on a rainy day!

San Francisco

• SF Park and Rec Pools are scattered across the city and have various family swim hours. (Note: Some of these pools are cold, so plan accordingly!)
• If you are an existing student – take advantage of family swim times at La Petite Baleen! Super warm and friendly pool.
• Do you want to go to a pool in San Francisco?  Here’s our comprehensive pool schedule for all 30+ pools in San Francisco for Family Swim and Rec Hours!

North Bay

• Splash around in the indoor pool at Mill Valley Recreation Center Swimming Pool during their open and family swim hours!

South Bay

• Check out this indoor heated swimming area during rec swim hours at Giammona Westmoor High Swimming Pool in Daly City.
• Orange Memorial Pool in South San Francisco not only has an indoor pool but also has a sauna for an extra R&R if you can take turns with your partner. 
• Pacifica’s Jean E. Brink Swimming Pool offers family recreation swim hours during the day on the weekends and evenings couple of nights a week!
• Waterworks Aquatics in San Jose has open swim nights for registered students.

East Bay

• Check out the tot splash hours good for kids 0-5 years old at the Richmond Swim Center, which has a shallow tot pool!
• Richmond Plunge also has tot splash hours and a pumpkin patch in the fall. Note to self: MUST GO NEXT YEAR!
• Albany Aquatic Center in Albany has both indoor and outdoor pools, but the indoor pool has family swim hours every day except Sundays!

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Indoor Activities – Arts and Crafts Studios

Use your left side of the brain with your kiddos on a rainy day! These art studios and businesses will give you a cozy shelter from the rain and create something you can take home!

San Francisco

• We love the Messy Art Lab! Located in the Inner Sunset (same space as Music for Aardvarks). They host open space hours sometimes when the weather is less than ideal (like due to smoke from the fires). Check their schedule to see when they are open! Check on their Facebook page also, since they update that frequently. 🙂
• Little Artistas has 4 locations in San Francisco and offers date nights and drop-in classes. Check their website for available times!
• Culinary Artistas isn’t necessarily “arts and crafts”, but had to put it in here because it’s creative!
• Did you ever wonder what that building by Koret Playground was? It’s an art studio! Sharon Art Studio offers adults classes, but they also have youth classes. Check them out.
• Get your pottery coloring skills on at Earthfire Arts in the Inner Sunset. Drop-ins welcome!
• Terra Mia Decorative Art Studio is also a pottery coloring place where you can drop in during business hours!

North Bay

• Studio 4 Art in Mill Valley or Novato offers arts and crafts for ages 2 and up and can drop in during business hours!
• I Made It Glass in San Rafael lets your kids make art with fused glass. So cool! Drop-ins welcome during business hours.

South Bay

• C is for Craft – what a cute name and such a cute place! In downtown Palo Alto where kids can drop in and have open-ended art fun!

East Bay

• Color Me Mine in Alameda is a walk-in paint yourself ceramics studio, but they also have kids’ night out!
• Junior Center of Art & Science in Oakland doesn’t just have art spaces, it has a library, play space, and animals!

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Indoor Malls with Something Special for the Kids

Some malls are just shops, but these malls have something extra to make it fun for the kids! It’s a win-win rainy day indoor activity for your kids – you get some shopping done, and they can have fun!

San Francisco

• Make your rainy day a cultural experience at the Japantown Mall – it has a replica of a castle, yummy crepe stores, and toy stores.
• Westfield Mall has a cozy family lounge with a play area with play mats, mini tables and chairs, and TVs with kids shows.
• The Ferry Building may have fancy stores – but it also has casual places to eat – perfect for a rainy day outing with the kids. Check out the bookstore there too. You can also watch the ships go by or actually go on one! (Do you like going on boats? Check out our top places to go on a boat from San Francisco and save it for a sunny day!)

South Bay

• Hop and Play at Shops at Tanforan has play structures that move (spin, turn and roll) to help young toddlers learn and enhance their gross motor skills.
• Serramonte has a small but cute little play area for kids. It’s the perfect spot to let your little ones play around to give them a break from shopping.
• Hillsdale Shopping Center in San Mateo has a Kids Club, where they frequently have special events for kids!

East Bay

• Stoneridge Shopping Center in Pleasanton has a play area near Sears as well as Build-A-Bear and Lego stores.

Go Watch a Play at a Children’s Theater

Some of these theaters run shows at specific times, but some of these are open to stop by. Call them on a rainy day to see if they have anything going on that day!

San Francisco

• The Rabbit Hole not only has productions but also classes, so kids can fall in love with the art of theater! Check out their daily schedule for what they have happening!
• Creativity Theater at the Children’s Creativity Museum hosts performances, screenings, and presentation for all ages!
• For kids 5 and up, San Francisco Children’s Musical Theater offers “high quality performing arts experiences”.
• Plays for kids, by kids – at Young Performers Theater. If you have an aspiring actor in the house, their classes start as young as 3.5 years old!

North Bay

• Throckmorton Theater has Youth Theater, where students can audition for performances between ages 8-18 under the youth performers program!

• Luther Burbank Center in Santa Rosa has a family fun series where they have plays for kids all year long!

South Bay

• Training starts at 5 years old, but performances are for the entire family at the San Carlos Children’s Theater.
• Kids ages 3 and up can experience hands-on learning fun at the Children’s Theater of Palo Alto and performances are geared towards kids 2-6 years old.
• The oldest performing arts organization in San Jose with training geared towards kids ages 4 and up- Children’s Musical Theater of San Jose has shows all year long.

East Bay

• Bay Area Children’s Theater in Oakland has shows appropriate for even the younger ones!
• East Bay Children’s Theater in Oakland has shows- matinee and evening times.
• Learn how to sing, perform and dance, or just watch the shows at the Starstruck Theater in Fremont!

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Sing Your Hearts Out at Karaoke

You don’t have to take your kids to a bar – that’s not what we are encouraging here. There are karaoke places where you can rent a private room just for your family. Most places will let you bring in snacks, and your kids will have a ball just screaming into the microphone as loud as they want and no one will judge you for it.

San Francisco

• Do Re Mi Music Studio is a no-frills private karaoke room. You can bring your own food and beverages for a small fee. By no frills – we mean a room, couch, TV, and microphones. Check out these Yelp reviews before to see if it’s right for your family.

• YamaSho has karaoke rooms for rent, and it’s part of a restaurant. You can order sushi and other Japanese food while you have your private room to dance and sing in! Reserve a room right when they open for a more family-friendly environment.

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Go on Things that Go

• Those hop-on-hop-off buses are still fun when it’s raining! You get to see so much of the city

• Go on a ship to Sausalito or Tiburon for lunch! The ferries have covered areas, and once you

• Go on a self-guided driving tour of San Francisco. We did this one day when we had visitors. We started from the Golden Gate Bridge, Marina District, Fisherman’s Wharf, drove on Lombard Street, North Beach, Chinatown, and Union Square. We could have stopped, but it was a perfect way to see the city while staying dry and the kids napped! (The other family drove behind us – so you can do this with 2 cars!)

 

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Say Eff It and Play in the Puddles

Excuse my (toned-down) French. Sometimes you just have to put on some rain boots and a rain jacket and play in the puddles. These fun kid umbrellas will help your kids out the door too! These are some places where you will find amazing puddles.

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San Francisco

• Golden Gate Park – our backyard is full of puddles during the rainy season. Check them out on the way to the museums we listed above, or just go there to walk around and get dirty! If you really want to find shelter, there’s always DeYoung, Cal Academy, or the Boat House and the Chinese Pavillion at Stow Lake!

North Bay

• We like this list of parks and playgrounds by Marin Mommies!

South Bay

• We love this list of parks and playgrounds listed by Mommy Nearest! Some of these have water features too. 🙂

East Bay

• Red Tricycle put together this awesome list of playgrounds and parks in the East Bay!

 

Some days you just need someone else to think of something random to do indoors with the kids. Here are a few ideas that you can try out on days that you just can’t think of something new! 

• Plan for a fun family photoshoot! There are so many awesome indoor places to have photos taken around the city! Let me help come up with an exciting photoshoot for you and the family. 
• Indoor Bounce Houses are perfect for San Francisco weather! We have one that we fit in our tiny SF condo- it can be done! It has been a lifesaver on multiple occasions. Definitely worth the investment! 
• Indoor Roller Coasters! Whatttt!? This sounded crazy to me at first… but I have heard such awesome reviews about them from other moms. It’s worth a shot if you have an adventurous kid who needs to stay busy on rainy days.
• Or, there are cool indoor climbing mats and structures that are good for little ones to let out some energy without having to leave the house!
• Reusable Stickers are a great (and simple) way to get kids to sit down for at least a few minutes! We love these ones.
• We also love these awesome busy bin ideas from Little Bins for Little Hands. You can also come up with your own busy bin ideas based on your little one’s interests. Here are some options for buying storage bins. 
• Inspire future scientists by setting up easy science projects for them to explore and learn through on rainy days. You can make it even easier on yourself by just ordering one of these science kits!

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There you have it! This should keep you busy this rainy season. Have you done any of these? Did we miss anything? Let us know what you think!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may get a small commission AT NO ADDITIONAL COST TO YOU. You will get the product for exactly how much it is sold in the marketplace, and you will be helping a mom out pay for writing these posts! All opinions are of our own, and none were provided or influenced by the companies or individuals.