60 Fun Spots for Southern California Kids We Loved This Year

Written By Kelly S

One of my favorite practices around the New Year is to scroll back through photos and see the fun adventures we had over the past year.

This year, it felt like we didn’t have a big Southern California adventure year (in part because we traveled to France, Chicago, Oregon, and the East Coast, and battled quite a bit of sickness plus two surgeries for one of my kids).

As I looked through photos to post on Instagram for my year-end wrap up post, I was happily surprised to be reminded of how many places we visited this year… It was so fun to realize how wrong I was, and think back to the big and little adventures we had in 2024.

View the Instagram posts about these places:

(This post is a bit of a work in progress, as I work in bits and pieces in the midst of spending time with family this week. All the locations are listed below, but hopefully I’ll link up all these locations in the days to come so you can find more info on them easily with just a click!)

Places in LA County Our Family Enjoyed in 2024:

  • Mildred Mathias Botanical Garden at UCLA — we enjoyed a brief visit here when we visited UCLA for a March Madness basketball game. It’s free and a pleasant walk! UCLA’s campus is fun to walk around in general, and don’t miss Diddy Riese’s ice cream sandwiches in nearby Westwood for a yummy treat!

  • Fern Dell trail — Griffith Park — This was a beautiful hike and is quite shady even on hot days. Don’t miss the playground too! See it on Instagram here or read more about our visit here)

  • Shane’s Inspiration Playground — this is also in Griffith Park… this inclusive playground was very crowded on a Saturday afternoon… I love to see parks full, but it was a little overwhelming so we didn’t stay too long. Bring a basketball if you like to play— they have hoops of all heights!

  • Naples Canal (Long Beach) — I grew up going here every December to view Christmas lights at the fancy houses along the canal. It was so fun to take my kids this year! You can visit Naples year round for walks along the canal, or splurge on a Duffy boat or gondola ride, but it’s especially festive at Christmastime. You can park on the street for free but it gets crowded at the holidays… we parked this year right next to the lot for Mother’s Beach (or we could have parked in the lot and paid a few dollars) and that worked out great… just a bit of a walk.

  • Aquarium of the Pacific (Long Beach) (more here) — We always love visiting this aquarium, and often have an annual membership so we can go anytime. Our most recent visit was on a busy Saturday mid-day when they hosted a special event, and we won’t repeat that again due to crowds… next time, we’ll opt for a weekday or else go right at the start or end of the day.

  • Heritage Park (Santa Fe Springs) — We had a picture perfect afternoon here on our way home from the Colombia Memorial Space Center… this park is free with no traditional playground, but plenty of grounds to walk around and explore.

  • LA Downtown Central Library — Did you know that all California residents can get a library card to the City of LA library system (LAPL)? The primary benefit if you live far away is that you can check out ebooks and audiobooks online using your account. I’ve had one for years, but I wanted to sign up my kids so we could have access to more Libby books, so it was the perfect excuse to visit the Downtown library. It’s stunning, with beautiful architecture and a lovely children’s collection. Grown-ups, it’s worth reading The Library Book by Susan Orlean (not for kids!) about the historic fire here in the 1980s. On the day we visited, it was pouring rain, so we just ate at an indoor Shake Shack nearby, but when my kids were younger, we visited the library and then walked through nearby Olvera Street, which is a treat. (You’ll want to drive the mile or so between the two locations.)

  • Rancho Los Alamitos (Long Beach) — this was a quick stop after a day at Colorado Lagoon. It’s a beautiful property with free admission and makes for a peaceful walk around their historical buildings and gardens!

  • Friendship Park (San Pedro) — I grew up in San Pedro, and it’s so special to take my kids back to the park I used to visit as a child. The playground has sure gotten a makeover since then! We love this marine-themed playground, with a whale to climb on, sandcastle equipment, and views of both the LA Harbor and Catalina Island.

  • Colorado Lagoon (Long Beach) — The beach here has no waves but thanks to environmental restoration, the water is quite clean (sometimes harbors and canals with no waves also struggle to keep the water quality clean.) We really liked the short trail walk on the bridge across the lagoon, and even saw a bat ray in the water!

  • Schabarum Regional Park (Hacienda Heights) — or more here. There’s nothing super remarkable about this park, but it’s a good distance between our home and my Dad’s, so we sometimes meet here for a picnic. They have playgrounds, hiking trails, and a little seasonal creek, and we’ve always felt it’s worth the parking fee (around $5-10 per car).

  • Columbia Memorial Space Center (Downey) — Southern California has played a huge role in the exploration of our solar system (and beyond!), and this space center honors that legacy with a hands-on science museum. We really enjoyed our visit here, especially the robotic coding room where kids can learn how to code a mini Mars Rover. We went on a free admission day, but I’d go back and pay the small per person admission fee. There is a big shopping center with lots of food options nearby, or pack a lunch so you can make a day of it!

  • Marine Mammal Care Center (San Pedro) — We stopped here during my 8 year olds “Amazing Race” themed birthday scavenger hunt through San Pedro — his “roadblock” was to demonstrate how to care for a marine animal in their small children’s play area. There’s free admission (donations welcomed), so you can stop and take a look around and see the animals they care for — often there are seals and sea lions there, but they make no guarantees about seeing animals, as their goal is to get animals rehabilitated and back in the wild as soon as possible. While in San Pedro, consider visiting the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, Friendship Park, the Korean Bell, USS Iowa, and/or Averill Park.

  • Recreation Playground (Long Beach) — the dinosaur themed playground here is pretty awesome. We stopped by after a visit the Aquarium of the Pacific with a picnic dinner and had a lovely playtime as the sunset. My big kids sure enjoyed it, but it has equipment for little ones too!

  • Autry Museum of the American West (Los Angeles) — After a hike through Fern Dell Trail at Griffith Park, we were ready for an indoor spot to wait out a hot September afternoon. I’d been wanting to visit the Autry Museum for years (it’s right across from the LA Zoo), so we splurged on admission, and were glad we did! They had a sweet kids’ play area with lots of toys to peaceful play with (be aware, the kids area isn’t always open even if the rest of the museum is). I also loved their gift shop — so many wonderful children’s books!

Places in Orange County Our Family Enjoyed in 2024:

  • Adventure Playground (Irvine) — My 8 year old twins and I spent some time here after dropping off my husband at John Wayne Airport. While there is a playground here, the best part to me is the big loose blocks — they look like giant Lego — that kids can use to make forts or whatever else their heart desires. There’s mud here (intentionally, for playtime) so bring clothes and shoes that can get dirty!

  • Carbon Canyon Redwood Hike (Brea) — One of the rare places you can find redwood trees in Southern California (they aren’t native here, but these ones were planted and have survived!) We’ve been to this regional park a handful of times and always enjoy it… there are playgrounds, a beautiful lake with lots of birds (and fishing!), and the hike to the redwood grove. It’s always been worth the admission fee for us — around $5-10 per car.

  • Central Park Playground (Huntington Beach) — of the all the places we visited this year, this may have been my favorite day. We had planned to stay home that Saturday, but I woke up and saw someone’s Instagram post about the Central Park Playground. We packed up water bottles and hats, and headed out the door! There are two different playgrounds here (we liked the rope one the best), lots of kids to play with, a beautiful lake/pond for birdwatching, and it’s next to the beautiful Central Library and Secret Garden. We spent all day here! Be aware — the pond is very close to the rope/treehouse playground — watch your little ones to be sure they don’t wander off!

  • Balboa Island Ferry (Newport Beach) — We went to Balboa Beach (by the pier) for my son’s birthday, and then walked over to the ferry. It was a busy, hot holiday weekend, and in hindsight, perhaps we should have just bought ice cream next to the beach and skipped the island! It was a little far to walk for some of my kids who were hot, along with an extended family member who was having some health problems. But, those Balboa ice cream Bars are sure delicious!

  • Huntington Beach Central Library - this large library has a beautiful atrium with fountains, a lovely children’s area, a downstairs coffee shop, a reading area with HUGE fiddle-leaf fig trees, and even a gift shop! It’s well worth a visit, especially alongside playgrounds at Central Park, Shipley Nature Center, or the “Secret Garden” which are all nearby. We timed our visit with a scheduled story time which was fun!

  • Discovery Cube (Santa Ana) — this fall, one of my kids had minor surgery at CHOC, so while my husband stayed with him, the rest of us headed to the Discovery Cube. It had been several years since we visited, and I’ll admit, my expectations were low — our previous visit had been very crowded and didn’t seem worthwhile for my little kids. We were pleasantly surprised by how much there was to do, and we ended up buying an annual pass so we could re-visit with my son who was at CHOC. (The employee who issued our passes was especially kind and hilarious!) We especially enjoyed the hockey area, the Mission Impossible style laser maze (small), and the dinosaur area outside.

  • Fullerton Arboretum — my niece had a show nearby so we headed to the area a little early to check out the Arboretum before we watched her perform. I came here for my birthday when my oldest daughter was a baby, and it was so sweet to return now with all of my kids! It was a hot day, so we mostly just strolled along, catching as many shady spots as possible. Watching the turtles in the pond was fun, too. I’d like to return on a cooler day and do some more exploring!

  • Balboa Beach (Newport Beach)

  • Huntington Beach Central Park Playground — 2!

  • Secret Garden (Huntington Beach)

  • Turtle Rock Nature Center (Irvine)

  • Yorba Regional Park

Places in San Diego County Our Family Enjoyed in 2024:

Places in the Inland Empire Our Family Enjoyed in 2024:

Wishing you a happy new year of adventures, whether all over California or in your own backyard!

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Kelly S
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Ferndell Trail in Griffith Park