Searching for the very best household journeys in California? As a mother and longtime Californian who has explored a lot of the Golden State, I’ve acquired you lined! Uncover this stunning state’s shores, theme parks, nationwide parks, and cities with this record of 15 wonderful locations to go to in California with children in 2025.
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1. San Diego
San Diego is the proper place for a California household trip. Since I lived in San Diego for 15 years, I admit I’m keen on this coastal metropolis. San Diego pleases all ages with the famend San Diego Zoo, oodles of lovely seashores, all kinds of marine life at SeaWorld San Diego, the all the time entertaining Balboa Park, and a great deal of different points of interest.
Learn in regards to the finest issues to do in San Diego with children and my picks for the high eating places in San Diego for households. Get cozy with this record of the finest household resorts in San Diego, too.
2. Disneyland Resort in Orange County
After all, no record of the very best locations to go to in California with children could be full with out Disneyland Resort. With memorable character meals, thrilling rides, and imaginative points of interest, you’re by no means too previous or younger for a Disney trip.
Positioned in Orange County, this trip vacation spot consists of Disneyland and its sister theme park, Disney California Journey. Three themed Disneyland resorts, plus the Downtown Disney buying and eating district, add to the expertise.
Visiting with little children? Try my picks for the finest Disneyland points of interest for infants and toddlers.
Headed to the Happiest Place on Earth with older children? Take a peek on the finest thrill rides at Disneyland.
3. Huntington Seaside
In case your preferrred California household trip focuses on ocean waves, sandy seashores, and hanging ten — ebook a visit to Huntington Seaside! Also referred to as Surf Metropolis USA, household surf classes and a visit to the Surfer Corridor of Fame are musts throughout your go to. Nighttime seaside bonfires are mainstays on this walkable small city, too.
Learn extra about what to anticipate in Huntington Seaside with children.
4. San Francisco
What’s to not love about this Northern California metropolis by the ocean? There’s a lot to discover in San Francisco, from the large Golden Gate Park and Pier 39 to Fisherman’s Wharf, Alcatraz Island, and the crookedest road on the earth. Children will particularly get a kick from using on one of many metropolis’s well-known cable automobiles.
Plus, San Francisco Bay can also be house to the second-largest Chinatown within the nation. Go see the ornate Dragon’s Gate and wander by the realm’s many energetic retailers. Subsequent, you should eat some scrumptious Chinese language delicacies. Fortune cookies have been invented in San Francisco, so make sure you go to the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Manufacturing facility, the place you’ll be able to watch the manufacturing course of and purchase freshly made cookies.
Acquired a Star Wars fan or comics lover within the household? Then, you’ll need to learn our geek’s information to San Francisco earlier than you go!
5. Monterey
Alongside California’s Central Coast lies the picturesque metropolis of Monterey. The famend Monterey Bay Aquarium wows children with reveals full of tuxedoed penguins, playful sea otters, and fish of all kinds. Seafood lovers rejoice in Monterey for its abundance of fresh-caught choices.
Energetic households will particularly respect Monterey. Climbing alternatives give households an opportunity to attach with nature and one another. If your loved ones golfs (and even in case you don’t), then a scenic drive to the Pebble Seaside Golf Hyperlinks can’t be missed.
Monterey is simply 4 miles (6.5 km) from Carmel, a darling vacation spot worthy of a day journey or just a few further days in California with children. (Or with out offspring on the romantic Hofsas Home Resort in Carmel-by-the-sea!)
6. Lake Tahoe
Snow in California? Oh sure, certainly! Snowboarding will not be the very first thing that springs to thoughts if you image a California trip, however perhaps it ought to be.
Northstar California at Lake Tahoe affords a wintry wonderland for the entire household. This resort boasts over 3,000 skiable acres (12+ sq km). There are trails for skiers and snowboarders of all ability ranges. Snowshoeing, ice skating, s’mores, and extra hold children content material throughout a California winter journey to Lake Tahoe.
The play doesn’t finish when the snow melts, both. In summer time, head to Lake Tahoe for jet snowboarding, paddle boarding, climbing, kayaking, and past.
7. Carlsbad and Legoland California
Positioned simply over 30 miles north of downtown San Diego and fewer than an hour’s drive south of Orange County’s Irvine, you might simply spend your total California household trip in Carlsbad.
Moreover its seven miles (11+ km) of seashores, Legoland California is the star of the present in Carlsbad. This amusement park affords mellow curler coasters, interactive rides, colourful play areas, and different enjoyable for teenagers.
Additionally onsite is Legoland Water Park, which has a number of slides and water rides for summer time guests. Open year-round, Legoland’s SeaLife Aquarium is full of a captivating assortment of marine life.
The well-known Carlsbad Flower Fields and a music museum add to the enjoyable. Find out about all there may be to do in Carlsbad with children.
8. Los Angeles
The second largest metropolis in america is full of family-friendly actions. In actual fact, the Los Angeles is house to over 90 museums, and the metropolitan space boasts round 15,000 eating places. No marvel L.A. is among the finest locations to go to in California with children!
Los Angeles additionally affords 24 miles (38.5 km) of sandy seashores alongside the California Coast. Probably the most well-known seashores is Venice Seaside. Absorb its distinctive SoCal vibe, an expansive skate park, and an out of doors health club with musclebound locals lifting weights beneath the California solar.
Los Angeles Household Points of interest
The Getty Middle is among the many hottest points of interest within the Los Angeles space. The museum is full of paintings by such artists as Van Gogh, Monet, and Cezanne. The encircling gardens are beautiful as properly.
Positioned on Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park, Griffith Observatory wows guests with its planetarium, high-powered telescopes for public use, and area reveals.
Households really feel like they’ve crossed the border into Mexico on Olivera Avenue, often known as El Pueblo Historic Monument. That is the birthplace of Los Angeles. It options 27 historic buildings and a central Mexican plaza. Come right here to buy handicrafts and style conventional Mexican delicacies.
Then, step manner again in time at La Brea Tar Pits and Pure Historical past Museum. Children may marvel in the event that they’ve entered Jurassic Park as they stare at life-sized statues of wooly mammoths, large sloths, and different extinct animals in swimming pools of gooey asphalt effervescent from the earth.
A private favourite, Huntington Botanical Gardens stretches throughout 130 visitable acres (half a sq. kilometer). Escape the hectic tempo of the town in favor of a myriad of vegetation and fountains set in 16 themed gardens.
Cowl a number of floor with a Los Angeles Go Metropolis All-Inclusive Cross for 40+ Points of interest, together with the Los Angeles Zoo, Knott’s Berry Farm in close by Buena Park, and rather more.
9. Burbank and Hollywood
If your loved ones goes gaga for glitz and glamour, plan a visit to the Media Capital of the World. A suburb of Los Angeles, Burbank has lots of of main movie and tv studios.
Bubank is house to round 100,00 residents and three powerhouse studios: Walt Disney Studios, Common Studios Hollywood, and Warner Bros Studio. For an immersive have a look at units and memorabilia from favourite exhibits and flicks, ebook a Warner Bros. Studio Tour prematurely.
For a scrumptious serving of films and TV exhibits with a facet of curler coasters and dwell exhibits, Common Studios Hollywood is a should. That is very true for Harry Potter followers who adore this theme park’s Wizarding World.
After all, additionally, you will need to view the long-lasting Hollywood Signal and stroll alongside the well-known Hollywood Stroll of Fame. Study extra about this spectacular suburb with this record of enjoyable issues to do in Burbank.
10. Yosemite Nationwide Park
Resplendent with climbing trails, waterfalls, and towering bushes, Yosemite is a spot of pure marvel. In 2024, a record-breaking 4.1 million visitors visited this beloved nationwide park. It spans practically 750,000 acres (3,035 sq km) house to wildlife like foxes, deer, cougars, and black bears. Adventurous households can even be happy to know that Yosemite is called one of many finest locations in North America for mountaineering.
Yosemite opened in 1890 and stays one of many nation’s best examples of land conservation. Carved by glaciers over tens of hundreds of years, Yosemite Valley options granite giants El Capitan and Half Dome.
Households looking for to discover California’s pure magnificence will love visiting Yosemite. Plan your journey with these Yosemite Nationwide Park ideas.
11. Palm Springs
Palm Springs lures vacationers to its desert locale with its huge golf programs and glowing lodge swimming swimming pools. Whereas on this desert oasis, make sure you sip a crave-worthy date shake made with fruits from the realm’s plentiful palm bushes.
Households are enamored with The Residing Desert Zoo and Gardens. This spectacular zoo and botanical backyard affords modern play areas for teenagers and a enjoyable mannequin practice exhibit.
Large spinning wind generators within the Palm Springs space produce an electrifying 1.5 million megawatt-hours. Additionally they present beautiful picture ops.
Soar from the desert valley to the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains through the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. The automobile’s flooring rotates all through the trip, so passengers get a 360-degree view of Coachella Valley.
Intrigued? Uncover extra issues to do in Palm Springs with children.
12. Ventura County
For a singular array of actions for households, take into account a Ventura County trip. Assume gondola rides by canals, whale watching, spying on wild foxes on an uninhabited Channel Island, and piloting a battery-operated boat. Uncover extra distinctive issues to do in Ventura County with children.
13. Santa Monica
Santa Monica epitomizes Southern California with its surfable waves, beachy downtown, and seaside amusements. This suburb of Los Angeles is finest recognized for the Santa Monica Pier with its iconic Ferris wheel spinning beside the Pacific Ocean.
Pacific Park on Santa Monica Pier encompasses a dozen rides, together with the 130-foot-tall Pacific Wheel and a full-sized curler coaster. You’ll additionally discover each deal with your candy tooth might crave and a plethora of arcade video games with prizes.
Santa Monica Seaside is among the finest seashores in California. Click on by to find the remaining!
14. Sequoia and Kings Canyon Nationwide Park
Positioned in Central California within the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Sequoia Nationwide Park is house to beautiful groves of the world’s largest bushes. Adults and children of all ages can’t assist however really feel awestruck by the large sequoias within the Large Forest.
This nationwide park boasts the world’s largest tree, Normal Sherman. You possibly can even drive by one other spectacular big sequoia referred to as the Tunnel Log. This stunning place gives an assortment of nice issues to do in nature, like climbing, mountain biking, tenting, and horseback using.
Sister park, Kings Canyon Nationwide Park, is lower than 30 miles (48 km) away and makes an incredible addition to a nature-focused household vacation. Identified for its glacial-carved canyon, Kings Canyon, is among the deepest in North America. This park affords dramatic rock formations, rugged wilderness, and distant climbing trails.
Study extra about Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and different nationwide parks in California, like Demise Valley and Channel Islands, in our record of the finest nationwide parks within the U.S.
15. Joshua Tree Nationwide Park
Located about an hour from Palm Springs, Joshua Tree Nationwide Park is important for households who need to discover pure wonders in California. That is the very best place to identify unique-looking Joshua bushes with their outstretched arms and spiky leaves. These uncommon bushes develop solely within the Mojave Desert within the Southwestern U.S.
Ebook a guided Joshua Tree Nationwide Park tour with our trusted accomplice, GetYourGuide.
Discover Extra of California
For a laid-back vibe, candy walkable downtown, and one of many prettiest California missions, go to San Juan Capistrano with children.
Uncover SoCal’s best-kept secret (shh!) with my La Jolla Seaside & Tennis Membership evaluation.
Find out about a hidden gem desert trip spot with these issues to do in Borrego Springs.
For much more California bucket record concepts, try this California street journey itinerary, an inventory of nationwide parks in California, and my in depth catalog of California holidays and ideas.
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Which locations would you want to go to most in California with children? Tell us within the feedback under!
Disclosure: I obtained financial compensation from Go to California for this story. This text about the very best household journeys in California is up to date yearly to offer probably the most useful data for readers. All opinions are mine, as standard.