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California is so jam-packed with enjoyable for teenagers, you could not know the place to start planning your loved ones trip. As a mother and former Californian who has explored a lot of the Golden State’s shores, theme parks, nationwide parks, and cities — let me assist you to slim down your decisions with this record of the greatest locations to go to in California with children.
This story is delivered to you in partnership with Visit California.
1. San Diego
San Diego is the right place for a California trip with children. Having lived in San Diego in Southern California for 15 years, I admit I’m keen on this California metropolis.
San Diego pleases all ages with the famend San Diego Zoo, miles of lovely seashores, all kinds of marine life at SeaWorld San Diego, the all the time entertaining Balboa Park, and tons of different points of interest.
Read in regards to the 35 greatest issues to do in San Diego with children and my picks for the greatest eating places in San Diego for households.
2. Disneyland Resort
Of course, no record of one of the best locations to go to in California with children could be full with out Disneyland Resort. With memorable character meals, thrilling rides, and points of interest aplenty, you are by no means too previous or too younger for a Disney trip.
Located in Orange County, this trip vacation spot consists of Disneyland and its sister theme park, Disney California Adventure. Downtown Disney purchasing and eating district plus three themed Disneyland inns add to the expertise.
Visiting with little children? Check out my picks for the greatest Disneyland rides and points of interest for infants and toddlers.
Headed to the Happiest Place on Earth with older children? Take a peek on the greatest thrill rides at Disneyland.
3. Huntington Beach
If your very best California household trip focuses on ocean waves, sandy seashores, and hanging ten — then e-book a visit to Huntington Beach. It’s also called Surf City USA so ensure to enroll in household surf classes throughout your go to. A visit to the Surfer Hall of Fame and a nighttime seashore bonfire are musts on this walkable small city, too.
Read extra about Huntington Beach with children.
4. San Francisco
What’s to not love about this Northern California metropolis by the ocean? From the huge Golden Gate Park to the well-known Pier 39, Fisherman’s Wharf, and Alcatraz Island, there’s a lot to discover in San Francisco. Kids will particularly get a kick out of using on one of many metropolis’s well-known cable vehicles and driving down the crookedest avenue on this planet.
San Francisco Bay is house to the second-largest Chinatown within the nation. Go see the ornate Dragon’s Gate and wander by the realm’s many full of life outlets. Then you could eat some scrumptious Chinese delicacies. Fortune cookies had been invented in San Francisco so make sure you go to the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory the place you possibly can watch the manufacturing course of and purchase freshly made cookies.
Got a Star Wars fan or comics lover within the household? Then you will wish to learn our geek’s information to San Francisco earlier than you go!
5. Monterey
Along California’s Central Coast lies the picturesque metropolis of Monterey. The well-known Monterey Bay Aquarium will wow children with displays full of tuxedoed penguins, playful sea otters, and fish of all kinds. Seafood lovers rejoice in Monterey for its abundance of fresh-caught picks.
Active households will particularly admire Monterey. Hiking alternatives give households an opportunity to attach with nature and one another. If your loved ones golfs (and even when it would not), then a scenic drive to the Pebble Beach Golf Links is a should.
Monterey is simply 4 miles from Carmel, a darling vacation spot worthy of a day journey or a number of further days in California with children.
6. Lake Tahoe
Snow in California? Oh sure, certainly! Skiing is probably not the very first thing that springs to thoughts if you image a California trip, however possibly 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. There are trails for skiers and snowboarders of all talent ranges. Snowshoeing, ice skating, s’mores and extra hold children content material throughout a California winter journey to Lake Tahoe.
The play would not finish when the snow melts, both. In summer season, head to Lake Tahoe for jet snowboarding, paddle boarding, mountain climbing, kayaking, and past.
7. Carlsbad and Legoland California
Located 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.
Besides its seven miles 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. Also onsite is Legoland Water Park with numerous slides and water rides for summer season guests. Meanwhile, SeaLife Aquarium is full of marine life and is open year-round.
The well-known Carlsbad Flower Fields, seashore play, a music museum, and extra add to the enjoyable. Learn about all there may be to do in Carlsbad with children.
8. Los Angeles
The second greatest metropolis within the United States is full of family-friendly actions. Los Angeles is house to over 90 museums and practically 31,000 eating places.
Los Angeles additionally affords 24 miles of sandy seashores alongside the California Coast. One of essentially the most well-known is Venice Beach. It’s recognized for its distinctive SoCal vibe, an expansive skate park, and an out of doors health club with musclebound locals lifting weights underneath the California solar.
The Getty Center is among the many hottest points of interest within the Los Angeles space. The museum is full of treasured artistic endeavors by such artists as Van Gogh, Monet, and Cezanne. The surrounding gardens are beautiful as properly.
Located on Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park, Griffith Observatory wows guests with its planetarium, high-powered telescopes for public use, and house displays.
Step method again in time at La Brea Tar Pits and pure historical past museum. Kids would possibly surprise in the event that they’ve entered Jurassic Park as they stare at life-sized statues of wooly mammoths, huge sloths, and different extinct animals in swimming pools of gooey asphalt effervescent up from the earth.
A private favourite, the Huntington Botanical Gardens unfold throughout 120 acres. Escape the hectic tempo of town in favor of a myriad of flowers, vegetation, and fountains set in 16 themed gardens.
Cover a whole lot of floor with a Los Angeles Go City All-Inclusive Pass for 40+ Attractions together with the Los Angeles Zoo, Knott’s Berry Farm, and way more.
9. Burbank and Hollywood
If your loved ones is gaga about all issues glitz and glamour, then head to the Media Capital of the World. A suburb of Los Angeles, Burbank is house to a whole lot of main movie and tv studios. Of course, you’ll want to view the long-lasting Hollywood Sign and stroll alongside the well-known Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Walt Disney Studios, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Warner Bros. Studio are all situated in Burbank. For an immersive take a look at units and memorabilia from favourite reveals and films, e-book a Warner Bros. Studio Tour upfront.
For films and TV reveals served with a facet of curler coasters and stay reveals, Universal Studios Hollywood is an absolute should. This is very true for Harry Potter followers who adore this theme park’s Wizarding World.
Learn extra about this spectacular suburb with this record of enjoyable issues to do in Burbank.
10. Yosemite National Park
Resplendent with mountain climbing trails, waterfalls, and towering bushes, Yosemite is a spot of pure surprise for over 3.3 million company every year. This nationwide park spans practically 750,000 acres. It is house to quite a lot of wildlife together with foxes, deer, cougars, and black bears. Adventurous households may even be happy to know that Yosemite is called one of many greatest 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.
Families looking for to discover California’s pure magnificence will love visiting Yosemite National Park. Plan your journey with these Yosemite National Park ideas.
11. Palm Springs
Palm Springs lures vacationers to its desert locale with its huge golf programs and glowing resort swimming swimming pools. Be positive to sip a crave-worthy date shake, made with fruits from the realm’s plentiful palm bushes.
Families are enamored with The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens. This spectacular zoo and botanic backyard supply progressive play areas for teenagers and a enjoyable mannequin practice exhibit.
Giant spinning wind generators within the Palm Springs space produce an electrifying 1.5 million megawatt-hours. They additionally present beautiful picture ops.
Soar from the desert valley to the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains through the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. The ground of the automotive rotates all through the trip, so passengers get a 360-degree view of Coachella Valley with out having to maneuver across the automotive.
Intrigued? Discover extra issues to do in Palm Springs with children.
12. Ventura County
For a novel array of actions for households, contemplate a Ventura County trip. Think gondola rides by canals, whale watching, spying on wild foxes on an uninhabited Channel Island, and piloting a battery-operated boat. Discover extra distinctive issues to do in Ventura County with children.
13. Santa Monica
Santa Monica is the epitome of Southern California with its surfable waves, beachy downtown, and seaside amusements. This suburb of Los Angeles is greatest recognized for the Santa Monica Pier with its iconic Ferris wheel spinning beside the Pacific Ocean.
Pacific Park on Santa Monica Pier contains a dozen rides together with the 130-foot-tall Pacific Wheel and a full-sized curler coaster. You’ll additionally discover a plethora of arcade video games with prizes and each kind of deal with your candy tooth may crave.
Santa Monica Beach is among the greatest seashores in California. Click by to find the remainder!
14. Sequoia National Park
Located in Central California within the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Sequoia National Park is house to beautiful groves of the world’s largest bushes. Adults and youngsters of all ages can not help however really feel awe-struck by the huge sequoias within the Giant Forest.
This nationwide park can also be house to the world’s largest tree, General Sherman. You may even drive by one other well-known big sequoia referred to as the Tunnel Log. This stunning place supplies an assortment of nice issues to do in nature like mountain climbing, mountain biking, tenting, and horseback using.
Sister park, Kings Canyon National Park, is lower than 30 miles away and makes an ideal addition to a nature-focused vacation. Learn extra about Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and different nationwide parks in California like Death Valley and Channel Islands in our round-up of the greatest nationwide parks within the U.S.
15. Joshua Tree National Park
Located about an hour from Palm Springs, Joshua Tree National Park is a should for households who wish to discover California’s pure wonders. This is one of the best place to identify the 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.
Book a guided tour of Joshua Tree National Park with our trusted associate, GetYourGuide.
Explore More Family Vacation Destinations
For much more concepts on your California bucket record, take a look at this California street journey itinerary, this record of nationwide parks in California, and our intensive catalog of California holidays and ideas.
Discover the greatest issues to do in Scottsdale in my present house state of Arizona.
Keep it bizarre with this record of issues to do in Portland, Oregon with children.
Take the children to the Valley Isle with these really helpful Maui actions for households.
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Which of those California household trip locations would your loved ones get pleasure from most? Let us know within the feedback beneath!
Disclosure: I acquired compensation associated to this story from Visit California when it was first posted. This weblog put up is recurrently up to date to offer essentially the most up-to-date data for readers. All opinions about these locations to go to in California with children are mine, as common.