Free & Cheap

Family-friendly Bay Area Fun on The Cheap

Discounted admission to museums, plays, classes and other tips to discover free fun for East Bay Area children.

Free and Cheap Activities Scheduled This Month

Child playing with pretend garden/kitchen toys near parent

How to Get in FREE to Dozens of Bay Area Museums, Science Centers, + Gardens

10 Mostly Free & Cheap Outings for Mixed Ages in the East Bay

Berkeley library storytime with adult reading to two small children

Free Storytimes Around the East Bay

child in party hat with crabby face and plate of donuts

14 Free and Cheap Birthday Party Places

14 East Bay Restaurants Where Kids Eat Free

Upcoming Free or Cheap Events in the East Bay

Friday, October 23, 2026

9:00 am – 4:00 pm: Explore Blake Garden @ Blake Garden
10:00 am – 10:50 am: Community Preschool Yoga @ Yama Kids Yoga
10:00 am – 12:00 pm: Shabbat & Play @ Temple Sinai
10:30 am – 11:00 am: Story Time @ Crab Cove @ Crab Cove Visitor Center
11:15 am – 12:15 pm: Oaktown Jazz Storytime @ Richmond Library | West Side Branch
3:00 pm – 6:00 pm: Trunk or Treat @ Civic Park & Community Center (Walnut Creek)
3:30 pm – 5:30 pm: Costume Swap @ Swings and Wings
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm: MOCHA Creative Art Play @ Central Library | Berkeley Public Library
4:00 pm – 7:00 pm: Petting Zoo @ The Backyard
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm: Haunted Trail @ Pleasant Hill Park

Free & Cheap Resources for Families

SF Park Profile: Willie “Woo Woo” Wong Playground

In the heart of SF Chinatown is an amazing 2-level park with climbing structures, room for tots and bigger kids, giant metal slide, and sports ...

Parents’ guide to Piedmont parks

6 places to play in Piedmont

Good Free Fun: The East Bay Vivarium

East Bay Vivarium has it all: Cute turtles swimming in tanks, giant tortoises munching on lettuce, tiny lizards, boas, enormous pythons, and more.

Golden Gate Park, Koret Children’s Playground and Carousel

Koret Playground at Golden Gate Park has a mix of nostalgic features I loved as a child (cement slide, carousel) plus newer playground structures.

It’s Free! Indian Rock Park

Wear athletic shoes because Berkeley's Indian Rock will make you want to scale it and start snapping pictures immediately, and you don't want to fall!