The little island of Alameda in the San Francisco Bay Area is a great place to explore with your kids. It is known for its majestic Victorian-era homes (claiming to have the most pre-1906 earthquake homes in the Bay Area), its bike-friendly streets, 25 mph city-wide speed limit, and its kid-friendly beaches.
Alameda has parks and playgrounds throughout the island and each one has ample parking, grass for running, and picnic areas. Here are seven of our favorites:
My Favorite Alameda Parks
Jean Sweeney Open Space Park
Ride your scooters and bikes along the safe, newly paved, car-free bike and walking path through the length of the park.
There are two separate playground areas for toddlers and older kids. The toddler section has a smaller play structure with baby swings and a fence around it. The bigger kid section has a sandpit, a zip line, and a huge metal slide.
This beautiful park incorporates natural elements into the fun, with giant logs to jump on, sand to dig in, rocks to climb, and many other options for littles to build their gross motor skills.
We like to bring a picnic blanket and enjoy our lunch at Jean Sweeny Open Space Park, either in the shaded picnic area or at the one picnic table under the tree on the bike path. You can’t miss it!
Littlejohn Park
Littlejohn Park was recently remodeled to be accessible for all kids, including those with special needs.
The swings offer extra support to those who need it. For example, the double swing allows for an adult to swing with a child—my baby loves this feature. The play structure with slides and manipulatives is wide enough for a wheelchair too.
This park is fenced in with a gate that only adults can unlock, and has rubber flooring—which is quite handy when you have a mouthy baby who often spends her trips to the park eating the bark or sand on the ground.
Franklin Park
In the shade of redwood trees, you can pick flowers, scooter, play a little baseball, dig in a sand pit, swing, and visit a toddler or big kid play structure—all at Franklin Park.
This park is small but mighty!
We love biking here and enjoying a picnic lunch under the redwood trees, surrounded by old Victorian homes so typically “Alamedan.”
Woodstock Park
Woodstock Park is an underwater-themed oasis hidden behind a charter school and is often completely empty when we visit.
Our kids love the zip line, multiple slides, huge climbing structure, and big swing. I appreciate that there is no bark on the ground, so my baby is not surrounded by choking hazards.
There are picnic tables under a giant eucalyptus tree to enjoy lunch or a snack and clean bathrooms nearby. And FYI—the zip line can support an adult too.
Whale Park
Drive out to Whale Park to explore a pirate and underwater-themed park, complete with swings, basketball courts, walking paths, a grassy hill, picnic tables, and clean bathrooms.
The main climbing structure is a giant whale with monkey bar teeth. This park is great for families with kids of all ages because there is a toddler and a bigger kid section.
The Bay Trail cuts through Alameda and provides a safe bike route from Jean Sweeny Park all the way to Alameda Point.
We like to ride our bikes from Webster Street, grab lunch in Alameda Point, then end our day at this whale of a park.
Alameda Point Waterfront Park
Ok, ok, this is not a playground…
The new Alameda Waterfront Park is more of an open space to play, ride bikes, picnic, dance, and enjoy the incredible bay views of the San Francisco city skyline.
The paved space between the waterfront promenade and the Alameda Naval Museum is a popular spot for families with little kids to bike and scooter because there is no car traffic.
Washington Park
Washington Park is close to Crown Memorial State Beach and Alameda’s downtown Webster Street district.
This park is great for families with kids of all ages because there is a toddler and a bigger kid section. There are also picnic tables under shady trees throughout the park.
My family and I visit the park sometimes on our way to the beach, or enjoy a picnic and watch as people play basketball on the courts sponsored by the Warriors.
When I tell people that I live in Alameda, they often respond to me by saying “Alameda is a great place to raise a family,” and I couldn’t agree more.
We are so lucky and privileged to live in a community where the parks are safe places to play, the playgrounds are maintained, and the bathrooms are clean.
If you can, hop in your car, on a bus, or on your bike and bring your family down to Alameda to explore some of our kids’ favorite places—the playgrounds. And let me know when you do, maybe we’ll meet you there!
Puerto Rican & Indigenous mama of two. Bay Area native. Salsa dancer. Backpacker. Doula. Angel (she/her/hers) is a co-founding member of the Beautiful Brown Adventures team. She has traveled to over 30 countries and loves to explore the world with her two daughters & partner - one ice cream shop at a time.
