Best Parks & Gardens in California
3 parks & gardens in California
Botanical gardens, city parks and playgrounds.
Editorial oversight by James Morgan. AI-assisted, human-edited. Our editorial standards
Parks & Gardens in California: what to expect
California has 3 parks & gardens we would happily take our own kids to. Balboa Park is the one most families start with. Pack museums, gardens, and theaters into one sprawling San Diego cultural park. Golden Gate Park is the other name that comes up again and again. Roam one of America's most-visited urban parks, packed with gardens, lakes, and museums. Great Park Balloon (OC Great Park) rounds out the pick of the bunch. Rise up to 400 feet in a tethered helium balloon for 360-degree views of Orange County.
None of these venues publishes a fixed family ticket price on this page, so check the official site for current admission before you set out.
The parks & gardens on this page are spread across San Diego (1), San Francisco (1) and Irvine (1), so it is easy to pair two into one trip.
Parks Gardens
Balboa Park
San Diego, California
Pack museums, gardens, and theaters into one sprawling San Diego cultural park.
Parks Gardens
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, California
Roam one of America's most-visited urban parks, packed with gardens, lakes, and museums.
Parks Gardens
Great Park Balloon (OC Great Park)
Irvine, California
Rise up to 400 feet in a tethered helium balloon for 360-degree views of Orange County.