Family Fun in Coronado: Top 10 Activities for Kids

Coronado is a resort city located on a picturesque peninsula near downtown San Diego. You can access it via the Coronado Bridge (which kids LOVE driving over!). It’s famous for its historic red roofed hotel, the naval base, and the charming beachside community. Whether you are a local OR visiting from out of town, it’s the perfect place to spend the day. We return here over and over again because there is so much to do with kids!

Here are our top things to do in Coronado with kids

1. What you can do for free at The Hotel Del Coronado

2. Coronado Beach and sand dunes

3. Ride the ferry from The Coronado Ferry Landing

4. The best shops on Orange Avenue

5. Where to eat with kids and which restaurants are family-friendly.

6. Spreckel’s Park

7. The Coronado Public Library

8. Silver Strand Beach

9. Coronado Tidelands Park

10. The USS Midway

11. BONUS: Why you should visit Coronado for the holidays!

But first, parking on Coronado

If you’re new here, parking is my love language. I won’t go anywhere unless I know where to park ahead of time. Here is where NOT to park! Do not use the Hotel Del Coronado lot. Our neighbors accidentally spent $80 parking there for just a few hours. There’s plenty of free street or metered parking around the hotel. We like looking for spots on the street between the Chipotle and The Del (FYI locals just call it The Del, not The Hotel Del Coronado!). We also have had good luck in front of Panera Bread on Orange Avenue.

Coronado Beach and Dunes

You can’t visit Coronado without a stop on the most perfect beach. We are getting to be sand snobs in our family and the Coronado sand is top tier. It’s super fine and perfectly white. Our kids love jumping off the dunes almost as much as playing on the beach. Every sunset you’ll see photographers with their subjects because everyone knows this is one of the most beautiful beaches in the area.

We park by the stairs across from 1130 Flora Ave. This will lead you right to the dunes. Just to your left you get a perfect view of The Hotel Del! Be warned, those cute striped beach loungers are for guests of the Hotel Del only. We found out this out when my toddler decided to use one as a trampoline and we got a stern reprimand from the hotel staff. Fair, he was covered in sand.

Ride the ferry from The Coronado Ferry Landing

The Coronado Ferry is just $8 each way for a STUNNING view of the San Diego Bay. Take the route from The Ferry Landing to Broadway Pier to get an up close view of Seaport Village and The USS Midway. No need to buy tickets in advance, there is a kiosk right on the pier! The price is per person each way. So if you wanted to ride round trip it would be $16/person. Ages 4 and under are free so this makes an ideal toddler outing!

We found easy parking near Coronado Ferry landing. Then one kid didn’t want to ride so my husband drove and picked us up by Broadway Pier. If I was taking all the kids, it would have been easy to bring a stroller or even a bike on board. The schedule is posted here, but ferries come about every 30 min-1 hr depending on your route. Don’t forget to sit on the top level for the best views!

The best shops on Orange Avenue

We love perusing the shops on Orange Avenue. It’s the street that connects The Coronado Ferry Landing and The Hotel Del. Many cute shops have taken residence here as it’s a popular street for locals and tourists. Our favorites were Fuzziwig’s Candy Shop for their caramel apples and Seaside Papery for all their cool designs and posters. We also love stopping in Crown Barber Shop (947 Orange Ave) to see their display of photos of military planes. Don’t forget to check out the architecture at Coronado Bank and the Village Ace Hardware at 949 Orange Avenue!

Where to eat with kids and which restaurants are family-friendly.

Can I be honest with you? We eat at Chipotle (1360 Orange Ave) nearly every time we go to Coronado. The location next to the Del is ideal, they have a great outdoor patio, and we know our kids actually will eat their $5 kids’ menu.

If you’d like to skip the chain restaurant, try Village Pizzeria because it’s delicious, affordable and family friendly. Other contenders I’ve crowd sources from my San Diego Mamas community are: Henry’s, Peohe’s, Tartine, Lobster West, and McP’s Irish Pub.

Spreckel’s Park

Right in the middle of your Orange Avenue stroll, you’ll find Spreckel’s Park (601 Orange Avenue). It’s a nice clean park thats always filled with families when we visit. The bathrooms are decently clean as well. We have found parking on the street behind the playground every time we’ve visited.

The Coronado Public Library

The Coronado Public Library is adorable and worth a stop. It’s right across the street from Spreckel’s Park. It is NOT part of the City or County library system, so don’t check out any book unless you’re planning on returning to Coronado. The hours for the library are here as well as info about their activities and storytimes.

Silver Strand State Beach

Silver Strand Beach is a bit of a drive, but worth it for a long stretch of mostly unpopulated beach. The beach is called Silver Strand because the sand has little sparkly flecks in it from silver oyster shells. It’s a great beach for collecting shells or digging up clams by the water line. We love coming here for a beach day with our family. If you have an RV, this is a common place for RV camping as well. Parking is $10 on weekdays or $12 on weekends, but is free with a CA State Parks Pass.

Coronado Tidelands Park

You’ll drive by this park right as you enter Coronado over the bridge. It’s huge and offers large fields, a small beach with calm water, and boat docking areas. There’s a new all abilities playground and an amazing bike path that stretches all the way to Silver Strand State Beach.

The USS Midway

Though not TECHNICALLY in Coronado, it’s nearby and if you ride the ferry your boat docks right here! If you’re visiting Coronado, I highly recommend taking kids to this aircraft carrier turned museum. Here’s what you need to know when visiting with kids.

Kids under 5 are free! There is an audio guide specifically for children. It was a big hit with our kids. This is a touch everything museum meaning kids can sit in the control chairs and press all the buttons to their heart’s content.

All boat exits to the water are very well covered by thick glass and secure fences. There are elevators for strollers but you will have to park your stroller to explore the tunnels of the ships. There is an attendant to watch it.

Our favorite room was the miniature helicopter room with small scale helicopter models right at toddler level. We had a few incidents where one child tried to break free and run back to that room. We also loved the anchor room where our kids had tons of fun climbing on the giant anchor chains. The docents were very kind and answered my children’s very specific questions about plane machinery.

We spent two hours there but we could have easily spent three. Adults are $ 26 / person, but it is possible to upgrade a single day ticket to an annual pass for $ 90 for two adults or $ 160 for four. This museum is included in The San Diego GO Pass.

Why you should visit Coronado for the holidays

The Hotel Del Coronado has my favorite light display anywhere in Southern California and that includes the paid displays at Disneyland. Every inch of the hotel is festooned with amazing Christmas lights and there’s a ice skating rink right on the beach! Going to see the lights here is 100% free, unless you decide to ice skate. They have a light show on the trees behind the hotel that I HIGHLY recommend. The tree in the lobby wins my vote for best Christmas tree in San Diego. They have events like a skydiving Santa Claus, professional carolers wandering about, and sometimes fireworks!

The Fourth of July on Coronado is also very fun! They put on a whole day’s worth of events. Our highlight is the Fourth of July Parade. It’s a mix of military vehicles, veterans groups, hometown baseball teams and businesses and just screams Americana in the best possible way. My favorite float was the one featuring military wives and children who had husbands who were deployed. Everyone stood up to honor them and their sacrifice.

Allow me to introduce myself…

My name is Camille! I am a San Diego stay-at-home mom who is never ever at home. I share a lot of fun things to do around San Diego including parks, restaurants, LEGOLAND, the zoo etc.

My goal with my Instagram account and blog is to make any mom feel prepared for any outing with her kids so that she doesn’t have to stay home unless she wants to. Getting out with my kids was key for me in overcoming postpartum depression so I try to pay it forward by sharing what we do to help other moms in a similar situation. Read more about my story here.

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