Location

2 with deals

Things to do in San Mateo

Family fun and parks & beaches — 13 places to go in San Mateo, California. 1 free to enter · most admission $25 to $39. 2 have a verified saving right now.
Plan my day

San Mateo offers a mix of indoor entertainment centers and outdoor recreation. Family entertainment dominates the attractions here: GAMA Ride Amusement Center & Arcade combines arcade games with immersive 3D motion simulators, bumper cars, shuffleboard, darts, and pool. Bel Mateo Bowl is a 24-lane bowling center where visitors bowl by reserving lanes or playing individual games. For interactive experiences, Game Show Studio San Mateo offers competitive head-to-head challenges, while Red Door Escape Room provides private puzzle-solving adventures within a set timeframe. CuriOdyssey serves as a museum and zoo where visitors explore live animals and interactive exhibits throughout the day. Coyote Point Recreation Area provides water sports and outdoor recreation. Imagination City is a child-sized city where children engage in real-world roles through interactive exhibits. Clawesome is a claw machine arcade featuring Japanese-inspired tap-to-play games with plushies and collectibles. Sandbox VR offers full-body virtual reality experiences with headsets and motion sensors. Seasonal attractions include ABC Tree Farms Summer Fun Zone, Pumpkin Patch & Christmas Trees, and the San Mateo Japanese Garden, a 16.3-acre park at Central Park.

What this list covers

San Mateo has 13 places to go, mostly family fun (6), parks & beaches (3).

9 of them publish an admission price, 8 publish opening hours, 2 have something dated on now, 2 are running a verified saving.

Every figure here was read on the attraction’s own website, most recently on September 25, 2026.

How we know these are real

Savings here are quoted from the attraction’s own website, word for word. This one, for example:

“Teachers: Teachers are always free with a valid Teacher ID.”

Quoted from curiodyssey.org · checked on

What’s on in San Mateo

2 places in San Mateo have something dated on, 2 listings in all. Dates and wording are the venue’s own.

Next weekendOct 2 – Dec 4 · 5:00 pmSeason

CuriOdyssey, San Mateo

First Friday Nights

Parents and kids celebrate together at CuriOdyssey on the first Friday of every month from 5 pm until 8 pm.

From $24.95 per personmilitary & teacher rates
Pick tickets

“October 2, 2026 at 5:00 pm”

From the venue’s own calendar, curiodyssey.org · checked on
Details on the attraction’s site →

Family fun in San Mateo6

All family fun in California →

Parks & beaches in San Mateo3

All parks & beaches in California →

Museums in San Mateo1

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Farms & pumpkin patches in San Mateo1

All farms & pumpkin patches in California →

Bowling in San Mateo1

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Escape rooms in San Mateo1

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Free in San Mateo

One attraction in San Mateo gets you in for nothing, in the venue’s own words.

All free things to do in California →

Common questions

How many attractions in San Mateo are running a deal?
2 of the 13 attractions in San Mateo currently have a verified saving, covering 4 offers in total. Each is quoted from the attraction’s own website.
How much do things to do in San Mateo cost?
Most admission in San Mateo runs $25 to $39 per person, and 1 place is free to enter. Published prices run from $22 to $39 — $22 at ABC Tree Farms Summer Fun Zone, Pumpkin Patch & Christmas Trees, $39 at Sandbox VR, across 2 attractions in San Mateo that publish their own. Each figure is that venue’s own price line for what it names, which is not always plain admission, and each attraction’s page carries the rest of its rates.
What’s on in San Mateo right now?
2 attractions in San Mateo have something dated running, 2 listings between them. Each carries its own dates and the venue’s own sentence, and nothing is listed once its dates have passed.
Is there anything free to do in San Mateo?
1 attraction in San Mateo says on its own website that admission is free. We only say free when the venue does, unqualified — a child rate priced at nothing is not a free attraction.
What kinds of attractions are included?
family fun (6), parks & beaches (3), museums (1), farms & pumpkin patches (1), bowling (1), escape rooms (1).
Are these deals guaranteed to still be available?
No. Every deal here carries the date it was last checked on the attraction’s own website and a link straight to the page it came from, so you can confirm it before you travel. Prices and offers change without notice.
What's best for a rainy afternoon with young children?
Imagination City offers interactive exhibits where children engage in real-world roles, while Clawesome provides claw machine games with collectibles. CuriOdyssey combines live animals with interactive exhibits indoors. GAMA Ride Amusement Center features arcade games and motion simulators. All keep kids engaged without weather concerns.
Can we do something competitive as a family?
Game Show Studio San Mateo lets visitors compete head-to-head in interactive game show challenges. Red Door Escape Room offers private themed adventures where groups solve puzzles together. Bel Mateo Bowl provides traditional lane bowling for family competition.
Are there outdoor options in San Mateo?
Coyote Point Recreation Area provides water sports and outdoor recreation. The San Mateo Japanese Garden is a 16.3-acre signature park at Central Park. ABC Tree Farms operates seasonal attractions including a pumpkin patch and Christmas trees.