When I recently planned a family vacation to California, I wanted to include a few things: Disney (of course, since it was pretty much our purpose for the trip), redwoods and the beach. You can only get Disneyland in Anaheim, obvi, so I needed to cover the other highlights somewhere else. After a bit of research, I realized that visiting Crescent City with kids would provide everything I wanted in the second half of our California vacation.

I was so focused on planning the Disney portion of our vacation, though, that I neglected to research much about Crescent City, CA. It turned out to be ok though! When looking for the best things to do in Crescent City, I had a ton of options to choose from.

I know you’re short on time. If you’re looking for what to do in Crescent City with kids, I have everything you need to know right here. No bopping around the internet doing a million searches; just read on for info on the California Redwoods, downtown Crescent City, restaurants, lighthouses and more.

Crescent City with kids made easy

Where to eat in Crescent City with kids

If you follow only one piece of advice on what to do in Crescent City with kids, make it this one: Eat at SeaQuake Brewing. This restaurant in Downtown Crescent City was one of the highlights of our 1-day stop! The brewery is insanely kid-friendly, the food was excellent, and it’s a super-easy walk to Beach Front Park (more on that below).

I ate the delicious Thai Chicken Salad, which was big enough to satisfy my day’s requirement of vegetables (which is doubly appreciated when you’re road tripping and are stuck munching on gas station snacks all day). Hubs got a chicken sandwich. They have lots of gluten-free options, too.

And people, their kid menu was substantial. Best of all, though, they were so accommodating with my picky eaters! My younger daughter didn’t like the macaroni and cheese for some reason, and the server brought out a kids’ grilled cheese instead at no charge! (You can bet she got a hefty tip.)

And then came a surprise at the end of the meal: The girls got to pick out children’s books to take home! Turns out that the owners of SeaQuake Brewing are huge proponents of children’s literacy, and they have a basket of books for kids to choose from. The girls were beyond jazzed.

What to do in downtown Crescent City with kids

Crescent City is itty bitty—fewer than 8,000 people live in this California small town. You don’t have to worry about getting lost or fighting traffic!

Here are some of our favorite things to do near downtown Crescent City with kids. 

Play at Beach Front Park

This park is my favorite thing about downtown Crescent City. Imagine a giant fort, complete with slides, swings and playhouses, and you get Beach Front Park. 

My kids spent more than an hour playing here, and they didn’t want to leave. Ever. They begged me to move the family to Crescent City.

You don’t have to uproot your whole life; just carve out at least an hour to let your kids go nuts at Crescent City’s best park. It’s on the harbor and across the street from Seaquake Brewery, too! 

See the lighthouse

The Battery Point Lighthouse is mere minutes from downtown and a must-see when you visit Crescent City with kids. At low tide, you can walk up to the lighthouse, but the spit of land is covered by water at any other time.

Even if you don’t make it to Battery Point Lighthouse for low tide, definitely go: The pebble beach is lovely, and your kids will have a great time hunting for agates on the beach. 

Go antiquing

Like many beachside towns, Crescent City has a wealth of antique stores. (What is it about coastal towns that makes them a center for antiques? Anyone??) I can’t vouch for the quality of them—I’m definitely not an Antiques Roadshow-level expert—but they’re awfully fun to explore as a family!

Check out the boats at the Crescent City Harbor

If your kids are into boats, you definitely won’t want to miss visiting the Crescent City Harbor. Here, you’ll see hundreds of fishing boats moored along floating docks. 

We visited just before sunset, when fishermen were returning to land. The girls enjoyed watching them unload the boats and bring in their nets and crab pots. 

Walk along the harbor jetty

Walk a little farther south and you’ll find a jetty you can safely walk down with the kids. This is a favorite hangout for the area’s sea lions. Your kids can get a pretty close glimpse of the sea lions—just remember they’re noisy too!

Taste local cheese

In downtown Crescent City, you can stop by Rumiano Cheese to sample a whole bunch of flavors. I learned that they’re the oldest family-owned cheese company in California, and they make the first non-GMO-certified organic cheese in the US!

Play at a Crescent City beach

Pebble Beach is Crescent City’s most popular beach. Just a few minutes’ drive from downtown Crescent City, it’s an easy trip to make with the littles. South Beach, just outside of town past the harbor, is another popular beach among locals.

My girls demanded sand, too, so we explored the beach near the harbor at low tide. The outgoing water made an incredible bumpy pattern in the sand. 

See the Redwoods near Crescent City

Seeing the Redwoods in Northern California was one of the main reasons we went to Crescent City with kids. I just knew the peace of the Redwoods would be just what we needed after 3 days at Disney!

I wasn’t wrong. We drove about 25 minutes from Crescent City to the Stout Memorial Grove, a perfect kid-friendly hike in the Redwoods within the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. We took about an hour to walk the loop, which was almost entirely flat.

The Stout Memorial Grove is an ideal place to explore 300-foot-high redwood trees from Crescent City. You’ll see giant trees, have a chance to climb on downed logs and learn about this unique ecosystem. We went on a weekday morning and bumped into only 2 other small groups. 

If you want to see the Redwoods from Crescent City, take the short drive to the Stout Memorial Grove in Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park. It’s the perfect family-friendly Redwoods hike in the area. Don’t miss a natural hideout/treehouse on the loop trail, where several trees have fallen to make a sort of tree cave! My girls loved playing in this “tree castle,” as they called it. 

Where to stay in Crescent City with kids

We stayed at the Lighthouse Inn, which is on Highway 101, the main drag that goes through Crescent City. The hotel is across the street from the Crescent City Harbor and is convenient for seeing all of Crescent City with kids.

We booked a family room with two separate bedrooms, each with a king size bed. The girls were like, “WHAT we didn’t even know they made beds this big!” Now my older daughter says her twin bed is too small. 

We stayed just one night in Crescent City, but the Lighthouse Inn was just what we needed for a short trip. The breakfast was decent (standard continental breakfast with bagels, muffins, oatmeal, etc.). There wasn’t a pool, but the great price made up for that. (I paid just $87 for a two-bedroom family suite!)

We had a wonderful time in Crescent City and would definitely go back. Next time, I’d explore even more of the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park and visit more of the beaches. 

I hope this post helped you if you were wondering what to do in Crescent City with kids. Let me know if you have any suggestions to add! Comment below with your own recommendations.