Free Events & Things To Do In The San Francisco Bay Area
Free Things To Do In San Francisco Bay Area, Free Admission Bay Area Museums, Free Classes, Outdoor Activities Oakland; Free Events East Bay This Week, Free Festivals San Jose, South Bay Area
Updated June 24, 2025
San Francisco Bay Area Things To Do
Related reads:
Free Events & Things To Do In The Bay Area For Adults, Kids & More
Below is an initial list of recurring events (weekly, monthly, seasonal etc). More will be added over time. Check back for updates, new listings!
—>For one-off events year-round, be sure to sign up for my newsletter (free, via email only, usually sent Sunday or Monday).
Monday, Wednesday, Friday – Free Hour At Japanese Tea Garden
Tuesdays – Free Admission For All, De Young Museum
Wednesday & Fridays – Free Outdoor Yoga Class, Salesforce Park
Saturdays – Free Admission De Young Museum For Bay Area Residents
Saturdays – Legion Of Honor Free For Bay Area Residents
Sundays – Lindy In The Park, Golden Gate Park, 11-2pm (outside of De Young, Kennedy b/t 9th & 10th)
Saturdays/Sundays - Rollerskating in the Park, Golden Gate Park, 1-5pm (hours change based on time of year, Sundays are busier than Saturdays usually). 6th Ave b/t Fulton & Kennedy.
Free Events & Things To Do In San Francisco This Weekend
Japanese Tea Garden Free Daily Admission – SF Residents & Veterans
Musee Mecanique - Free Every day, 365 Days A Year
Exploratorium – Free Admission for EBT Cardholders and San Francisco Medi-Cal or CalFresh Recipients
Conservatory of Flowers – Free Admission For SF Residents & Veterans
Cable Car Museum – Free Everyday, Closed Monday (donation suggested). Info here.
SFPOPOS - Privately Owned Public Spaces (some have wifi, rooftops, seating, views, outlets etc.)
De Young Observation Tower Is Free (closes at 4:30pm though)
SF City Guides Walking Tour - Free but donation suggested.
Museum of Craft & Design - Pay what you can Wednesdays
Officers Clubs, Presidio - Free, only open on Saturdays
San Francisco Historical Society Museum - Thursday-Saturdays Free
Free Museums San Francisco Bay Area
Cantor Arts Center, Stanford (always free, registration recommended)
Foster Museum, Palo Alto
Museum Free Admission Days San Francisco Bay Area, San Jose
First Sunday of the Month – Asian Art Museum Free Museum Days
First Tuesday of the Month – Free admission to Conservatory of Flowers
First Wednesdays of the Month - GLBT Historical Society Museum
First Wednesdays of the Month - Bay Area Discovery Museum
First Thursday of the Month – SFMOMA
First Thursday of the Month – Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA)
First Friday of the Month – Jewish Contemporary Museum
First Friday of the Month - San Jose Museum of Art
Second Saturday of the Month - MoAd (Museum of African Diaspora)
7:30am-9am Daily, Second Tuesday of the Month, Thanks Giving, Christmas, New Years Day – San Francisco Botanical Garden Free Admission Hours, Days
Discover And Go – Free Tickets For Library Card Holders, List of Venues, Museums Bay Area
Info here and here. Tickets vary by location, limited per day. Check in advance (weeks in advance). Offers are free tickets for library card holders for places like Asian Art Museum, California Academy of Sciences, Coit Tower, San Francisco Zoo, Conservatory of Flowers. Sample offers below and participating libraries here.
Exploratorium
Free admission for 2 people. Not valid for Thursday After Dark events, 6-10:00 p.m.
PLEASE NOTE: Passholder must present either their library card or valid ID upon entry. All guests age 2 and older are required to wear a mask. Visit www.exploratorium.edu/visit/faq for more information.
Legion of Honor
Free admission for 1 person. Good towards general admission ticket only. General admission tickets allow you to see the permanent collection and select exhibitions in the museum. Separate tickets are required to view the special exhibitions. Present Discover & Go pass at box office to receive admission ticket.
The Legion of Honor will only honor Discover & Go passes checked out by people 18 and older.
Charles M. Schultz Museum
Free admission for 1 child between the ages of 4-18 (children under 4 are free). SKU: 300794
BAMPFA
Free BAMPFA gallery admission for up to two people. (Visitors 18 or under are always free. One accompanying adult is free with each child 13 and under.) Good for gallery admission only – does not include films at the Barbro Osher Theater, or separately ticketed events.
Contemporary Jewish Museum
Free admission for 2 adults. (Ages 18 and under are always free.)
Learn about our new health and safety measures: https://thecjm.org/visit
San Jose Museum of Art
Free admission for 4 family members. Children under 6 are always free. Children must be accompanied by an Adult.
di Rosa Art
Admission provides self-guided access to Gallery 1 and Gallery 2 for two adults (17 & under are free), and includes the option to join a guided tour at no additional cost (space permitting; see tour details below).
Tours are free with di Rosa admission. Led by docents, tours provide a deeper exploration of Gallery 1 and Gallery 2 and include a brief visit to the Sculpture Meadow (conditions permitting). Advance tickets are recommended to secure a spot. Please make a tour reservation before printing the pass by calling 707-226-5991 x25 or emailing visit@dirosaart.org.
Bank of America Free Museum Days Bay Area
Bank of America has offered our cardholders free general admission - during the first full weekend of every month - to more than 225 cultural institutions.
https://about.bankofamerica.com/en/making-an-impact/museums-on-us-partners
Mountain View
Oakland
Oakland Museum of California
Salinas
San Francisco
Stockton
Yountville
Seasonal Free Concerts, Shows, Events, Things To Do San Francisco
Hardly Strictly Blue Grass - September
Stern Grove Concerts - Sundays, June - September (ish)
SF Live
Bhangra & Beats
Downtown First Thursdays San Francisco
Bandshell Concerts Golden Gate Park
Yerba Buena Gardens Festival Concerts, Performances
Valencia Live (Music, Pop-Ups, Vendors)
Cole Valley Night Markets
Castro Night Markets
San Francisco Free Event This Weekend, Free Things To Do Bay Area This Week, Today
I created this list for those who are looking for reasons to disconnect from social media, free up newsletter feeds, hate sifting through cluttered event pages with repeating events or are looking for an easy way to browse through a curated list of things to do in and around the San Francisco Bay Area each week.
Items will focus around food, drinks, pop-ups, concerts, classes, volunteer opportunities, shows, and other one-off events.
Free to sign up via email (sent out once a week usually on Sundays or Mondays). Online archives and full list of events for the month for paid subscribers.
Summer Movies San Francisco Bay Area, Free, Outdoors
See the guides here for regional events, things to do this summer:
Free San Francisco City Walks
Free City Walking Tours (Donation Based): https://sfcityguides.org/
Free Bay Area Festivals, SF Street Fairs & Art & Wine 2025
Some of the most popular ones are Folsom Street Fair, How Weird Street Fair, SF Jazz Festival, Union Street Festival, Outside Lands Festival, Hardly Strictly Grass Festival, SF Pride Parade, Cherry Blossom Festival, North Beach Festival, Haight Street Festival.
You can get weekly alerts free via email in my newsletter along with other pop-ups, shows, live music, classes, art openings, talks and more.
Free South Bay Area Events, San Jose Activities This Week, Santa Clara Happenings This Weekend
I do include several events for the South Bay, San Jose and Santa Clara areas each week but here are some seasonal things to keep in mind…
Music in the Park, San Jose
San Jose Jazz Festival
Berryessa Night Market
Gordon Biersch Night Market
Pobladores Night Marker
Quick Favor
Please take a minute to answer a quick survey, so I can provide the events and information you seek. Thank you to those who have already done so!