Taking The Kids: San Francisco's hidden gem -- The Presidio

By Eileen Ogintz, Tribune Content Agency on Feb 12, 2015

But the Presidio is also the place to:

-- Explore San Francisco's military history with multimedia exhibits at The Presidio Officers’ Club. Don't miss some of the original adobe walls, or the toys the children of military personnel played with -- dolls, marbles, tiny toy figurines.

-- Drop in for free family events every Saturday afternoon doing everything from making Chinese New Year fans (after the 1906 earthquake, some Chinatowns residents stayed here) to celebrating Japanese culture by making traditional carp kites. (During World War II, Japanese Americans worked as interpreters at Crissy Field.) There are also special family events Saturdays at 2 p.m.

-- Spend the night away from the downtown hubbub either at the deluxe 22-room Inn at the Presidio, once home to U.S. Army bachelor officers or under the stars camping at Rob Hill Campground.

-- Chowing down on locally sourced eats at the casual Arguello (fish taco, anyone?) or the hip Commissary with its Spanish-inspired menu, both overseen by award-winning San Francisco chef Traci Des Jardins. (Read my interview with Traci here.)

-- Go bowling at the Presidio Bowling Center.

-- Learn more about Walt Disney at the Walt Disney Family Museum. Disney famously got his idea for Disneyland while lamenting that there weren't enough fun activities for families like his -- he was the father of two daughters -- to do together. At this museum, you see Disney as a dad with hundreds of family pictures, see free Disney movies and find out how he imagined Disneyland before it was built.

-- Picnic overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

-- Play golf at The Presidio Golf Course, famous for its forest setting.

-- Hit a playground.

-- Bird watch -- there are more than 300 species, including the Great Horned Owl.

-- Meet an archaeologist at the archaeological site (April through October). There is a state-of-the-art archaeology lab on the Officers' Club campus and you can see some of the artifacts in the museum -- everything from dolls to marbles.

-- Build giant sand sculptures on the beach.

The kids I interviewed for my new "Kid's Guide to San Francisco" are big fans of Crissy Field. Once home to flying demonstrations and the military, today it is considered the park's "front door" with trails, wetlands, bike paths, kite-flying or a chance to play in the sand.

When was the last time you built a sand castle?

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For more Taking the Kids visit www.takingthekids.com, follow @takingthekids on Twitter or become friends on Facebook. Check out Eileen's nine-book Kid's Guide series to major American Cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego, from major book sellers and online.