Small kids probably won't appreciate William Gillette(Sherlock Holmes) home but it's a great little spot. If you are lucky you will be able to get a tour of the house(sometimes it's booked or they may not be offering tours), even if you can't, enjoy all the trails and water views(if you geocache there are generally several cache's there). I grew up in Ct and Gillette's Castle has always been one of my favorite spots. I would go there several times a year(even in the winter), It was actually one of mine and my husbands first dates, and he proposed to me on the balcony overlooking the water.

Balboa Park can keep the family occupied for hours! There are museums, trails,playscapes, rides, shops,food and the San Diego Zoo is right next door(within walking distance).
When we lived in San Diego Balboa park was on our list of weekly activities. We would get there in the morning, visit the science museum which has a tot play area upstairs. We would then walk around the park for a bit, stop and play in the fountain(as did the tons of other people there). After playing in the fountain we would walk through the shops and make our way over to the rides. They have a train, a merry go round and a little helicopter ride for kiddos. The train was my sons favorite! The best day to go is on Tuesdays because each week one of the museum has free entry. A different one each week. While the kids will enjoy the water, and rides, Mom and Dad can appreciate the Spanish architecture, the botanical gardens, shops. The kids have plenty of sidewalk and open space to chase each other and have fun. When I took my son we were always there from about 9am until after lunch. It was always a great time!

I decided to do this hike because a reviewer said it was great for families. With me was my 3.5 year old, My 10 month old was on my back in a carrier, and another adult.
There is parking at the start of the trail for $3.00, make sure you have cash as that is all they except. The only facilities are the smelly bathrooms at the start of the trail(think toilet over a hole in the ground inside of a shack-totally not maintained, with the exception of someone occasionally putting toilet paper in in there).
Make sure you dress appropriately, this is a "rain forest", odds are it will rain a bit. DON'T WEAR FOOT FLOPS, you need good no slip shoes that you don't mind getting muddy! Also keep in mind it will most likely rain-it is considered a "rain forest".
The start of the trail is pretty easy for little ones some stairs, wide enough, stepping over some roots-no problem. Once you get about halfway up the trail it gets DANGEROUS for little kids(my three year old did make it to the top, but with lots of help). The trail narrows, and since you are going uphill to a waterfall, there is a long fall. You must climb over rocks(at some points I felt like I was rock climbing), climb over what I assume was an attempt to make stairs, however at some points the next step was almost as high as my son, so he needed help to get over it. Keep in mind that though the path is getting narrower, rockier and higher, while you are going up there are still people coming down, so you have to move to one side of the narrow path or the other to let them byl Once we finished scrambling to the top we were first greeted by a HUGE sign informing us that a landslide had occurred in 2002 and while no one was hurt the area has become unstable, so there is a thin rope to keep viewers from going into the fall area. The fall was beatiful and I would do the hike again, just no with my kids.