Play Haven is an adorable indoor play place in the Forest Hill area of San Francisco. It is walkable from Forest Hill Station (KT, L, M), along several bus lines (36, 43, 44, 52), and free parking provided at a church lot next door.
The size of a small house, it has one large room dedicated to play, a party room attached with a view of the play area through large windows, and a lovely back patio. The play area is beautifully arranged, very clean, and has nice soft lighting with lots of natural light from windows on both sides and skylights. At the time of this writing, it is $14 for a one-day pass ($7 for siblings) and they have several options for multi-day passes and monthly memberships. Check their website for updated pricing information.
The play room is open-concept, but divided into sections. We spent a lot of time in the art studio. There are several tables set up with different activities including painting, play dough, craft, and Lego tables. They is also a spot to paint on large panes of plexiglass on the wall and a large chalkboard.
For more active play, they have a slide and a rock climbing wall for toddler-sized bouldering!
Throughout the play area are more activities for encouraging imaginative play – a light table, play workbench, train tracks, various forms of blocks, a play kitchen and marketplace, etc..
There is a dedicated area for infants sectioned off by small cubbies.
The infant area includes many toys perfect for crawlers and mirrors and activities on the wall at the perfect height for them. If needed, there is a nursing room next to the infant area.
Play Haven also includes free wifi and adult-sized table and chairs perfect for getting work done while the children play. Around the corner is a kitchen with coffee and snacks for purchase, too.
One tip I will add is to check their calendar online for events and open or exclusive parties. The space was very quiet for the majority of the sunny Tuesday afternoon. An open party arrived later and while we were welcome to stay, we felt a little awkward being the only ones there not with the party. However, we were happy we were able to stay and we didn’t accidentally visit during an exclusive party. Also, it does look like an excellent place to host a party!
As a city-dweller living an apartment with no outdoor space, I loved the back patio! It is completely fenced in, surrounded by giant trees giving the patio that amazing fresh pine scent, and has a nice little cottage for children to play in and tables and chairs for the adults, as well.
We didn’t get a chance to check out any of their classes, but the list includes story time, music, messy art, Duplo, yoga, parenting workshops, and date night drop-offs.
We really enjoyed our visit at Play Haven’s nicely set-up play space and was a nice change in routine from the normal playground or museum!
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