California’s attractions are designed for everyone to enjoy, including neurodivergent travelers and individuals with autism or sensory-processing sensitivities.
No matter how you and your family like to play—touring museums, joyriding at theme parks, cheering at sporting events, or exploring the wild splendor of national parks—California’s activities and sights go the extra mile to make sure your vacation is everything you want it to be.
Read on to learn about sensory-friendly destinations throughout the Golden State.
Helpful Designations to Look For
As you plan your trip, keep an eye out for designations awarded to towns or attractions that have excelled in providing accessible features. These sites and apps help you organize your trip around the most accommodations:
- Autism Travel highlights destinations and attractions that have been recognized or certified in autism and sensory sensitivities.
- The International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES) is an industry leader in autism training that awards places with the Certified Autism Center (CAC) designation.
Its IBCCES Accessibility App details businesses and public places—including restaurants and shops—that accommodate a wide range of accessibility needs.
- Nonprofit KultureCity and its KultureCity app focus on sensory accessibility for people with autism or those living with the effects of PTSD, dementia, or strokes. The organization works with participating attractions to offer loaner “sensory bags” including items such as noise-canceling headphones, fidget toys, weighted lap pads, or maps highlighting an attraction’s quiet areas.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
San Diego County
Airports
Neurodiverse travelers are met with a warm welcome from the moment they arrive at San Diego International Airport. Through the SAN Assist program for travelers with non-visible disabilities, passengers can get help navigating the terminals or take a quiet-time break in Terminal 2’s meditation room.
Theme Parks
At Certified Autism Center (CAC) Sesame Place San Diego, guests can borrow noise-canceling headphones, take breaks in two quiet rooms, and review an IBCCES-created Sensory Guide detailing how a child with sensory-processing issues may be affected by the park’s rides and attractions.
At LEGOLAND California, a Sensory Guide rates each ride and attraction for how it may affect each of the five senses, earplugs are available to help guests prone to overstimulation, and families can enjoy chill-out time and sensory relief in the Sensory Room at Fun Town’s Duplo Family Care Center. The LEGOLAND Hotel and LEGOLAND Castle Hotel are also IBCCES-certified, which means hotel staff members are specially trained to assist guests with a range of access needs.
Museums
In the heart of San Diego, Balboa Park and its wealth of museums welcome neurodivergent travelers, too. Seven museums have created online “Social Stories” to give sensory-sensitive visitors a preview of their visit.
On the third Saturday of every month, guests with disabilities can arrive early at Balboa Park’s Fleet Science Center one hour before the general public to experience its hands-on exhibits in a less crowded, sensory-friendly environment.
Local Attractions
There’s more to explore at the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park, both certified as sensory-inclusive venues by KultureCity.
Sensory bags are also available to sports fans watching the San Diego Padres play at Petco Park or music lovers attending a concert at The Rady Shell.
Los Angeles County
Airports
Visitors who arrive at Los Angeles International Airport can find staff members specially trained to assist individuals with autism or sensory challenges. Travelers can use the airport’s online guide to participate in a voluntary self-identification program, preview the airport’s tips for traveling, or take a break from the airport’s bustle in sensory rooms.
Theme Parks
Universal Studios Hollywood offers a variety of accessibility accommodations: its Family Center has a quiet room with sensory toys and therapy blankets and its Guide for Rider’s Safety and Accessibility lays out the speed, sensations, or special effects of various rides and attractions. Register online for an IBCCES Individual Accessibility Card (IAC) between two and 30 days of your visit to help expedite access to rides and attractions.
Museums
For curious young learners, Sylmar’s Discovery Cube Museum offers Sensory-Friendly Mornings on the third Sunday of each month, when neurodivergent guests can visit for two hours before the museum opens. Sensory-friendly maps, visual cue cards, and backpacks are available. The Santa Monica Cayton Children’s Museum offers sensory-friendly hours every Sunday.
Visitors to the Autry Museum of the American West in Griffith Park can prepare for their trips by downloading and viewing online Social Stories, and visitors to the Skirball Cultural Center can check out sensory bags to help enjoy their visit.
Local Attractions
Throughout L.A., museums and cultural centers are taking part in KultureCity’s sensory inclusivity program through sensory bags. KultureCity-certified destinations include the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens, Dodger Stadium, Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium (where the L.A. Chargers and L.A. Rams play), San Pedro’s Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, Hollywood’s El Capitan Theatre, Santa Monica’s Cayton Children’s Museum, and the Peacock Theater and Crypto.com Arena at the L.A. Live entertainment complex.
Long Beach’s Aquarium of the Pacific, which is certified by KultureCity, offers Autism Families Nights, providing a quiet environment for people with autism or sensory-processing challenges.
Twenty miles south of downtown L.A., the coastal city of Long Beach is the first to utilize a S.A.F.E. (Sensory Area for Everyone) Vehicle, a mobile, sensory-friendly space that provides a quiet, soothing zone at popular community events like the Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Orange County
Theme Parks
Travelers bound for Anaheim will find friendly faces and a wealth of information at the Visit Anaheim office, an IBCCES Certified Autism Center.
Disneyland Resort has an extensive list of services for neurodivergent guests. Start by downloading its Accessibility Planning Guide, which includes trip planning strategies like bringing ear plugs, noise-canceling headphones, or sensory toys, a “What to Expect” guide to help neurodivergent guests visualize their visit, and a list of locations where guests can take a break from sensory stimulation.
Book autism-certified accommodations at Garden Grove’s Great Wolf Lodge—which has its own indoor water park and kid-friendly attractions—or plan a day of fun with bumper boats, rides, and miniature golf at Boomers Irvine (download the Sensory Guide before your visit).
Museums
Santa Ana’s Discovery Cube Museum offers Sensory-Friendly Mornings on the third Sunday of each month, when neurodivergent guests can visit for two hours before the museum opens.
Pretend City Children’s Museum in Irvine offers a Neurodivergent Family Night twice a month, when the lights are dimmed, sounds are quieted, and visitor capacity is limited. Families can prep for their visit with the museum’s online Social Story.
Local Attractions
Several KultureCity-certified venues are nearby: Anaheim’s Golden Road Brewery, the LEGO Store Downtown Disney District, and the Honda Center, where big-name performers and the Anaheim Ducks play.
Costa Mesa’s Segerstrom Center for the Arts hosts live performances of all kinds and caters to diverse audiences. During special sensory-friendly shows, attendees can move around the theater, use electronic devices for communication purposes, take breaks as necessary, and even bring in food, drink, or fidget devices. See the Center’s current list of sensory-friendly performances.
Greater Palm Springs
Airports
The Greater Palm Springs area, including Palm Springs International Airport, is an IBCCES Certified Autism Destination. Additionally, in 2024, Palm Desert became California’s first autism-certified city.
Museums
The Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert offers a shady retreat from the outdoor heat and loads of activities. The colorful space offers a sensory room which serves as a calming space and the entire staff has had sensory-sensitivity training.
Local Attractions
Visitors to this inviting desert region will find numerous hotels, attractions, and businesses that have undergone IBCCES autism and sensory-sensitivity training. These include the Visit Greater Palm Springs Visitor Center, the Palm Springs Convention Center, The Living Desert Zoo & Gardens,, the Rancho Mirage Library & Observatory, and four Palm Springs restaurants: Farm, Tac/Quila, The Front Porch, and Clandestino.
Hotels
Visitors seeking sensory-friendly lodgings will feel right at home at JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa, which has extensive outdoor spaces—including large lawns and a low-sensory pool area—and lends sensory bags, weighted blankets, sound machines, headphones, and fidget toys.
The Drift Palm Springs, a boutique hotel in downtown Palm Springs, is another IBCCES-certified lodging that welcomes sensory-sensitive visitors and their families.
CENTRAL AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
San Francisco Bay Area
Airports
Visitors traveling to San Francisco with a family member who is autistic or neurodivergent can get help navigating through San Francisco International Airport by downloading the MagnusCards app. The app features a digital “card deck” that provides step-by-step instructions for getting through the airport and boarding or deplaning aircraft. Travelers can always find a quiet, relaxing space in Terminal 1’s sensory room.
Local Attractions
KultureCity has certified multiple venues in the San Francisco Bay Area, so visitors have access to specially trained staff and KultureCity sensory bags. Guests with sensory sensitivities can catch a Golden State Warriors game at San Francisco’s Chase Center—and enjoy some calming time in its Sensory Room—or cheer on the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park.
Visitors interested in attending dance, music, or theatre productions will find a sensory-friendly environment at the Hammer Theatre Center at San Jose State University, or play all day at the LEGOLAND Discovery Center Bay Area in Milpitas.
Museums
The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco’s Presidio offers an online social narrative to help neurodivergent and sensory-sensitive visitors prepare for their trip. The museum also presents sensory-friendly Disney film screenings once a month. Learn about the Golden State’s art, history, and natural sciences at the Oakland Museum of California.
In San Mateo, the science-focused Curiodyssey Museum holds Sensory Sundays four times a year. Guests can take advantage of guided science activities and animal encounters, sensory support kits, and quiet spaces with dimmed lights, seating areas, and fidget toys.
Sacramento
Museums
One of the most beloved attractions in the capital city, the California State Railroad Museum, is welcoming of all abilities. The museum offers sensory bags with fidget toys and noise-canceling headphones, and posts signs around the museum identifying Headphone Zones—the noisier spots where the headphones will come in handy. The Sacramento Children’s Museum offers Sensory-Friendly Play Days on the first Thursday of each month, with special programs for children on the spectrum plus their siblings or friends.
Local Attractions
If you’re seeing the Sacramento Kings game or a concert at the city’s Golden 1 Center, stop in at guest services for a KultureCity sensory bag; the arena also has a sensory room for decompression breaks. The Sacramento Ballet offers a sensory-friendly guide to shows and hosts special performances that feature lower sound levels, low lights during performances, and an invitation for audience members to get up or talk as needed.
Redding
Local Attractions
The Turtle Bay Exploration Park is a don’t-miss Redding attraction—home to a botanical center, museum, and the Sundial Bridge, a masterpiece of a bridge that is also a working sundial. The museum hosts regular Sensory Hours with low sound and dimmed lights for a mellower atmosphere.
Visalia
The Central Valley city of Visalia has been prioritizing accessibility for neurodiverse travelers since 2021, when Visit Visalia became the first California tourism organization to be recognized as a Certified Autism Center by the IBCCES. Only one year later, the entire city became the country’s first Certified Autism Destination, thanks to its multiple attractions that have completed the certification process.
Museums
Both the Tulare County Museum and Imagine U Children’s Museum are IBCCES-certified and Imagine U offers tips on what to bring and when to visit to those looking for guidance on what to expect.
Local Attractions
Nature lovers find their way to Visalia because it’s only an hour’s drive from the southern entrance to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, home to the world’s largest trees. At the Foothills Visitor Center, visitors can pick up a sensory kit or request an itinerary tailored to neurodiverse travelers: Rangers will suggest walking trails and picnic sites that are typically less crowded.
Also, any U.S. citizen with a permanent disability like autism is eligible for a free lifetime Access Pass from the National Park Service, allowing free entrance at more than 2,000 federal recreation sites, including California’s nine national parks.
Six Visalia hotels plus the Visalia Fox Theatre, Tulare County Museum, Imagine U Children’s Museum, and Valley Oaks Golf Course are all IBCCES-certified, with staff and management specially trained to assist individuals with autism or sensory needs.
Santa Barbara
Museums
Santa Barbara welcomes neurodivergent visitors with sensory-friendly programs at major attractions including the Santa Barbara Zoo and MOXI (The Wolf Museum of Exploration and Innovation).
The MOXI, an immersive museum that celebrates science and creativity, also lends out sensory backpacks for guests to use during their visits. Once a month, families can attend Mellow Mornings at MOXI to enjoy a quieter visit with dimmed lighting, lower sound levels, and a 50-guest limit.
Also be sure to check out the Museum of Sensory and Movement Experiences (MSME), which features 10 interactive and kinetic art pieces that appeal to people of all ages and abilities.
Local Attractions
Several times a year, the Santa Barbara Zoo offers Autism Safari Nights for families with children with autism. The IBCCES-certified zoo has more than 30 acres of gardens and 500 animals on view, and offers dedicated quiet spaces and provides sensory backpacks to guests with sensory needs.
Additionally, families can access the Hidden Haven, a sensory room at La Cumbre Plaza, where they can take a quiet-time break or check out sensory bags provided by Autism Embrace, a community organization dedicated to helping families navigate neurodivergence.