de Young Museum Free Days

de Young Museum is free saturdays. Free Saturdays: every Saturday, general admission is free for residents of the nine Bay Area counties (ID required). Free Tuesdays: general admission is free for everyone on the first Tuesday of the month. Book online in advance recommended; verify residency with ID on-site Verified on de Young Museum's own page, last checked 2026-09-04.

At a glance

Upcoming free days

• Saturday, Oct 10, 2026
• Saturday, Oct 17, 2026
• Saturday, Oct 24, 2026
• Saturday, Oct 31, 2026
• Saturday, Nov 7, 2026
• Saturday, Nov 14, 2026

Dates computed from the published schedule rule as of 2026-10-02 — an institution can still cancel one for a private event or holiday. Confirm on the official page before you go.

Know before you go

• Who qualifies: Bay Area residents (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma) on Saturdays; everyone on first Tuesdays; 17 and under always free.
• Reservations: Book online in advance recommended; verify residency with ID on-site.
• What's covered: Permanent collection galleries only — special exhibitions still full price. Free Saturdays pauses during the Bouquets to Art fundraiser week.
• Schedule detail: Saturdays free for 9-county Bay Area residents; first Tuesday free for all.
• Worth knowing: The famsf.org free-admission page covers both museums — one membership-free route each week (resident Saturdays) plus a monthly first-Tuesday for everyone, and kids 17 and under are always free.
• Another way in free: de Young Museum participates in Museums on Us — Bank of America cardholders get free general admission on the first full weekend of every month, independent of the schedule above.

Other ways in, no calendar required

• Bank of America cardholders skip the calendar entirely at de Young Museum: Museums on Us covers one free general admission on the first full weekend of every month, card + photo ID at the desk.
• There's also Museums for All — show a SNAP EBT card and photo ID at any of 1,700+ participating institutions and up to four people pay $5 or less, every normal operating day. Whether de Young Museum participates is on the official roster.
• An art- or history-museum membership from another city may already cover de Young Museum: check the NARM roster with our reciprocity lookup — a qualifying membership travels to 1,400+ museums.

Dates don't line up?

Regular tickets are on famsf.org; buying direct means no reseller markup. Multi-attraction visitors can compare CityPASS San Francisco, which packages top San Francisco sights below walk-up prices; whether de Young Museum appears in the lineup changes year to year, so verify before you buy.

Also free in San Francisco

Asian Art Museum (San Francisco) (1st sunday monthly) · California Academy of Sciences (no regular free day) · Legion of Honor (saturdays) · San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) (published dates) · San Francisco Zoo & Gardens (1st wednesday monthly 10am–4pm) · Exploratorium (no regular free day) — or see the full free museum days in San Francisco guide.

↥ Check another museum →   Browse all free museum & zoo days →

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