The 10 Best Team-Building Activities in San Francisco

Whether you want to strengthen workplace relationships or simply have fun with your coworkers, San Francisco has endless team-building activities to choose from. That’s also the struggle. How do you pick what’s best for your team from all the options out there? In this blog post, we will dive into what we think are the ten best team-building activities in San Francisco. Pick from this list, and you'll be everyone's favorite.

The 10 Best Team-Building Activities in San Francisco

1. Take a pottery class

One of the most fun ways to get together with coworkers is to do an activity without expectations where everyone can be creative. That’s why taking a pottery class together can be a blast!

Clay by the Bay offers team-building events for groups of eight to 50. Instructors will lead your group through the process of creating a mug or cup. Once you’re done throwing your clay, they’ll fire everyone’s items, and after about 4-6 weeks, you can take them home.

2. Visit the Gregangelo Museum

For an imaginative, playful, genuinely unique team-building experience, visit the Gregangelo Museum. Now, this is not your typical museum. As the self-proclaimed “most unusual and weird home” in San Francisco, you can think of it more as a whimsical, playful, immersive art exhibit. It could easily make the list of hidden gems in SF.

Gregangelo, whose home is the museum, is an artist who collaborates with other creative folk to create experiences such as “Into the Rabbit Hole,” inspired by Alice in Wonderland. The museum hosts similar themed experiences, monthly events, and specific team-building opportunities and workshops for teams of 8-25.

3. Explore virtual reality

To connect your team more through problem-solving and collaboration, check out a virtual reality experience. You don’t get to try these events every day, and they can be a great way to build connections between team members.

Sandbox VR is one outfitter option in San Francisco for large or small groups. Pop on VR glasses and explore as you navigate virtual worlds together. 

4. Compete in a scavenger hunt

In our humble opinion, scavenger hunts are the team-building activity of all team-building activities.

Scavenger hunts are a great way to get everyone's creativity, problem-solving, and collaboration skills going, while exploring unique spots around San Francisco.

There are several outfitters in the city offering scavenger hunt experiences for groups. At Handstand, our app-based scavenger hunts combine city exploration with interactive challenges, tailored specifically to your group’s interests.

Players uncover intriguing SF sights and have lots of laughs along the way. It's an experience that promises a fun time full of fun, teamwork, and a sprinkle of competition.

We'd love to build a custom hunt for you! Check out the games we offer and reach out to learn more about how we can create an awesome event for your company or team.

5. Go on a walking food tour

There is so much to know about San Francisco's history, people, and food. Why not combine the three and go on a culinary walking tour?

You might be surprised by how much you’ll learn while exploring one of SF’s foodie neighborhoods like Chinatown, North Beach, or The Mission.

Try out SF Food Tour or Secret Food Tours, which both offer custom group tours.

6. Get curious at The Exploratorium

The Exploratorium is a playground of interesting interactive science exhibits. Take your team here to break out everyone's inner child and let them explore! Take it up a level and go to the Exploratorium After Dark on Thursday evenings, which offers themed exhibits and a bar! The price is only $15.95 per person if you pre-plan your group trip. You can also rent out the Exploratorium gallery spaces for your team for a private experience.

7. Play at an arcade bar

The Emporium arcade bar on Divisadero is an iconic spot to bring your team. Depending on the size of your group, you can book the whole arcade bar to make it a private event. Enjoy vintage arcade games, air hockey, pinball, foosball, pool, and more, along with a full bar!

One fantastic advantage of planning a team-building event at Emporium is that you can reserve space for FREE if your group is 40 people or less, and there is no tab minimum.

8. Learn how to chef it up!

A unique spin on your average cooking class, Ramen Party SF teaches you about ramen's history and how to make it and lets you eat your creation. There's nothing like learning something new and eating good food!

Ramen Party SF offers cooking classes specifically for team-building and is centrally located in the Mission District. They also make it easy to set up your event!

9. Go for an outdoor adventure hike at Land's End

On a clear day, there is nothing like a hike at Land's End, a 3.4-mile loop that takes you along the coast. Heading to Land's End with your team on a weekday morning is your best bet to avoid crowds.

Then, you can all hit a brunch or lunch spot to cap it off. Try Ocean Beach Café for a casual experience near the water, Lokma in the Richmond District for a delicious Turkish lunch, or The Laundromat in Outer Richmond for post-hike bagels.

10. Test your team's skills in an Escape Room

Challenge your team to think critically, communicate effectively, and work under pressure with an exciting escape room experience.

As teams solve puzzles and race against the clock, they’ll strengthen collaboration, improve problem-solving skills, and build trust in a fun, immersive environment.

Have you ever seen a pop-up escape room? We'll bring the fun to your office space with our pop-up escape room experiences!

Other Team-Building Ideas Near San Francisco

Go wine tasting on a vineyard tour in Napa

Hire a van or bus and shuttle the team to Napa for a relaxing (or not so relaxing) day at the vineyards. It's hard to beat wine tasting at some of the most beautiful wineries in the world.

Explore on a foraging trip in Marin

This is one activity that you can't do everywhere! Head over to Marin with Forage SF to learn more about mushrooms. At their West Marin Mushroom Foraging event, you'll go for a hike, receive information and instruction, and then forage mushrooms under expert guidance.

You can book public events, but it's best to contact them to plan a private team-building event for your group!

Kayak or paddleboard in Sausalito

Get active in the beautiful North Bay! Kayaking or paddleboarding is a great way to spend time outside with coworkers. With Sea Trek, you and your team can enjoy nature and bonding time. They offer corporate team-building paddles in Sausalito (and Alameda) that last around 2.5 hours and are suitable for groups between 5 and 120 people.

The Sea Trek team can also hook you up with recommendations for where to eat after your paddle!

Tips for Planning a Successful Team-Building Event

Set objectives

Whether you're on the employee experience team at your company or a manager planning a team-building event, it’s helpful to have some objectives in mind, even if the only objective is to have fun!

Do you want to build collaboration while having a great time? A scavenger hunt experience or escape room would be best.

Does your team want to do something outdoorsy together? Try the Land's End hike or kayaking in Sausalito!

Is boosting creativity your priority? A pottery class will do just that.

Consider the team members' interests and preferences

This is where knowing your team comes in handy. Have y'all connected around wanting to explore San Francisco more? Or is there a common thread among the group, like enjoying active activities?

If you can gather input from them, that would help to get folks even more excited about the upcoming team-building event.

Choosing a large-scale event is a bit more complicated as you have to consider venue sizes, gear rentals, etc. This is where a scavenger hunt, escape room, or VR experience could be perfect. They're scalable and generally well-liked.

Inclusive and accessible to all participants

Everyone has diverse abilities, health concerns, allergies, etc., which are essential to remember.

For example, if you want to plan a cooking class, ask your coworkers if they have any dietary restrictions and ask the class host if they can modify the recipes.

Get feedback to improve future events

You'll want to get input from participants about what they liked or would never want to do again. Ask them questions to gain insight into the event's success based on the objectives you set beforehand. 

What did they enjoy? What would they have changed? Make your survey short and sweet while capturing important feedback so you can continue planning memorable events for your group.

What are the benefits of team-building activities?

Studies on the psychology of groups and team-building strategies show many benefits of these events. Overall, studies have shown that positive team-building experiences lead to reduced turnover and higher job satisfaction.

More benefits include:

• They are FUN when planned well
• Increased employee morale
• Improved communication and collaboration among team members
• Greater empathy between the team as they build connection
• Enhanced problem-solving skills and creativity
• Opportunities for networking and relationship-building

Pitfalls to avoid when planning team-building events

Overplanning: Don't cram too many activities in a short timeframe. Allow ample time for each activity and socializing.

Ignoring preferences: Failing to consider your team's interests can lead to low engagement. If you can, survey the group beforehand to gauge preferences.

Mandatory fun: If you're not careful, making attendance compulsory or scheduling events outside work hours can breed resentment. Where possible, try to keep the activities during work time as a reward for your employees.

Lack of inclusivity: Ensure activities are accessible and enjoyable for all team members, accounting for different abilities and comfort levels.

Going over budget: Set a realistic budget and stick to it. San Francisco offers many affordable, great team-building options.

Poor timing: Avoid busy seasons at work or conflicting with significant deadlines. Plan well in advance.

Conclusion

There you go! Ten (and then some) of the best ideas for team-building activities in and around San Francisco. Whether you choose a cooking class or a funky museum visit, keep your goals and the team's dynamics in mind, and don't forget to gather feedback for future planning.

If the Handstand scavenger hunts or escape rooms on the list piqued your interest, reach out to us today to learn more about our customizable, fun team-building events!