Unique & Hidden Gem Activities for Families

Explore the best unique & hidden gem activities for families options for kids and families in East Palo Alto

Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo

Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo

Hands-on science & nature exhibits. Child-oriented venue with animals like birds & turtles, plus interactive educational exhibits.

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Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center

Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Baylands Nature Preserve

Baylands Nature Preserve

Marshland with trails & bird-watching. Vast marshland with 15 mi. of trails for walking, running & biking, plus bird-watching & kayaking.

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The Museum of American Heritage

The Museum of American Heritage

Exhibitions on inventions & technology. Charming museum in a 1907 home showcasing technology & inventions from the 1750s to the 1950s.

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Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden

Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden

Public garden & historic home. A 2.5-acre plot encompassing herb & rose gardens, a historic home, a carriage house & a tearoom.

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Arizona Garden

Arizona Garden

Stanford University's cacti garden. Historical cacti garden with artful views & unusual plants on Stanford University grounds.

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Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University

Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University

Fine art museum with a sculpture garden. Classic & contemporary art museum with an outdoor sculpture garden featuring Rodin bronzes.

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Rodin Sculpture Garden

Rodin Sculpture Garden

Famed sculptor's work in outdoor setting. Garden at Stanford's Cantor Arts Center showing 20 statues by famed sculptor Rodin (open all hours).

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Magical Bridge Playground

Magical Bridge Playground

Play structures around a grassy mound. Slides, swings & climbing frames around an artificial hill, plus a treehouse & bridge.

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Barron Park Donkeys

Barron Park Donkeys

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Habitat for native & migrating animals. Large nature preserve housing various migrating birds, as well as native flora & fauna.

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Coyote Hills Vista Point

Coyote Hills Vista Point

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Pioneer Memorial Park

Pioneer Memorial Park

Quaint green space with benches & paths. Small, serene park located next to the library featuring ample benches, walkways & shaded areas.

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Redwood Grove Nature Preserve

Redwood Grove Nature Preserve

Redwood forest with a boardwalk. This 6-acre Redwood forest features a boardwalk, observation decks, picnic tables & a rose garden.

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Foothills Nature Preserve

Foothills Nature Preserve

1,400-acre nature preserve with trails. Miles of trails guide visitors through woodlands & fields, past streams & lakes in this vast park.

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Ardenwood Historic Farm

Ardenwood Historic Farm

Living museum with horse-powered farming. A working farm with a train & crops grown using historic methods, plus volunteers in period attire.

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Hidden Villa

Hidden Villa

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Seven Seas Park

Seven Seas Park

Family-friendly recreation & a dog park. Neighborhood gathering place offering a dog park & lots of kid activities including a spray pool.

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Windy Hill Open Space Preserve

Windy Hill Open Space Preserve

Forested fields for hiking & picnicking. Open grasslands & forest area with 12 miles of trails for hiking, bicycling & horseback-riding.

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Filoli Historic House & World-Class Garden

Filoli Historic House & World-Class Garden

Historical estate & botanic garden. An early-20th-century country estate & botanic garden, open for docent-led tours.

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Pulgas Water Temple

Pulgas Water Temple

Scenic beaux arts monument with a pool. Beaux arts monument with a reflecting pool celebrating the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct completed in 1934.

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Imagination City

Imagination City

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Children in Tree Sculpture

Children in Tree Sculpture

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Sunnyvale Heritage Park Museum

Sunnyvale Heritage Park Museum

Center promoting local history & culture. Local-history museum with rotating exhibits in a replica home of the area's founding family.

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California's Great America

California's Great America

Thrill rides & waterslides. Family-friendly theme park with thrill rides, water attractions, live entertainment & food options.

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Monte Bello Open Space Preserve

Monte Bello Open Space Preserve

Destination for scenic views & trails. Large area with views of Santa Clara Valley & trails, including one for biking & horseback riding.

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Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center

Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center

Ecology center with exhibits & events. Ecology center offering exhibits, programs & activities relating to the region's estuary.

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Dream Time Sculpture

Dream Time Sculpture

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Laurelwood Park

Laurelwood Park

Hiking trails to Sugarloaf Mountain. The city's largest park (225 acres) offers trails leading to Sugarloaf Mountain & scenic picnicking.

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Shinn Historical Park and Arboretum

Shinn Historical Park and Arboretum

Park with gardens & a historic house. Small green space featuring scenic gardens & a 19th-century house open for occasional group tours.

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Central Park

Central Park

Land & water activities in a scenic spot. Lakeside park with a golf course, 4 playgrounds, boat rentals, a fishing area, picnic sites & paths.

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Aqua Adventure Water Park

Aqua Adventure Water Park

Family-friendly waterslides & pools. Recreational facility featuring waterslides, pools, swimming lessons & an on-site eatery.

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California Nursery Historical Park

California Nursery Historical Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Ulistac Natural Area

Ulistac Natural Area

Rustic park with native plantings. Rustic riverside park boasting trails, bird-watching & a range of native plants on 40 acres.

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Train of Lights

Train of Lights

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum

Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum

Silent film museum with movie screenings. Museum in an historic former cinema devoted to silent pictures, with guided tours & a film series.

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McClellan Ranch Preserve

McClellan Ranch Preserve

Former horse ranch with a nature museum. Former horse ranch from the 1930s featuring a nature museum, community garden & historic buildings.

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De Anza College Planetarium

De Anza College Planetarium

Venue for astronomy & laser shows. This large planetarium offers educational astronomy shows & entertaining laser displays.

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San Mateo Japanese Garden

San Mateo Japanese Garden

Asian-inspired gardens with a koi pond. Spring blossoming Japanese gardens with a koi pond, pagoda & teahouse in a 16.3-acre city park.

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The Lace Museum

The Lace Museum

Modest showcase of lace & lace history. Stalwart museum exhibiting lace, and describing its historical use & the art of lacemaking.

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San Mateo Central Park

San Mateo Central Park

Japanese gardens & an ice-skating rink. Vibrant, 16-acre park featuring Japanese gardens, a mini train ride, playground & ice-skating rink.

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Washington Township Museum of Local History

Washington Township Museum of Local History

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Coyote Point Recreation Area

Coyote Point Recreation Area

Large playground, trails & picnic areas. Bayside park offering a sizable playground with 6 slides, as well as trails & picnic areas.

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CuriOdyssey

CuriOdyssey

Science & wildlife center for kids. Museum for kids focusing on environmental science & wildlife with indoor exhibits & an outdoor zoo.

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Magic Mountain Playground

Magic Mountain Playground

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Secret Sidewalk

Secret Sidewalk

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Fremont Older Open Space Preserve

Fremont Older Open Space Preserve

Year-round hiking & biking with vistas. Scenic spread on 739 acres with rolling views & trails for hiking, biking & horseback riding.

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Mission Gardens

Mission Gardens

Historic mission's landscaped grounds. Tranquil garden park surrounding the historic Mission Santa Clara de Asis at Santa Clara University.

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LEGOLAND Discovery Center Bay Area

LEGOLAND Discovery Center Bay Area

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Mission Peak Regional Preserve

Mission Peak Regional Preserve

3,000 mountain acres for recreation. Vast mountain preserve popular for biking, hiking, horseback riding, R/C flying and hang-gliding.

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The Escape Game San Jose

The Escape Game San Jose

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Japanese Gardens

Japanese Gardens

Tranquil botanical garden with teahouse. This 3+-acre botanical garden features traditional Japanese arrangements, a teahouse & a koi pond.

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Sulphur Creek Nature Center

Sulphur Creek Nature Center

Wildlife rehabilitations & education. This wildlife rehabilitation facility offers educational programs & a discovery center for kids.

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Meek Park

Meek Park

Mansion grounds with gardens & play area. Landscaped grounds of a historic mansion with play structures, picnic space with grills & open lawn.

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Winchester Mystery House

Winchester Mystery House

Quirky mansion with odd design details. Sprawling landmark with a staircase leading nowhere & other odd features designed to confuse ghosts.

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Rosicrucian Park

Rosicrucian Park

Unique architecture, gardens & fountains. Park drawing visitors with rose gardens, statues & fountains, plus Egyptian & Moorish architecture.

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Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum

Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum

Exhibits featuring mummies & artifacts. Museum with displays on Egyptian burial practices, plus artifacts including jewelry & bronze tools.

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Village Park

Village Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Rotary PlayGarden

Rotary PlayGarden

Accessible children's playground. Interactive & accessible children's playground with slides, climbing equipment & seating areas.

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