Unique & Hidden Gem Activities for Families
Explore the best unique & hidden gem activities for families options for kids and families in Gilroy
New Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum
Visit this great place for kids and families!
The Santa Cruz Children’s Museum of Discovery
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Chanticleer Ave County Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Hellyer County Park
Urban park with a multi-use, paved trail. Green space featuring a 15-mile paved trail, plus picnicking, disc golf, a dog park & a velodrome.
The Mystery Spot
Iconic gravity hill offering tours. Opened in 1941, this roadside landmark is a tilt-induced visual illusion with tours & a gift shop.
Walton Lighthouse
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Haven Play Lounge and Events
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History
Wildlife, plant & archaeology exhibits. Galleries & interactive programs exploring flora, fauna, geology & peoples native to the Bay Area.
Lost Worlds Funtropolous
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Ocean View Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History
Hands-on exhibitions & special programs. Expansive venue with hands-on art & history exhibitions, plus special programs good for all ages.
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center
Theater & interactive exhibit gallery. Educational multimedia exhibits include theater, touch pools & a remotely operated underwater robot.
Steamer Lane
Iconic surf spot with a surfing museum. Famous cliffside surfing spot since the 1930s, featuring a surfing museum inside a lighthouse.
Lighthouse Point
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Santa Cruz Surfing Museum
Exhibits exploring wave-riding culture. Rotating exhibits on surfing culture & local history housed in a historic, preserved lighthouse.
Neary Lagoon Pier
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Neary Lagoon Park
Wildlife habitat with floating walkways. Wildlife refuge with trails & floating walkways, bird-watching areas, tennis courts & a playground.
Handcar Tours
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Pogonip Open Space
Scenic sloped park with hiking & biking. Scenic open space offering a hiking & biking trail network amid redwood & oak forests & slopes.
Westlake Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Japanese Friendship Garden
Spacious & tranquil traditional garden. Covering 5.5 acres, this serene Japanese garden features a koi pond & a quaint red arch bridge.
UC Santa Cruz Arboretum & Botanic Garden
Rare plants & a butterfly garden. Vast collection of rare plants with a succulent garden, a butterfly area & a eucalyptus grove.
Roaring Camp
Train rides & all-ages special events. Family-friendly park offers train rides amid natural landscapes, seasonal routes & special events.
Emma Prusch Farm Park
Community farm with orchards & gardens. Compact community farm features heirloom vegetable gardens, orchards, chickens & a fair.
Seymour Marine Discovery Center
Aquarium & interactive science museum. Interactive marine science museum & aquarium, with hands-on exhibits, a touch pool & a gift shop.
Blue Whale Skeleton
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Loch Lomond Recreation Area
Reservoir park for fishing & boating. Scenic 175-acre reservoir park for fishing, boating & hiking (seasonal & can be closed by drought).
Bill's Backyard
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose
Shows, workshops & interactive exhibits. Children of all ages explore more than 150 interactive exhibits including a full-size fire truck.
Discovery Meadow
Children's museum & sizable green space. Children's museum situated atop a sprawling green lawn used for summer festivals.
Monopoly in the Park
Green space with a giant monopoly board. Tiny park featuring a larger-than-life monopoly board, plus animal statues & benches.
Highlands County Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Rotary PlayGarden
Accessible children's playground. Interactive & accessible children's playground with slides, climbing equipment & seating areas.
Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum
Exhibits featuring mummies & artifacts. Museum with displays on Egyptian burial practices, plus artifacts including jewelry & bronze tools.
Rosicrucian Park
Unique architecture, gardens & fountains. Park drawing visitors with rose gardens, statues & fountains, plus Egyptian & Moorish architecture.
Winchester Mystery House
Quirky mansion with odd design details. Sprawling landmark with a staircase leading nowhere & other odd features designed to confuse ghosts.
The Escape Game San Jose
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Alum Rock Park
Large park with mineral springs & trails. Spacious park featuring hiking & biking trails, mineral springs & several picnic areas.
Mission Gardens
Historic mission's landscaped grounds. Tranquil garden park surrounding the historic Mission Santa Clara de Asis at Santa Clara University.
Lovers Point Park
Small beachside recreation spot. Petite beach park with swimming, surfing & other water recreation, plus kayak & bike rentals & more.
Treasure Hunt: The Ride
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Monterey Mirror Maze and Laser Challenge
Mirror maze with a vibrant setup. Walk-through mirror maze with a psychedelic vibe & activities for team-building & parties.
McAbee Beach
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Oscar's Playground
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Point Pinos Lighthouse (1855)
Historic light tower from 1850s. Oldest continually operating lighthouse on the Pacific, offering tours of Victorian-era building.
Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History
Free exhibitions on regional wildlife. Nature museum offering exhibits on birds, insects, plants & other wildlife, plus free admission.
Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary
Nature reserve for seasonal butterflies. Preserve with pine, cypress & eucalyptus trees sheltering thousands of monarch butterflies Oct–Mar.
Dennis The Menace Playground
Sizable kids' playground & park. Spacious kids' playground & park featuring activities such as a maze & a rock climbing wall.
Monterey County Youth Museum
Children's museum with hands-on exhibits. This colorful museum for toddlers & bigger kids features interactive exhibits with a local theme.
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.
Cooper-Molera Adobe
Visit this great place for kids and families!
LEGOLAND Discovery Center Bay Area
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Monterey Moon Tree
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Colton Hall Museum and Jail
Exhibits dedicated to California history. Built 1847–1849, this museum in an old government building has exhibits on the history of Monterey.
De Anza College Planetarium
Venue for astronomy & laser shows. This large planetarium offers educational astronomy shows & entertaining laser displays.
McClellan Ranch Preserve
Former horse ranch with a nature museum. Former horse ranch from the 1930s featuring a nature museum, community garden & historic buildings.
Ulistac Natural Area
Rustic park with native plantings. Rustic riverside park boasting trails, bird-watching & a range of native plants on 40 acres.
Point Joe Vista Point
Visit this great place for kids and families!
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.
California's Great America
Thrill rides & waterslides. Family-friendly theme park with thrill rides, water attractions, live entertainment & food options.
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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