Unique & Hidden Gem Activities for Families
Explore the best unique & hidden gem activities for families options for kids and families in Newark
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.
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.
Children in Tree Sculpture
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Coyote Hills Vista Point
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Dream Time Sculpture
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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.
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.
California Nursery Historical Park
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Aqua Adventure Water Park
Family-friendly waterslides & pools. Recreational facility featuring waterslides, pools, swimming lessons & an on-site eatery.
Train of Lights
Visit this great place for kids and families!
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.
Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Baylands Nature Preserve
Marshland with trails & bird-watching. Vast marshland with 15 mi. of trails for walking, running & biking, plus bird-watching & kayaking.
Secret Sidewalk
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Washington Township Museum of Local History
Visit this great place for kids and families!
The Lace Museum
Modest showcase of lace & lace history. Stalwart museum exhibiting lace, and describing its historical use & the art of lacemaking.
Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo
Hands-on science & nature exhibits. Child-oriented venue with animals like birds & turtles, plus interactive educational exhibits.
Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center
Ecology center with exhibits & events. Ecology center offering exhibits, programs & activities relating to the region's estuary.
Magical Bridge Playground
Play structures around a grassy mound. Slides, swings & climbing frames around an artificial hill, plus a treehouse & bridge.
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.
The Museum of American Heritage
Exhibitions on inventions & technology. Charming museum in a 1907 home showcasing technology & inventions from the 1750s to the 1950s.
Seven Seas Park
Family-friendly recreation & a dog park. Neighborhood gathering place offering a dog park & lots of kid activities including a spray pool.
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.
Niles Canyon Railway
Vintage train rides & history exhibits. Living history museum providing rides on vintage trains (1910-1960) & exhibits on railroad history.
Arizona Garden
Stanford University's cacti garden. Historical cacti garden with artful views & unusual plants on Stanford University grounds.
California's Great America
Thrill rides & waterslides. Family-friendly theme park with thrill rides, water attractions, live entertainment & food options.
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.
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).
Ulistac Natural Area
Rustic park with native plantings. Rustic riverside park boasting trails, bird-watching & a range of native plants on 40 acres.
Pioneer Memorial Park
Quaint green space with benches & paths. Small, serene park located next to the library featuring ample benches, walkways & shaded areas.
Barron Park Donkeys
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Sulphur Creek Nature Center
Wildlife rehabilitations & education. This wildlife rehabilitation facility offers educational programs & a discovery center for kids.
Japanese Gardens
Tranquil botanical garden with teahouse. This 3+-acre botanical garden features traditional Japanese arrangements, a teahouse & a koi pond.
LEGOLAND Discovery Center Bay Area
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Meek Park
Mansion grounds with gardens & play area. Landscaped grounds of a historic mansion with play structures, picnic space with grills & open lawn.
Redwood Grove Nature Preserve
Redwood forest with a boardwalk. This 6-acre Redwood forest features a boardwalk, observation decks, picnic tables & a rose garden.
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.
Mission Hills Park
Green space with a 50-ft. slide. Neighborhood park featuring grassy open space, a playground, a BBQ pit & a 50-ft. slide.
Dublin Historic Park and Museums
Local history & 1850s-era buildings. A 10-acre park with preserved buildings from the 1850s tells the story of the city's early settlers.
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.
Mission Gardens
Historic mission's landscaped grounds. Tranquil garden park surrounding the historic Mission Santa Clara de Asis at Santa Clara University.
Hidden Villa
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Imagination City
Visit this great place for kids and families!
De Anza College Planetarium
Venue for astronomy & laser shows. This large planetarium offers educational astronomy shows & entertaining laser displays.
Rotary PlayGarden
Accessible children's playground. Interactive & accessible children's playground with slides, climbing equipment & seating areas.
McClellan Ranch Preserve
Former horse ranch with a nature museum. Former horse ranch from the 1930s featuring a nature museum, community garden & historic buildings.
Rosicrucian Park
Unique architecture, gardens & fountains. Park drawing visitors with rose gardens, statues & fountains, plus Egyptian & Moorish architecture.
Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum
Exhibits featuring mummies & artifacts. Museum with displays on Egyptian burial practices, plus artifacts including jewelry & bronze tools.
Alum Rock Park
Large park with mineral springs & trails. Spacious park featuring hiking & biking trails, mineral springs & several picnic areas.
The Escape Game San Jose
Visit this great place for kids and families!
Forest Home Farms Historic Park
Scenic park with a Victorian-era house. Farmland featuring a Victorian house museum & public events on its lush, 16-acres.
Filoli Historic House & World-Class Garden
Historical estate & botanic garden. An early-20th-century country estate & botanic garden, open for docent-led tours.
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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