Unique & Hidden Gem Activities for Families

Explore the best unique & hidden gem activities for families options for kids and families in Saratoga

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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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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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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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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The Escape Game San Jose

The Escape Game San Jose

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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Lost Worlds Funtropolous

Lost Worlds Funtropolous

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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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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Rosicrucian Park

Rosicrucian Park

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

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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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Monopoly in the Park

Monopoly in the Park

Green space with a giant monopoly board. Tiny park featuring a larger-than-life monopoly board, plus animal statues & benches.

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Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose

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.

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Bill's Backyard

Bill's Backyard

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Discovery Meadow

Discovery Meadow

Children's museum & sizable green space. Children's museum situated atop a sprawling green lawn used for summer festivals.

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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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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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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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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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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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Hidden Villa

Hidden Villa

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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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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Japanese Friendship Garden

Japanese Friendship Garden

Spacious & tranquil traditional garden. Covering 5.5 acres, this serene Japanese garden features a koi pond & a quaint red arch bridge.

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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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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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Loch Lomond Recreation Area

Loch Lomond Recreation Area

Reservoir park for fishing & boating. Scenic 175-acre reservoir park for fishing, boating & hiking (seasonal & can be closed by drought).

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Emma Prusch Farm Park

Emma Prusch Farm Park

Community farm with orchards & gardens. Compact community farm features heirloom vegetable gardens, orchards, chickens & a fair.

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Hellyer County Park

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.

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Barron Park Donkeys

Barron Park Donkeys

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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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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LEGOLAND Discovery Center Bay Area

LEGOLAND Discovery Center Bay Area

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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New Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum

New Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Highlands County Park

Highlands County Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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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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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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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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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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Alum Rock Park

Alum Rock Park

Large park with mineral springs & trails. Spacious park featuring hiking & biking trails, mineral springs & several picnic areas.

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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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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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Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center

Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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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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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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Haven Play Lounge and Events

Haven Play Lounge and Events

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Roaring Camp

Roaring Camp

Train rides & all-ages special events. Family-friendly park offers train rides amid natural landscapes, seasonal routes & special events.

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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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The Mystery Spot

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.

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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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Pogonip Open Space

Pogonip Open Space

Scenic sloped park with hiking & biking. Scenic open space offering a hiking & biking trail network amid redwood & oak forests & slopes.

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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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Washington Township Museum of Local History

Washington Township Museum of Local History

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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UC Santa Cruz Arboretum & Botanic Garden

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.

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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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