Unique & Hidden Gem Activities for Families

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

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.

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.

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.

California's Great America

California's Great America

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

De Anza College Planetarium

De Anza College Planetarium

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

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.

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.

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.

Mission Gardens

Mission Gardens

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

Magical Bridge Playground

Magical Bridge Playground

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

The Escape Game San Jose

The Escape Game San Jose

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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.

Barron Park Donkeys

Barron Park Donkeys

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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.

Rosicrucian Park

Rosicrucian Park

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

Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum

Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum

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

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.

Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center

Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Rotary PlayGarden

Rotary PlayGarden

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

Hidden Villa

Hidden Villa

Visit this great place for kids and families!

LEGOLAND Discovery Center Bay Area

LEGOLAND Discovery Center Bay Area

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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.

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.

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.

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.

Discovery Meadow

Discovery Meadow

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

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.

Bill's Backyard

Bill's Backyard

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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.

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).

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.

Arizona Garden

Arizona Garden

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

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.

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.

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.

Emma Prusch Farm Park

Emma Prusch Farm Park

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

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.

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.

Alum Rock Park

Alum Rock Park

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

Lost Worlds Funtropolous

Lost Worlds Funtropolous

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Children in Tree Sculpture

Children in Tree Sculpture

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Aqua Adventure Water Park

Aqua Adventure Water Park

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

Washington Township Museum of Local History

Washington Township Museum of Local History

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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.

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.

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.

Dream Time Sculpture

Dream Time Sculpture

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Coyote Hills Vista Point

Coyote Hills Vista Point

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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.

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.

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.

California Nursery Historical Park

California Nursery Historical Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Train of Lights

Train of Lights

Visit this great place for kids and families!

Secret Sidewalk

Secret Sidewalk

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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