San Francisco Bay Area - Southern Peninsula Attractions
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South of San Francisco, the peninsula is now primarily a bedroom community though some of California's scenic golden hills are still to be seen along Interstate 280 and along the coastal highway 1. A fair climate and Stanford University were notable forces precipitating the epicenter called Silicon Valley where many high-tech companies are found. While the Peninsula is generally considered to end a San Jose, attractions further south are practical to include along with the Peninsula proper.
San Jose, California
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Los Gatos, California
Santa Clara CountyLocation and originLos Gatos, established about 1850, is protected by two mountain peaks: El Sombroso (the Shady One) and El Sereno (the Nightwatchman). It lies south of San Francisco Bay, at an intersection of the CA 17, and owes its name to the wild cats which once roamed the area (los gatos = the cats). Until the start of the Second World War it was a small community, the inhabitants of which made a living mainly by growing fruit. Today, Los Gatos forms part of the catchment area of Santa Clara and Santa Jose.
Los Gatos Arts and Natural History Museum
Los Gatos offers a museum of history and natural history (Main and Tait Street) and an old town district with restored houses of Spanish and Victorian origin, shops, restaurants and workshops.
Oak Meadows Park
Oak Meadows Park in Los Gatos opened in 1958 with numerous features added over time including a historical airplane, fire engine, railroad, carousel and cuppola. The large playground and bocci ball courts are also popular.
Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad
The Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad is located in Oak Meadow Park in Los Gatos and offers tourists a trip on a 1905 steam train.
Half Moon Bay, California
Half Moon Bay (pop. 8,886) is on Half Moon Bay Inlet in San Mateo county. Local activities include golf courses and a driving range, sport fishing, whale watching, horseback riding, bluff and mountain top hiking, redwood preserves, and bird refuges.
Elkus Youth Ranch
The Richard J. Elkus Ranch educates children about livestock, gardens and nature. The farmhouse includes sheep, goats, chickens, rabbits, a burro and horse, and is surrounded by miles of hiking trails, two sleeping tents on platforms, two restored barns, gardens, greenhouse and bathhouse.
Half Moon Bay State Beach
Half Moon Bay State Beach is located on Kelly Avenue, half a mile west of Highway One in Half Moon Bay. The park features four miles of sandy beaches for walking, fishing and surfing. There are trails for horseback riding.
James V. Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, Moss Beach, California
Visitors are encouraged to view the variety of sea life available at the James V. Fitzgerald Marine Reserve up close. One of the features of the reserve are the tide pools which are immersed and revealed twice a day. There are also hiking trails which run along the bluffs overlooking the beach.
Redwood City, California
Redwood City is located 18mi/29km southeast of San Francisco. Manufacturing plays a big part in the local economy with electronics playing a major role. The city offers a popular entertainment destination with theater, music, dance, and cultural arts available.
Woodside - Filoli Center
Filoli Center is a 654-acre estate designed and built between 1915 and 1917, which includes a 43-room mansion and 16 acres of formal theme gardens with an Italian Renaissance tea house and carriage house. In addition, Filoli's property includes a 6.8 acre Gentlemen's Heritage Orchard and a trail system that explores five different ecosystems.
Lathrop House
At 627 Hamilton Street in Redwood City is Lathrop House, an 1863 early Gothic house built by Benjamin Lathrop and moved here in 1905.
Malibu Grand Prix
The Malibu Grand Prix features real racing in Indy cars for adults and mini cars for children. There are also batting cages, bumper boats, and miniature golf.
Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Big Basin, California
Big Basin Redwoods State Park was acquired in 1902 and is California's oldest state park. It is located 20 miles north of Santa Cruz and features miles of hiking trails.
Felton, California
Felton is located at the southern end of the San Lorenzo Valley, approximately six miles north of Santa Cruz on State Route 9 in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Roaring Camp and Santa Cruz Big Trees and Pacific Railroad
At the northern end of the Henry Cowell Redwood State Park, by the CA 9 road in Fenton, is the start of a 100-year-old narrow gauge railway. Part of its route is through the Redwood Forests and in places it has to negotiate some very steep gradients. Bear Mountain, an old lumberjack village, is worth a short stop.The trains run throughout the year at varying times.
Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park
About 5mi/8km north of Santa Cruz, on the CA 9, will be found 1,750 acres/700 hectares of forest in which grow some of the most beautiful coastal redwoods (sequoia sempervirens). There are also some 15mi/24km of trails for walking and riding, as well as camp sites.
Gilroy, California
Gilroy (pop. 31,487) is located 30mi/48km southeast of San Jose. With the largest dehydrators for garlic in the world the town lays claim to the title Garlic Capital of the World with the annual Garlic Festival in July.
Syngenta Flowers (formerly Goldsmith Seeds)
Syngenta Flowers in Gilroy offers a year-round showcase as one of the world's largest wholesale breeders of bedding plants. Highlights include a 2-acre public display garden, interior courtyard garden with koi pond and a 6-acre experimental flower field. There are many one-of-a-kind flowers that are not found anywhere else in the world.
Gilroy Gardens (formerly Bonfante Gardens)
Gilroy Gardens combines gardens with the traditional family theme park. This attraction is the brainchild of native Santa Clara Valley resident Michael Bonfante, who sold a successful grocery store chain to realize his dream of creating what was once Bonfante Gardens.
Gilroy Historical Museum
The Gilroy Museum is located in the Carnegie Library building which was built in 1920. Displays include newspapers (1868 to present), tax records, family history files, bound and loose materials, and photographs.
Pacifica, California
Pacifica is located on the Pacific Ocean south of San Francisco. Created in 1957 it is one of the state's newest towns. The Sanchez Adobe Historic Site is decorated with period furniture, objects, implements and clothing.
San Mateo, California
San Mateo is a suburb of San Francisco on the southwest shore of San Francisco Bay. It is home to Central Park with a Japanese garden and one of the longest highway bridges, San Mateo-Hayward Bridge.
Coyote Point Museum for Environmental Education
Coyote Point Museum has interactive nature exhibits such as a working beehive. There are four interconnected areas: the Environmental Hall with natural history exhibits, Theme Gardens with a hummingbird garden and butterfly habitat, Wildlife Habitats in natural settings in which to view over 40 live animals native to the Bay area, and an outdoor bird sanctuary with dozens of bird species.
Belmont - Ralston Hall
The home was built for William Chapman Ralston, Francisco businessman and financier, and founder of the Bank of California. This four-floor, 55,360 square foot mansion includes the stately dining room, the 28 by 61 foot mirrored ballroom and sun-parlor.
San Mateo County Historical Museum
The San Mateo County Historical Museum has local history exhibits as well as lumber and agricultural exhibits. The highlight of the museum is how the Ohlone through to post Gold Rush Americans used natural resources to support their daily life.
Japanese Garden at Central Park
The Japanese Garden at Central Park in San Mateo has plants, waterfalls and koi ponds.
Saratoga, California
Saratoga is located southwest of San Jose at the entrance to a historic pass in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Villagers named the town Saratoga in 1865, as the mineral content of the water was similar to Saratoga, New York.
Villa Montalvo Center for the Arts
The Villa Montalvo Center for the Arts and Arboretum is a 1912 Mediterranean-style manor house which Senator James Duval Phelan left to the people of California. It is used as a center for fine arts, music, literature, and architecture. There are a variety of plants and birds in the arboretum. The formal garden, and 175 acres of trails, lead to lookout points on the surrounding hills.
Hakone Japanese Gardens
Hakone Japanese Gardens are located 0.1mi north of Saratoga. The gardens were built by Oliver and Isabel Stine in 1918. The garden's 15 acre site features koi ponds and gravel paths as well as tea gardens. A tea ceremony is performed the first Thursday of the month.
Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia, Burlingame, California
The Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia features over 300 of the small candy dispensers.
Capitola, California
Capitola (pop. 10,171) is located 5mi/8km east of Santa Cruz. This resort on Monterey Bay has impressive gardens which bloom July through September.
Capitola Historical Museum
Housed in a reconstructed 1920s farmer's cottage, the building was moved from Live Oak. The Capitola Historical Museum maintains a collection of photographs and artifacts related to Capitola's history, and exhibits on the history and art of the area.
Capitola City Beach and Wharf
Capitola City Beach and Wharf offers a number of activities including fishing, swimming and a Begonia Festival. The first Capitola wharf was built in 1856 as a commercial pier for shipping lumber and farm products.
New Brighton State Beach
New Brighton State Beach is located next to Seacliff Beach. There are nature trails and monarch butterflies can be sighted here in winter. The beach has picnic areas, swimming and fishing opportunities.
Cupertino, California
Cupertino (pop. 40,263) is located 8mi/13km west of San Jose in Silicon Valley. It was incorporated in 1955.
De Anza College
De Anza College is a community college, founded in 1967, and named after Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza.
Euphrat Museum of Art
The Euphrat Museum of Art is located on the campus of De Anza College in Cupertino. It features the work of faculty, students and national artists.
Flint Center for the Performing Arts
The Flint Center for the Performing Arts is a 2,571 seat auditorium located on the campus of De Anza College in Cupertino.
Fujitsu Planetarium at De Anza College
The Fujitsu Planetarium is located on the campus of De Anza College in Cupertino. It features a 170 seat theater under a 50 foot dome.
Morgan Hill, California
Morgan Hill (pop. 23,928) is located 17mi/27km southeast of San Jose. It is an agricultural center with canneries and feed mills.
Henry W. Coe State Park
At 87,000 acres Henry W. Coe State Park is the largest state park in Northern California. The park is located 13 miles east of Morgan Hill. It features hiking, camping, fishing and backpacking. There are 250 miles of trails and dirt roads in the park.There are 30 backcountry sites for backpackers in the western area of the park.
Mountain View, California
Mountain View (pop. 67,460) is located 11mi/18km northwest of San Jose in the Santa Clara Valley.
NASA Ames Exploration Center
Ames Research Center allows visitors to tour this NASA facility in Mountain View. The visitor center contains a moon rock, a space shuttle model and photos.
Pescadero, California
Pescadero is located west of San Jose. South of town is Pigeon Point Lighthouse, built 1872.
Butano State Park
Butano State Park is located five miles south of Pescadero in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Visitors can enjoy fine hiking through its redwood groves in the 2,200 acre park. There are view of the ocean and the nearby Año Nuevo Islands.
Pescadero State Beach
Pescadero State Beach is located south of Half Moon Bay on Highway 1. It has a mile of beach with tide pools, sandy coves, fishing spots and a marsh across the road with good bird watching opportunities.
Año Nuevo State Reserve
Elephant seals are on view at the Año Nuevo State Reserve. The park is located south of Pescadero and offers hiking for the wilderness protection area.
Pompino State Beach
Pompino State Beach is located on Highway One 12 miles south of Half Moon Bay. It has a small lagoon and picnic tables and barbecues.
Hiller Aviation Museum, San Carlos, California
The Hiller Aviation Museum exhibits the many historic aviation advancements of Northern California.
California Antique Aircraft Museum, San Martin, California
The California Antique Aircraft Museum was formed in the 1960's in order to preserve old planes and artifacts and to make them accessible to the public.
Sunnyvale, California
Sunnyvale, located 8mi/11km northwest of San Jose, was incorporated in 1912. The headquarters of high-tech industry has replaced the agricultural community.
Lace Museum
The Lace Museum in Sunnyvale is dedicated to lace, with an extensive collection of lace and lace tools on display. The history of lace is featured through tools, lace examples, books and the museum also offers on-going lace making classes.
Watsonville, California
Watsonville (pop. 31,099) is located 30mi/48km south of San Jose. Beaches, state parks and forests provide ideal recreational destinations.
Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve
Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve is a wildlife preserve and bird sanctuary on 1,400 acres. It's also a feeding and nesting ground for many waterfowl and migratory shorebirds. The Elkhorn Slough Preserve is located on 388 adjacent acres of coastal wetlands.
Sunset State Beach
Sunset State Beach offers mountainous sand dunes, campground and ocean side picnic spots with a beach making it a popular year-round destination for thousands of visitors.
Judge Julius Lee Cottage
The Judge Julius Lee Cottage is an interesting Victorian home purchased by a historian in 1966.
Menlo Park, California
Menlo Park is a small Californian town nestled between San Francisco and San Jose.
Allied Arts Guild
The Allied Arts Guild stands on 3.5 acres of land granted by the King of Spain in the early nineteenth century upon which sit Spanish-style buildings, courtyards and fountains. Allied Arts Guild has provided inspiration for working artists since 1929 while offering a European-style crafts guild for visitors.
Sunset Publishing Gardens
The publisher of "Sunset" magazine offers self-guiding walking tours of the gardens which contain more than 300 varieties of trees, shrubs, vines, annuals and perennials.
US Geological Survey Office
The U.S. Geological Survey has an office in Menlo Park. Geology studies include understanding earthquake shaking, finding minerals, and evaluating volcanic hazards.
