Its easy to spend half a day at the park when you have a steam train you can ride, a 100 -year old beautifully painted carousel, in addition to a large park with lots of play structures.  For an alternative to a park picnic, head to a nearby long-standing hotdog/burger place which has served generations in the Los Gatos area. To park at Oak Meadow Park,  I suggest driving down Blossom Hill Road to the...

The Children’s Discovery Museum is my favorite place to go in San Jose. The building itself stands out and is easy to find. Parking is across the street under the freeway. When you enter you are greeted with a (nearly) life- sized fire truck that you can climb on, an intersection with actual stop lights and crosswalk, and an ambulance that you can also climb through.  There is a whole section on bubbles,...

Quite possibly the most beautiful steam train ride I have ever taken was the Redwood line at Roaring Camp Railroads.  Two lines are available at base camp in Felton, a few miles from Santa Cruz, CA.  One is a trip through Bear Mountain that takes a little over an hour total, and the second is a trip down to the the Beach Boardwalk of Santa Cruz that takes an hour and a half one-way. Some of the cars of the...

The Tech Museum has more exhibits than we had time to see. All of this, plus a free IMAX movie which comes with your price of admission, makes it a great way to spend several hours in downtown San Jose. There are two parking garages nearby that you can get validation on your ticket at the front desk of the museum.  The younger kids should start on the lower level. You can get there by stairs and escalator,...

Deer Hollow is a 150 year old farm in Mountain View that still stands to connect kids and adults to the environment. There are rabbits, goats, pigs, sheep, and a cow to view. You can bring a picnic, but you must carry your trash out as there are no garbage cans.  Deer Hollow Farm is located in the Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve, nestled in the foothills of Los Altos. As there is no address that I can...

This Los Gatos park sits near a stocked lake where my husband says he learned to fish.  There is a historic carousel, a train you can ride on, and a water play area. Map powered by MapPressCloseClose Share / Save / Send

This is a fantastic park for several reasons: First, there are plenty of imaginative structures to play on, including a decomissioned Air Force T-33 jet, a red train, and a fire engine. In addition, there are your variety slides and ladders, which have always seemed uncrowded despite this park’s popularity.  There is also a unique water play area, where you can watch water travel from one place to another...

950 El Paseo De Saratoga San Jose, CA 95124 (408) 866-4386 www.thejunglefun.com The first thing I have to say is my son LOVES this place. It has the largest tube maze (three stories high) I have ever seen. There are tons of turns, twists and padded obstacles in the middle which for a young kid is great, but for the parent who has to maneuver on hands and knees after the kid is not quite as fun. It is, in fact,...

When we visit grandparents, a favorite park to go to is Oak Meadow Park.  Our first stop has to be the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad. When we have gone, Engine 3502 has been in charge, but on weekends during the summer the heavy lifter is a 104-year old steam engine. This railroad has also been a feature of the park since 1970. In case you were wondering who Billy Jones was and whether he was, in fact, a wild...

I had mentally put a visit to The Tech Museum high on my to-do list for the next time I was in the area. A recent trip with the kids to see their grandparents meant that I wouldn’t have to wait long to see it.  I knew that most of the exhibits would be beyond the comprehension of a two or four year old, but I clung to the words of the museum’s website, ” … there’s sure to be something...