My friend & her family will be visiting us(we r in fremont) from Ohio in Dec so I am wondering where do I take them for visit nearby ??? We have kids(4-6 yr olds) so want to visit places where they can enjoy too...we r willing to drive long distance.
All of the suggestions below are great.
Tahoe is also great if you want to get some skiing, sledding, etc. in, but I bet folks from Ohio want to stay in the warmer areas :-)
If you want Christmas type things to do, you can go to Crippsmas Place in Fremont, Niles Sunol Christmas Train ride, Fremont, Christmas in the Park, San Jose, or Bonfante Gardens, Gilroy. SF will have pretty lights and window displays and you could make a trip out of BARTand see the displays and maybe take the Ferry to Sausalito for lunch and see the Golden Gate Bridge. There is so much to do locally but it might be fun to get into the Christmas spirit since they are visiting in December.
Fishermans wharf, Christmas in the park, Monterey (the aquarium and they have a wharf too, plus Dennis the Menace park), Santa Cruz's West side to walk along the beach, Disneyland at Christmas is REALLY pretty.
How fun!
california academy of science, golden gate park. have a great holiday!
-Sunol-Niles/Union City Holiday Lights Train Ride-You can purchase tickets now or fairly soon.
You get great views of the Golden Gate Bridge from the Bay Area Discovery Museum -- Its like an Exploratoruim for younger children. . .
Bay Area Discovery Museum
557 McReynolds Rd
Sausalito, CA 94965
From San Francisco and the South Bay: Take 101 across the Golden Gate Bridge and take the Alexander Avenue exit just after the Vista Point. Follow signs to Fort Baker and the Bay Area Discovery Museum.
Great suggestions so far, I second the Academy of Science in SF, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
In addition,
1) Ohlone Missionary nearby Fremont?
2) Stanford University - the Rodin Garden, Cantor Museum, Memorial Church, Tressider Union, the Bookstore etc.;
3) Filoli Gardens in Woodside area;
4) wineries in Napa, Saratoga....
The aquarium in Monterey is great and the Exploratorium in San Francisco.
We love to go to Union Square in downtown San Francisco - there's a huge tree, usually a minorah too and an ice skating rink. All the big stores have gorgeous window displays and the huge indoor tree in Nieman Marcus is breathtaking!
We sneak up to the 8th floor of Macy's and find a big window in the furniture department that overlooks the Square and watch the ice skaters etc. You gotta get hot cocoa and a warm pretzel from a vendor's cart as you people watch! The Cellar @ Macy's has lots of good food for lunch - some of it local favorites like Boudin's bakery - sour dough roll filled with clam chowder! YuMMY! Or Cheesecake Factory if you want a view and are willing to wait a bit for a table - is always a safe bet and good kiddie menu.
Fisherman's Warf is festive too - I lived in SF for 14 years and avoided it like herpes - but now that we have kids and live in the 'burbs we go for the aquarium, carousel and sea lions etc. who knew??
Try to go on a weekday to avoid the mobs of people if your guests aren't used to it. ;)
Christmas in the park in Downtown San Jose. Fisherman's wharf in San Fran is also a fun place to visit.
SF-Golden Gate Park, Zeum, Pier 39. SJ-Happy Hollow, Children's Discovery Museum, Tech Museum of Innovation. Santa Cruz-Beach Boardwalk. Half Moon Bay-Lemos Farm & Pescadero-Harley Farms, Phipps Country Store.
Academy of Sciences is awesome.
It will be nice to have so many holiday festivities to make up for potentially rainy weather!
Union Square is magical during the holidays. You can see the tree, shop, eat at the Cheesecake Factory on top of Macy's (though more fun if it's warm enough to eat outside overlooking the square). There is also an ice skating rink: http://www.unionsquareicerink.com/
If you want to venture south, you can check out the Roaring Camp railroad at Santa Cruz for the kids: http://www.roaringcamp.com/events.html
The different museums mentioned are also great options.
Henry Cowell State Park to see the redwoods. There is an easy walk perfect for kids to run and explore, and the store has a really fun train set up at Christmas time that my kids love see.
FYI, the train rides at Roaring Camp are fun, but I have found the 1 hour 15 min train ride is kind of long for the little ones.
