I’m planning to take my daughter to visit Santa Clara later this summer. I haven’t ever spent any time in this area, and am pretty clueless as to where to stay and what we could do in our free time. We will likely do a tour/info session at around 1:00 and then have the rest of the day/evening to explore. First, should we stay in San Jose, or is there another interesting city/town nearby? Second, what are some suggestions for things to do, places to visit that are nearby. Obviously, I know we could go up to San Francisco, but we will be flying out of San Jose early in the morning the next day so San Francisco feels a bit ambitious for just one evening.
There are a lot of hotels in the vicinity of Santa Clara. IIRC, there is one right across the street from the main entrance. When I visited with DD, we stayed at a Choice Hotel that was pretty close.
In terms of places to visit…walk around the Stanford campus. It’s like a gorgeous park. If you want to see some shopping, and maybe eat out, head over to Santana Row.
Will you have a car? If so, drive over to Santa Cruz.
As you know, the train station is right across from the campus to get to San Francisco. If you go, take a sweatshirt. It will be cooler than Santa Clara.
I would suggest taking the train to Mountain View. LOTS to see and do there. Really for one afternoon/evening…this is what I would do.
You don’t need to stay in San Jose.
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@thumper1 Thanks - this is super helpful!
My first though, especially for a family from Illinois, was also Santa Cruz. When was the last time you saw the ocean?
As for Stanford, it’s undeniably beautiful, but I don’t know if I would do that given your short time frame. When our son was narrowing his list, he remarked one day that he really liked Stanford because it was so pretty. He went on to say that if beauty was his only benchmark he should just stop looking and go to Santa Clara. It’s essentially a shrinky-dink of Stanford. Hopefully you’re old enough to get that reference.
Beyond that, I’d need to know more about your daughter’s interests and intended major to make any meaningful suggestions. For example, there’s a NASA facility in that area with some historically interesting blimp hangars. A prospective engineer might be agog while a burgeoning writer might be bored to tears.
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@thumper1 has a good list. You could check out Levi’s stadium and the co-located amusement. Park. If you are interested in architecture and tech drive by the Apple complex and Nvidia’s HQ - both are amazing. Not sure if it’s open but the chapel at Stanford , various gardens, and the Rodin statues are nice.
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Thanks for the suggestions - definitely old enough to know (and love) Shrinky Dinks! I’m originally from the East Coast, and we get back to the beaches there quite a bit, but have rarely been to the beach on the West Coast, so Santa Cruz sounds awesome.
We will be looking already at several colleges on this trip, and as gorgeous as I know Stanford is, my daughter will probably not want to go on another campus in our free time. (Especially one that she would have no conceivable chances of being admitted to. : )) She’d probably love the beach, shopping, finding a nice place to eat dinner/people watch. She’s definitely not a STEM kid, so, as cool as that sounds, NASA is probably not up her alley.
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We did a seven california college visit. A walk around Stanford was not the same as information sessions and tours. It’s a gorgeous campus and a beautiful place to get outdoors.
Still…with only one afternoon and evening…Mountain View would be my choice as lots to see…and it’s an easy and not very long train ride from Santa Clara.
Adding…our kid is a SCU grad so I would be happy to give you info, if you would like. She graduated in 2010…so not current events….but she loved the place.
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In the Bay Area, there are lots of funs to do. Everyone seems to already put in great recommendations, and yes Stanford is a beautiful campus! Santa Clara University is also worth the walk, the architecture is definitely like a walk-in Bay Area history.
There’s also amazing hikes (if that’s your thing) around Santa Clara like Fremont Older or a good sunset walk with birds to watch in Shoreline, Mountain View!!
I agree with thumper1, Mountain View is a very nice place to walk around and find good foods and little shops. Similarly, if you are visiting Stanford, there’s a great shopping mall literally called Stanford Shopping Mall, and walking through Palo Alto Downtown is really fun with a modern vintage hybrid.
I hope this helps! :))
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Thanks everyone, these suggestions all sound great. Mountain View sounds like an awesome option, and perfect for an afternoon/evening. I would definitely love hiking - will have to see what my daughter thinks. Appreciate all of the great ideas!
If in Palo Alto, then University Avenue. If in Mountain View, then Castro Street.
I’m not sure of the event schedule this summer, but Avaya Stadium is across the street from SCU and where the San Jose Earthquakes play.
Downtown Los Gatos is a great place to visit and have a bite to eat.
The Mountain Winery is an awesome venue for watching an outdoor concert.
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Downtown Mountain View is nice for dinner (we like Scratch for its California cuisine), but hardly a tourist destination. Beyond walking down one not terribly interesting street lined with restaurants, I’m not sure what else you’d do there for more than an hour. Without a car, Palo Alto gives more options because you have both University Ave for restaurants and easy access to Stanford’s campus which is nice just to walk around (go up Hoover tower if it’s open for great views of the bay).
The beach also seems like a reasonable option (if you have a car) and driving along the coast is nice, there are some cute small beach towns like Davenport and Pescadero between Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay. Or go up to Skyline Blvd (Hwy 35) and admire the views in both directions (coast and bay).
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@Illinoisparent12 about how much time do you have for this outing?
That’s what I’d do if I had a car…drive the loop clockwise and eat in SF.
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Scratch is a favorite place of ours. Great brunch. Oyster Thursdays I believe.
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It looks like SCU is offering a tour/info session starting at 1:00. Not sure how long those will take but assume probably 2 to 2.5 hours, so we’d have from around 3:30 on? Not much time.
What’s the next school? Driving?
Our D20 attends SCU. We explored the campus and the immediate area (now that she attends, she realizes that all of the housing adjacent to campus is where a lot of the action is). We went to Santana Row for dinner and shopping (and our hotel was there) and on a different trip when we had more time, we went to Santa Cruz. There are some good restaurants in the area (Luna is great if you’re in the mood for Mexican). The Hut (immediately next to campus) is a popular student hangout. Our daughter loves SCU. Happy to answer questions if you have them.
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Heading back to Chicago the next morning, so Santa Clara is our last stop.
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Thanks so much - it sounds like a wonderful school. We’re just getting our feet wet with this college search, but may take you up on your offer for more info once she gets a little farther along in her thoughts. My oldest just graduated from high school, and was interested in totally different schools (small LACs on the East Coast), so this is a whole new world for me. All of this advice is super helpful.
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I’d be happy to give info too. My kid worked in undergrad admissions for 3 1/2 years and actually created and wrote the info for the Shadow SCU program. She was an engineering major and loved off campus her last two years.
Santana Row is fun…pricey shops but had some great restaurants. That’s where we had our graduation dinner.
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