My favorite park ~ Alum Rock Park, San Jose

This is definitely a hidden gem of the bay area. When we lived in San Jose, I found this park in a book called "Babies by the Bay." We were new to the area, so I was just trying parks listed in the book. Was I blown away by this park! It sits right in the foothills of San Jose and was only about 15 minutes from our house. I believe it is one of the oldest and largest city parks in California. It has the feel of a state park with the close proximity of a city park. The first time we visited, I think we were there all day. There are endless miles of hiking trails and an incredible play ground, complete with a picnic area. We have seen many wildlife here including deer and turkey. We have climbed to Eagle Rock and Inspiration Point, hung out at the visitor center and the Youth Science Institute which is a habitat for raptors that are unable to live in the wild on their own due to an injury. Come to think of it, there are 2 playgrounds, one larger newer one and another smaller one for smaller kids that my older kids still enjoy due to the large stone spider and eagle they can climb.
What I like best about the park is the peacefulness that you feel as you enter the park. All of a sudden it is quiet and the noise and clamour of the city is gone despite the fact that it is only 5 minutes away.
This last time, the kids their cousin, aunt and I were able to spend 2 very enjoyable hours just at the main playground. This playground is large, so there is plenty of room to play tag. We also saw deer on the hill behind the playground as well as in the field surrounding us. It was a peaceful ending to our day and we so look forward to going again!