We love Wilder Ranch State Park. We like the combination of beautiful trails, sea breeze and historical farm, so we visited the state park a few times in the past.

This time, we visited during the "Life on the Ranch" event, and we had a great time! 
We had the chance to experience old-time activities, and learn about the ranch's history.

Activities included machine shop demonstrations, blacksmith demonstrations, wood stove baking, tortilla making, crafts, games and wagon rides. 

We visited the farm animals, decorated a straw hat with beautiful feathers and leather, tried leather burning, pressed and baked our own tortilla, played with old-fashioned bubbles, ate delicious fresh baked apple cookies (seriously. fresh. like the second it came out of the Victorian stove), and much more!

The house tour was very kid friendly. We saw a piano play itself, watched a short cartoon on a funny device, and learned about the life on the ranch.

Don't miss on these future dates:
Saturday, September 17, 2016, 11am-3pm 
Sunday, November 12, 2016, 11am-3pm

If you're looking for a trail suggestions, check out this post.

Day-use parking fee is $10 and supports the park, wagon ride - $5, all other activities are free, donations welcome.
 

Aquaiums and Zoos

Aquariums
A visit to a local aquarium is a great enjoyable and educating way for kids to explore the sea life, underwater environment, touch sea animals, and more. 

Monterey Bay Aquarium (886 Cannery Row, Monterey)

www.montereybayaquarium.org 
Monterey Bay Aquarium is an educational and fun window to the wonders of the ocean.
Check out the newest exhibit, ¡Viva Baja! Life on the Edge featuring animals from Baja’s deserts, mangrove forests and coral reefs.
The Kelp forest is a 28 foot tall underwater forest where you can watch sharks, sea turtles, tuna, sardines, octopus, eels and other fish. Watch the divers feed the animals and clean the aquarium, and learn about the forest.
Children will enjoy the Rocky Shore and Sandy Shore & Aviary exhibits which offers hands-on learning activities where you can touch sea animals, and learn about their natural habitat.
Visit the giant pacific octopus, sharks, penguins, sea turtles, jelly fish, octopuses, squid and cuttlefishes, watch the daily shows and feedings, and don’t miss the ocean-view decks, where you can often see seals, dolphins, otters, whales and sharks!
If you want even closer encounters, or a special experience, check the website for special tours for families, diving experiences, and sleepovers.

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Aquarium of the Bay (PIER 39, 2 Beach St, San Francisco) 
www.aquariumofthebay.org 
Explore below San Francisco Bay by getting up close and personal with more than 20,000 local marine animals. The interpretative naturalists are always nearby to answer questions and guide through hands-on animal encounters. Check out the website for daily schedule of feedings, encounters, talks and more. 

Aquarium of the Bay

Seymour Marine Discovery (100 Shaffer Rd, Santa Cruz) 
http://seymourcenter.ucsc.edu 
This marine museum is on the smaller side, but it is fun and educational for a short visit with little children.
At the aquarium, you can explore the fascinating world of marine science and conservation, touch a friendly shark, see how marine scientists work, and visit the dolphins.  

Seymour Marine Center Santa Cruz

Zoos 
A visit to the zoo is always a great family outing. See the animals first hand and learn about what they eat, their habits, environment, and more. Zoos in the bay area offer petting zoo or children zoo included in the admission price.

San Francisco Zoo (1 Zoo Rd, SF)

http://www.sfzoo.org/

Nestled against the Pacific Ocean, the San Francisco Zoo is an urban oasis. It is home to over 1,000 exotic, endangered and rescued animals representing more than 250 species and lovely peaceful gardens full of native and foreign plants. 

Farm animals for feeding and petting can be found in the popular Fisher Family Children’s Zoo. Visit the Family Farm, the little pond and duck, feed the goats by hand, chase the chickens, and much more! 

SF Zoo

Oakland Zoo (9777 Golf Links Rd, Oakland)

http://www.oaklandzoo.org/

This is a wonderful zoo, with children’s ride area, train and sky ride, and more. Terrain is quite hilly (good workout for parents walking with kids or pushing strollers).

The petting Zoo is big and fun for children at all ages, brush and feed the goats, chase the chicken, pet the animals and more! 

Oakland Zoo

Happy Hollow (1300 Senter Rd, San Jose)

http://www.hhpz.org/

Happy Hollow Park & Zoo is a small 16-acre zoo and amusement park in San Jose featuring a petting zoo where kids can feed and brush goats, sheep, cows and more, animal barn, animal hospital with indoor and outdoor quarantine, and education center with year-round classes for ages 12-months to adult. They also have Puppet Theater, Rides and structures for toddlers and children featuring slides, swings, ropes and climbing areas, carousel and roller coaster.

Happy Hollow Park and Zoo

Henry Cowell State Park and Roaring Camp Railroad

Featuring a variety of redwood forested areas, Henry Cowell State Park offers beautiful views along the San Lorenzo river, family friendly trails and magical picnic spots. Henry Cowell State Park is a great nature adventure for families!

After parking in the main parking lot, we continued to the excellent and very informative Nature Center and visited the friendly rangers. Here, you can also buy the Redwood Grove Loop Trail Self-Guided map for 25 cents. For parents and older kids, it will help you understand the magnificence of this very special place. 

The Redwood Grove Loop Trail is a short 0.8 mile trail. It's toddler, stroller and dog friendly, and easy and short enough for toddler to finish it by themselves. We had barely walked 30 feet into the park when we spotted our first banana slug of the day. We ended up seeing 3! How exciting!

About half way through the Redwood Grove Loop is the amazing Fremont Tree. This tree was hollowed out by fire and was once used as a resort honeymoon room! Daniel loved going in and out, prepare your flashlights for extra fun time!

Right after the Fremont tree, at the south end of the loop trail, look for a gated dirt road. This is the River Trail. About half a mile farther there's a bridge that took us to a fun spot on the San Lorenzo River. When we visited the river's water level was very low and the kids loved walking and playing in the gentle water flow. Aside from splashing in the river, there's a railroad bridge right above you and you can see trains crossing it. The kids had a great time!

Redwood Grove Loop Trail

Fremont Tree

San Lorenzo River

Gift shop and snack bar in the main parking lot are nice and not expensive.

Across from the gift shop, in the other side of the parking lot, there’s an entrance to the Roaring Camp Railroad. We stopped there for lunch and live music before heading back home.

Roaring Camp Railroad

Henry Cowell State Park:

Park Entrance Fee: $10/car. This is good for all day long in all state parks and beaches, so keep your receipt if you’re heading to the beach!

Park Hours: Sunrise to sunset.

Website: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=546

Roaring Camp Railroad: http://www.roaringcamp.com/

Day Trip To Wilder Ranch State Park

We started our day at Emily's bakery in Santa Cruz and got some pastries to go. The poppy seed muffins and cheddar scones were really good!
http://www.emilysbakery.com/

We then headed to Wilder Ranch State Park.
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=549

There are many trails to explore at the park. We chose to take the Ohlone Bluff Trail and the Old Cove Landing Trail, which together create a 3.5 mile loop along the cliffs. The trail is suitable for strollers (not umbrella ones, though).
There's beach access at a few point along the trail, so take your picnic blanket and pastries with you.
In some points you can get really close to the cliff's edge, so make sure you and your toddler are very careful. 
We saw lots of sea lions, birds, friendly squirrels, lots of flowers, bugs and butterflies. In a good day, during the right season, you can even see whales.


The park was formerly a dairy ranch, and many of the ranch's buildings have been restored for use as a museum. Don't miss a visit to the farm animals, barn and gift shop!


1401 Coast Rd, Santa Cruz, CA
Open daily, 8am - sunset. Entrance fee: $10 per car.