Get into the spirit of summer and visit one (or all!) of the county fairs in the bay area!
Corn dogs and carnival rides, fireworks and farm animals - there is something fun for everyone!

San Mateo County Fair (June 8-16, 2019
)
www.sanmateocountyfair.com
Stroll the sprawling grounds, snack on various classic fair cuisines including BBQ, pizza, corn dogs, and funnel cakes, visit a petting zoo, go on the carnival rides, get dazzled by the acrobats, and more.

Santa Clara County Fair (August 1-4, 2019)
www.thefair.org
Carnival rides, classical fair food, a petting zoo, Captain Jack Spareribs and the pirate show, sea lion encounters, hands-on learning, live music and more. Read about our visit here.

Santa Clara County Fair 2016

Alameda County Fair (June 14 - July 7, 2019)
annual.alamedacountyfair.com
Carnival rides, family friendly entertainment, and hands-on learning.Live music, sports arena where you can catch a rodeo, a monster-truck rally, a demolition derby, and horse races. On July 4th, watch spectacular fireworks.

Marin County Fair (July 3-7, 2019)
www.marinfair.org
Be entertained by the spectacular grounds entertainment, carnival rides, carnival food and more.The fireworks take place every day of the Fair, at 9:30pm, shot from three barges over the lagoon in a low-level, safely choreographed extravaganza of music, rockets, Roman candles, comets, meteoric showers and spectacular bursting cascades – all beautifully reflected in the water below.

Monterey County Fair (August 29-September 2, 2019)
www.montereycountyfair.com
In addition to rousing family entertainment, carnival rides, games, and fun Fair-food, the fair provides an opportunity to celebrate Monterey County's unique history and heritage, from the aquaculture of Monterey's coast to the abundant produce and wines from its agriculture, and the wonderful home art exhibits to the excitement of the livestock competitions.

Santa Cruz County Fair (September 11-15, 2019)
www.santacruzcountyfair.com
Carnival rides, classical fair food, a petting zoo, Captain Jack Spareribs and the pirate show, monster trucks, live music and more!

Sonoma Marin Fair (June 19-23, 2019)
www.sonoma-marinfair.org/sonomamarinfair
Featuring the hugely popular “Ugliest Dog” contest, pig races, a safari adventure, a culinary pavilion and wine tasting.

Napa County Fair (July 4, 2019)
www.napacountyfair.org
Carnival rides, attractions, live music and entertainment, chef showcases, displays and demonstrations, and firework.

Sonoma County Fair (August 1-11, 2019)
www.sonomacountyfair.com
Visit Sonoma County Fair and feel the excitement with a giant carnival, floral show, incredible display of livestock and agricultural education, live entertainment, carnival food, fun contests and more during its 80th celebration.

Solano County Fair (June 27-June 30, 2019)
www.scfair.com
Livestock auctions, talent show, blue ribbon competitions and a family-friendly, traditional county fair-vibe. Don't miss the concerts and fireworks every night!

Napa Town and County Fair (August 7-11, 2019)
www.napavalleyexpo.com
Located inside the Napa Valley Expo, the Napa Town and County Fair will have a great fair-vibe and summer-spirit! Delicious food, competitive exhibits, dance & party all summer night to live music.

Santa Clara County Fair

This was our second year visiting the Santa Clara County Fair. It's not the biggest fair in the area, but it is definitely much fun! There is a huge variety of entertainment so everyone can find something to enjoy.

Food

No outside food or drinks were allowed this year. Food is always expensive at fairs so be prepared. Even the bottled water were pricey.

Lots of fair food available. Fried alligator, frog legs, deep fried burritos and chocolate covered bacon are some of the interesting things to find. Also, all the regular chicken skewers, garlic fries and such. For dessert you can have fried twinkies and snickers, ice cream, psycho donuts and delicious funnel cakes.

Giant Bubbles

Rides

In the past two years, there were two Ferris wheels, an open two seater and an enclosed 4 seater. I’m not sure about 2015, but in 2016 there was a cool zip line ride. Lots of small and big carnival rides for the kids.

Animals

Small Animals Exhibit - Lots of goats, bunnies, chickens, cats, and more, you can pet and feed. The 4H volunteers were really nice and informative.

Large Animals Exhibit – Sheep, pigs, and cows. This barn has less air, so it wasn’t fun to stay in, but we did walk through quickly. Wish we could enjoy it as much as we enjoyed the small animals exhibit.

The Reptile Exhibit – Lots of volunteers eager to show off their reptiles. We held snakes, saw giant tortoise and more.

Sea Lion encounter – This is unique for a fair to have, and while the show was fun and educational, it didn’t seem like the best setting for the sea lions. Also offered, family pictures with the sea lion, which I found a little too much for the sweet animals.

Small Animal Exhibit

Attractions and Entertainment

Little Hands on the Farm – probably our favorite exhibit. Hands-on interactive and educational fun while learning about life on the farm. From planting seeds and growing fruit and vegetable, to producing milk. At the end, you can sell your produce at the Farmer Market and use the dollar you got for a small candy or toy at the general store, and drive your tractor back to the farm.

Giant Dinosaur walking around and roaring was great too!

Captain Jack Spareribs doing pirate acts, juggling and magic was enjoyable this year and last year as well.

Arts and crafts area was pretty big with lots of quilting, jewelry, pottery, photography and more.

There are also wine tasting, karaoke and more adult geared attractions we didn’t try. Lots of musical shows we didn’t get to see either.

Little Hands on the Farm

Overall it was a great experience, we enjoyed spending 3 hours there, and we loved how tired Daniel was when we got home :)

We will definitely visit again next year!

2015/2016 Pricing Info

Tickets: General admission - $8. Senior/youth - $5. Children 4 and under - FREE. In the last few years Groupon offers a deal of $8 for 2 adults. Watch out for the deal about two weeks before the fair.

Parking: $5.

Rides: $1 each, with discount if you buy more. Zip lining was $10 for 2 rides.