Fremont, California

Coyote Hills Regional Park was established in 1967 on the south shore of San Francisco Bay near Fremont on 978 acres of land. The fairly low hills provide magnificent views of the bay, the ocean, Oakland, San Francisco, the Santa Cruz Mountains, Mount Tamalpais, the Peninsula Range, and three bay bridges. The hills are intersected by large patches of wetlands and a whole network of wonderful hiking, horseback riding, and biking trails. Most of the trails are fire roads between the hills and marshes and are of mixed use. There are also some narrow trails that are limited to hiking. There have been significant archeological findings in the area, evidence from when the Ohlone group of Native Americans inhabited the area.

8000 Patterson Ranch Rd, Fremont, CA 94555, Phone: 510-544-3220

Mission Peak Regional Preserve is a large public park near Fremont, California, and an important symbol for Fremont – it is part of the city seal. Mission Peak is located on a mountain ridge that includes Monument Peak and Mount Allison. The park also overlooks Silicon Valley and is frequently used by folks from all over the Bay Area for hiking, biking, sightseeing, and mountain climbing. Mission Peak is one of the most popular Fremont attractions, and the "Mission Peeker" is a marker pole at the summit and a famous landmark for visitors to take photos with. There are three multi-use trails that climb the mountain’s western and northern sides, with the Hidden Valley Trail being the most popular. It is a steep and strenuous climb with the elevation gain of 2,100 feet, but the views of the entire Bay Area from the summit are breathtaking.

Fremont, CA 94539, Phone: 510-544-3246

Central Park is a lovely 450-acre urban park in the heart of Fremont with 80-acre Lake Elizabeth in its center, surrounded by the towering Mission Peak Hills. The park has a number of picnic sites, children’s play areas, basketball and tennis courts, a skate park, a 2-mile pedway around the lake, and Aqua Adventure Water Park. There are boat rentals and boat launches and fishing is very popular here. The park is also a favorite for family parties and gatherings and there is always some celebration going on. On the north side of the park are a golf course and driving range, while water slides and skateboarding park can be found on the southwest end of the park.

40000 Paseo Padre Pkwy, Fremont, CA 94538, Phone: 510-790-5541

Established in 1994, the Washington Township Museum of Local History features a range of exhibits that describe life in the Washington Township and Tri-City area from the time it was a farming and ranching community to its slow but inevitable change to a suburban community. Exhibits showcase the lives of the families who moved to the area, the kind of work they had to do, and how they managed to establish a thriving community. The collections in the Washington Township Museum of Local History come from the Mission Peak Heritage Foundation and the Washington Township Historical Society, two historical groups with a history of more than 100 years. The museum has acquired a number of other valuable collections since then, and it organizes docent-led as well as self-guided tours and field trip opportunities for local history students.

Washington Township Museum of Local History, 190 Anza St, Fremont, CA 94539, Phone: 510-623-7907

George Washington Patterson built a farmhouse he called Ardenwood in 1857 on his estate near Fremont. In 1889, he and his wife Clara added the Queen Anne Victorian addition, and in 1915 his son remodeled the old part of the house and added many modern features. The estate, which included a large forest and a working farm, was converted into the Ardenwood Historic Farm in 1985 and opened to the public. Besides the farmhouse, the estate now includes the Railroad Museum, with a narrow gauge horse-drawn railway and a large collection of railroad cars and 19th century railroad artifacts. The park is famous for hosting many popular events such as a Celtic festival, the Washington Township Railroad Fair, a Renaissance faire, and many others.

34600 Ardenwood Blvd, Fremont, CA 94555, Phone: 510-544-2797

A part of the Niles Canyon Transcontinental Railroad Historic District, the Niles Canyon Railway is a historic railway that runs through Niles Canyon, between Sunol, the Niles district of Fremont and Pleasanton in the San Francisco Bay Area. The railroad, which is operated by the Pacific Locomotive Association, offers public excursions using both diesel and steam locomotives on a preserved part of the First Transcontinental Railroad. These excursions bring to life the role and experience of railways in small-town America before the 1960s. The Niles Canyon Railway also hosts part of the collection from the Golden Gate Railroad Museum in the Sunol Depot. The Niles Canyon Railway is a living history museum that stresses the importance of heritage railroads in the development of California.

6 Kilkare Rd, Sunol, CA 94586, Phone: 510-996-8420

Quarry Lakes Regional Recreation Area is a regional park located in Fremont, California, located in a former gravel quarry. Established in 1976, the park lies between Niles and Centerville and between the BART train tracks and Alameda Creek. The park includes the Horseshoe and Rainbow Lakes and has a nice sandy swimming beach, picnic areas on the coast of the lakes, and a large grassy area. The park is popular for fishing, picnicking, and boating and has a network of hiking and biking trails that lead around the lakes and through the surrounding area. The network of trails is connected to the Alameda Creek Regional Trail. Only non-gasoline powered boats are allowed. The area’s Natural Unit is home to the Willow Slough and Lago Los Osos lakes, which are popular for biking, hiking and dog-walking, although no swimming is allowed in those two lakes.

2100 Isherwood Way, Fremont, CA 94536, Phone: 510-544-3130

Old Mission San Jose is a historic Spanish mission founded in 1797 in Fremont, California, by the Franciscan order, at what was then the site of an Ohlone village. It was the 14th mission the Spanish built in California. The mission went into decline after 1833 as a result of the Mexican secularization act, but many of the original structures have since been reconstructed. The old mission church is still in use as a chapel of the Saint Joseph Catholic Church. There is a museum with a visitors center, which offers a slideshow about the mission’s history. Visitors can also see the beautiful old adobe church that was completed in 1809, destroyed in 1868 by an earthquake, and the reconstructed to almost its original appearance. The church has an old rare Spanish organ that is used for concerts. The mission cemetery is located on the north side of the church and is the resting place for many mission pioneers.

43300 Mission Blvd, Fremont, CA 94539

Located in the Fremont’s historic district of Niles, once the heart of the silent movie industry, the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum and Theatre is dedicated to preserving, honoring, and showing silent films and their history, with a focus on the celebrated pioneering movie companies that worked in the Bay Area. The museum is located in the Edison Theater, a historic 100-year-old nickelodeon movie theater. A half a block from the museum is the site of the famous Niles Essanay Studios, where Charlie Chaplin made movies in the 1910s and Bronco Billy filmed several cowboy movies a week in the scenic Niles Canyon.

37417 Niles Blvd, Fremont, CA 94536, Phone: 510-494-1411

Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge is an area of 30,000 acres of open bay, salt marsh, salt pond, mudflat, and vernal and upland pool habitats. It is located in the southern part of San Francisco Bay in California, with its headquarters and visitors center located in Fremont, next to Coyote Hills Regional Park. The refuge mostly stretches along the shore of the verdant marsh north and south of the Dumbarton Bridge. Bair Island, part of San Mateo County, is also part of the refuge. Founded in 1974, the refuge was the first urban National Wildlife Refuge in the US and it is dedicated to protecting, preserving, and enhancing the habitat of wild animals, protecting threatened and endangered animals and migratory birds, and providing wonderful opportunities for nature-oriented recreation and education.

2 Marshlands Rd, Fremont, CA 94555, Phone: 510-792-0222