The Best Amusement Parks Within Driving Distance Of San Jose, California

Keeping the family entertained over the summer break can sometimes feel like a daunting chore, even if you are lucky enough to have time off work while the weather is hot. How do you strike the right balance between keeping the kids busy with activities, letting them occupy themselves, and cutting back the dreaded screen time to a minimum? One sure-fire winner is taking them for a day out, and a trip to an amusement park is always a great release valve for boredom and pent-up energy after time spent hanging out around the neighborhood. If you happen to be in the San Jose area during the summer holidays (or any other time you fancy giving the family a treat), this part of Northern California has plenty to choose from.

San Jose is a pretty good place to visit any time of the year, especially if you have children. In 2023, the city was ranked second in the United States as the best place to live for families by U.S. News. There is also a superb variety of attractions around the Bay Area within a short drive of downtown suitable for all age groups, ranging from kiddy rides and petting zoos for toddlers to more adventurous thrills for teens and grown-ups. Here are five of the best amusement parks in the vicinity of San Jose worth seeking out during summer break.

Spruced with new attractions and a new name, the popular San Jose water park formerly known as Raging Waters re-opened as Calibunga in the 2024 summer season. For many locals of the Bay Area, the original has been one of the go-to places to cool off in hot weather since it first opened in 1985. The revamp was met with joy and the current incarnation of this watery summer paradise boasts 23 acres of attractions ranging from kiddy-friendly play areas to white-knuckle water slides for older thrill seekers, making it the largest water park in northern California.

The little ones will love Pirate's Cove and gentle beginner's slides like the Little Dipper, and everyone can enjoy floating idly along the winding Endless River. Older kids have a few some exciting mid-level attractions such as the Dragon's Den, which sends riders swirling around the inside of a giant bowl before shooting them out through the bottom. At the top end of the intensity scale, daredevils of the family will be queuing up to test their nerve on show-stoppers like the Barracuda Blaster and Shotgun Falls.

Located just a 20-minute drive from downtown San Jose, other quality of life improvements at the new park include cabanas, better dining options, and more shade for those sunny days by the pool. Food is fairly standard theme park fare with pizza, burgers, wings, and a variety of food trucks. Grown-ups will also appreciate two bars serving wine, cocktails, and cold beers.

Located next door to the home of the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara is California's Great America, a theme park with a huge range of rides and attractions. The venerable 100-acre site (originally opened in 1976) bills itself as "Northern California's Premier Amusement Park." Whether it lives up to that bold claim is a matter of personal choice, but there is little denying that it makes for a great family day out. It is home to the centerpiece Gold Striker, a nostalgic wooden roller coaster that reaches teeth-rattling speeds of 54 miles per hour, and Flight Deck, renowned as one of the best roller coasters in California. 

If you're a roller coaster fan, other highlights include the intense RailBlazer and the Demon with its corkscrews and tunnels. If you prefer your rides of the spinning variety, head over to the vomit-inducing Delirium or more sedate classic swing chairs and carousels. It's not all about rides at Great America; visitors also have giant 3D simulators (Mass Effect: New Earth), themed live entertainment, seasonal events, and a selection of shops for souvenirs and snacks. Access to Planet Snoopy for smaller kids and South Bay Shores Waterpark are included in the price of admission. Dining options are pretty much what you'd expect with hot dogs, fried chicken, churros, ice cream, pizza, and NorCal favorites like burritos and nachos.

We perhaps tend to associate amusement parks with junk food cartons and crass commercialism, but Gilroy Gardens is a place that at least tries to combine family fun with an appreciation of nature and an awareness of climate crisis. The non-profit organization is the passion project of Michael Bonfante, who bought 500 acres at the site in the mid-1980s and turned it into a sanctuary for trees from all over the world. Realizing he also needed something other than greenery to bring in visitors, he started adding rides, lakes, a railway, and other attractions to create one of the most unique theme parks in the United States. 

Now the park spreads over 26 acres, dotted with more than 40 rides and other attractions surrounded by over 10,000 trees. Many of the rides stick to the loosely eco-feel of the park with names like the Artichoke Dip, Banana Split, and the Garlic Twirl. Lakeside Splash, with cabanas equipped with TVs so nobody misses the game while the kids are having fun, was added to previous water-based attractions in 2024 to make the park even more appealing in the summer months. When it's time to eat, the gastronomy at Gilroy Gardens is a little more varied than many of its competitors — check out Lakeside Smokehouse for BBQ, Uncle John's Grill for Teriyaki kebabs, Skeels for Chicken and Waffles, or Sugar Plum Farm for baked treats.

If you like your amusement parks of the old-school variety, you could do much worse than head down to the boardwalk of this popular beach. Located a comfortable 40-minute drive from San Jose in the beautiful beach city of Santa Cruz, the famous boardwalk is California's oldest theme park. First opened in 1907, it has been entertaining generations of Californians for over a century and two of its most beloved rides, the Giant Dipper roller coaster and the Looff Carousel, are National Historic Landmarks. The entire Boardwalk has also been designated a California Historic Landmark.

A visit to the Boardwalk is a traditional day out by the seaside at its best. The entire amusement park runs parallel with the golden sandy beach, so you can hear the rattle and whoosh of roller coasters and the cries of delighted thrill seekers while basking in the sun — possibly the most nostalgic summer sound in the world! The Boardwalk is free to enter and rides are pay-as-you-go, so you can enjoy the carnivalesque atmosphere without spending a penny if you wish. If you plan to ride, however, unlimited passes are probably the way to go. Many are familiar classics such as the spinning Cyclone, Double Shot tower drop, and Wurlitzer-like WipeOut. All your favorite seaside snacks and drinks are available, too — will you start with an ice cream cone, cotton candy, corn dog, or maybe a root beer float?

You won't need to travel very far to reach this last destination — Happy Hollow Park & Zoo is located in Kelly Park in central San Jose. First opening its doors all the way back in 1961, it is a attraction geared towards smaller visitors with cute and colorful rides such as the Danny the Dragon railway and Keep-Around carousel. Older kids might be a little disappointed with the thrills available here, where even the Pacific Fruit Express roller coaster pretty tame compared to some of the more intense rides at larger amusement parks in the area. However, the park should provide plenty of fun for little ones and the selection of animals in the two separate zoo areas will delight visitors of all ages.

Zoo on the Hill leans more towards domesticated animals with sheep, goats, chickens, and guinea pigs, plus parrots and anteaters, while the more crowd-pleasing creatures like the jaguar and American Alligator can be spotted at Zoo in the Hollow. There is also an ever-popular petting zoo on site and hands-on experiences led by a team of ambassadors focus on educating children about wildlife and conservation in an engaging way. The park is also home to Puppet Castle Theater, one of the oldest of its kind in California, and you can book ahead for a birthday celebration with a guest appearance from Danny the Dragon. All in all, Happy Hollow Park & Zoo is a great day out for families with younger children.

To create this list of the best amusement parks within easy reach of San Jose we have considered a range of opinions including user reviews (Google, Yelp, etc.) and local media outlets like ABC7 News. We are also aware that ranking the "best" of anything is a very subjective task and one person's idea of a heavenly family day out can be a hellish experience for others. Therefore, we have sought to provide a good variety of recommendations in this article, ranging from blockbuster theme parks to more sedate attractions that are better suited to younger visitors. We hope these short overviews will give you some idea of what you can expect to enjoy during a visit.