Los Gatos is a beautiful town located in the San Francisco Bay Area, at the southwest corner of San Jose in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The lovely downtown streets are lined with fancy boutique stores, fine restaurants and art galleries. It is a great town for walking with many parks, tree-lined streets and beautiful Victorian homes.
Here are some excellent things to do when visiting Los Gatos:
Testarossa Winery – This old winery site is only a half mile walk from downtown Los Gatos. The atmosphere is cozy, uncrowded and pleasant. They have wine tasting, a big stone cellar, and a good place to picnic on the outside patio. This is the fourth oldest continuously operating winery in California. It is on the site of the historic Noviate Winery built in 1888!
Summit Road Wineries – If you are looking for a wine tasting experience off the beaten path, you should consider any of the Summit Road Wineries. You can take a great do-it-yourself wine tasting tour by visiting several of the small wineries along Summit Road, just 15 minutes away from Los Gatos. These hidden wine tasting gems are usually more convenient, less crowded, and more affordable!
Los Gatos Creek Trail – This paved trail is over 9 miles long and runs through western Santa Clara County in California. Los Gatos Creek trail offers recreational opportunities for walkers, joggers, bicyclists, skaters, bladers, nature lovers and more. The trail is vibrant and green and often follows a shallow ravine along the parts of the trail closer to Los Gatos.
Oak Meadow Park – The gem of the Los Gatos parks, Oak Meadow Park is a centrally located 12 acre park that has access to Los Gatos Creek Trail, BBQ and picnic facilities, bocci ball courts, large grass fields, shakespeare in the park (during summer), enormous play structures as well as the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad and the W.E Bill Mason Carousel! If you have younger children then this is the perfect park for you! Both the railroad and W.E. Mason Carousel exist as a legacy of Billy Jones and as a means to preserve history and educate the public. All proceeds and donations go to perpetuating the railroad and carousel, as well as maintaining the parks ability to provide educational and entertaining recreation for persons of all ages.
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Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad comes complete with a small engine house, station, clock tower, and turntable. Its main feature is a small, cute, but very real steam locomotive which pulls the open cars. This steam engine, known as “2 Spot”, was built in 1905 and originally served 21 years for the Venice California Municipal Railway.
Bill Mason Carousel is a historical merry-go-round built in England in 1915. It was shipped to the US for the San Francisco Pan-American Exposition and then used in a traveling circus before ending up in Oak Meadow Park.
For some great breakfast and coffee options, check out this blog post that I wrote featuring the most delicious breakfast spots that Los Gatos has to offer!
