Day Trippin' › California › From San Jose › Empire Mine State Historic Park
The drive from San Jose to Empire Mine State Historic Park takes about 2 hr 51 min (north of San Jose), by real roads from ZIP 95112. Along the way we found 101 stops within a short detour: 28 coffee shops, 1 bakeries, 23 ice cream and treats and 29 places to eat.
The list below is the best few of each kind, in driving order, with how far into the drive you reach each one (counted from San Jose) and the detour it adds. Stops marked Our pick are chosen by us; the rest come from OpenStreetMap listings, so confirm hours before you count on them.
Photo: Beej71, CC BY 2.5
Historic site
One of California's richest hard-rock gold mines, with a stone owner's cottage, formal gardens and the old mine yard.
Heads-up: Grounds open at 10 and close at 4 in winter and 5 in summer; closed on major holidays. No dogs in the buildings.
First third Middle third Last third Empire Mine State Historic Park
About 2 hr 51 min by road, heading north from the middle of ZIP 95112. Traffic and weather change that.
Good ones to start with: Dash Coffee and Bakery (Fremont), Mission Pizza (Fremont), Spices Garden (Fremont), Plucked Chicken & Beer (Pleasanton) and Bagel Street Cafe (Pleasanton). The page lists 25 in all, in driving order.
Dash Coffee and Bakery in Fremont, Bagel Street Cafe in Pleasanton, Chip Cookies in Dublin and Boba Bliss in Dublin. Check hours first; they come from OpenStreetMap listings.
Mission Pizza in Fremont, Spices Garden in Fremont, Plucked Chicken & Beer in Pleasanton and Mexico Lindo in Pleasanton.
Glass House Museuem in San Ramon, American Armory Museum in Chadbourne, Pena Adobe Park in Vacaville and Cool Patch Pumpkins in Dixon.
Drive times are by road on a typical day from ZIP <class 'zip'> (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Stops come from our own picks and OpenStreetMap listings; hours and detours change, so check before you go. We do not store anyone's location.