Day Trippin' › California › From San Jose › Within 2 hours
115 places are worth the drive within 2 hours of San Jose, counted by road time from ZIP 95112: 45 under 1 hour and 70 1 to 2 hours.
The mix leans toward history, hikes and beaches & lakes, mostly to the northwest and south. Two hours each way is the sweet spot for a day trip: you can leave after breakfast and be home for dinner.
The headline places are Lick Observatory, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and Exploratorium, and the closest real day trip is Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge (28 min).
Under 1 hour 1 to 2 hours
Photo: myyorgda, CC BY 2.0
Observatory · 38 min east
Historic hilltop telescopes above San Jose with a long winding road and big views.
Photo: The wub, CC BY-SA 4.0
Theme park · 40 min south
Classic seaside amusement park with a wooden coaster, arcade and a wide beach next door.
Photo: Dennis G. Jarvis, CC BY-SA 2.0
Museum · 55 min northwest
An aquarium, planetarium, rainforest dome and living roof all under one roof in Golden Gate Park.
Photo: Todd Dailey, CC BY-SA 2.0
Zoo · 38 min northwest
Hillside zoo with a gondola, a kids' ride area and a California wildlife section.
Photo: Sanjay ach, CC BY-SA 3.0
Family fun · 38 min south
A quirky roadside attraction where the ground seems to bend gravity and height.
Photo: Bmp713, Public domain
State park · 43 min south
Old-growth redwood loop trail and river trails in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Photo: Matthew Dillon from Hollywood, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0
Hike · 1 hr 15 min northwest
Easy paths through old coast redwoods in a quiet canyon just north of the city.
Photo: Brocken Inaglory, CC BY-SA 3.0
National park · 1 hr 29 min southeast
Spires and talus caves from an ancient volcano, plus condors and good hiking trails.
Photo: Chris6d, CC BY-SA 4.0
Island · 1 hr 38 min northwest
Ferry to the old island prison with an audio tour and big city views.
Photo: Morn (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0
Historic site · 1 hr 53 min north
A riverfront district of Gold Rush and railroad-era buildings with wooden sidewalks, under Tower Bridge.
Photo: Wordydave, CC BY-SA 3.0
Waterfall · 1 hr 57 min south
Short walk to an overlook of an ocean waterfall dropping onto a beach.
Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0
Aquarium · 1 hr 12 min south
World-famous aquarium with kelp forest, jellyfish and sea otters, right on the water.
Our picks, by drive time, include Lick Observatory (38 min), Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (40 min), California Academy of Sciences (55 min), Oakland Zoo (38 min) and Mystery Spot Santa Cruz (38 min). The full list on this page has 115 places, each with its drive time and direction from San Jose.
115 places within 2 hours, 166 within 3 hours and 250 within 4 hours of San Jose, by road from ZIP 95112.
31 of the 115 places need no pass or fee, such as Alamo Square Painted Ladies, Crissy Field Promenade and Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Fees and passes change, so check each place before you go.
107 places are marked good for kids, including Alamo Square Painted Ladies, Alcatraz Island and Angel Island State Park.
They are by real roads on a typical day, from the middle of ZIP 95112 to each place (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Traffic, weather and closures can change them. Places under 25 minutes from the city center count as in town, not a day trip, so they are left out.
Yes. Type your ZIP code into Day Trippin' and it shows everything by drive time. Your ZIP is used for that one search and is not saved.
Drive times are by road on a typical day from ZIP <class 'zip'> (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Facts checked against official sites; passes and hours change, so check before you go.