Gilroy Gardens Family Activities
Northern California Amusement Park with December Holiday Attraction
Dec 14, 2008
Gilroy Gardens is open on weekends in December with key festive holiday attractions. This fun horticultural amusement park, Gilroy Gardens, is one hour south of San Jose, California in Gilroy, located at 3050 Hecker Pass Highway, west of Highway 101. The amusement park is open on weekends in the spring and fall, and daily June through August. There is a unique Special Holiday Lights display in December. Key holiday attractions are:
- Holiday theme rides
- Charlie Brown Christmas presentations
- Santa’s Workshop
- North Pole Ice Palace
- All-You-Can-Eat Holiday Feast
December admission is $29.95 to visit the Holiday Lights display and $42.99 combination package to see the Holiday Lights display and enjoy a Holiday Feast. Other options are available with the purchase of annual memberships.
What is Gilroy Gardens in Northern California?
Gilroy Gardens, formerly Bonfante Gardens, is a non-profit unique family amusement park dedicated to make available education of horticulture, trees, and teaching everyone about the environment. The park was founded by Michael and Claudia Bonafante, former owner of a grocery store chain in Northern California, Nob Hill Foods, to provide this education to the community.
There are 600 acres in total with approximately 350 acres containing the amusement park area and with 6 splendid gardens to wander, 3 educational exhibits to learn about the California Redwoods, Honey Bees, and Monarch Butterflies, and park rides which weave in and out of the exhibits and gardens. A few of the key features are:
- Circus Trees – one-of-a-kind trees that have been woven with into different shapes many years ago which were grown in the Santa Cruz Mountains. These trees were saved and transported to this park near Gilroy.
- Illions Supreme Carousel – one of only three carousels made by M.C. Illions.
- Pinnacles Rock Maze – created from the idea of the original Pinnacles rock formation located near central coast of California for adults and children to find their way.
- Bonfante Falls – five separate types of waterfalls to learn about or just have good old fashion fun of running through.
- Learning Sheds – sheds located throughout the park for families to learn the history of the Circus Trees, horticulture and environment.
- Sycamore Bridge – Giant Sycamore trees grow next to and through this wood bridge at the entrance of the park.
- Viewing decks – two fantastic view areas of the surrounding scenery throughout the park.
Gilroy Gardens is supported by docent volunteers to guide participants in the park through this complex. This amusement park is designed for children under 10 to understand, however ,adults will learn and have as much fun as children do as they may ride the rides with or without children.
Gilroy Gardens, a unique family fun horticulture amusement park in Northern California, is a open on December weekends with an extraordinary number of special exhibits along with their regular unique attractions there is to see.
To plan a local family day in the Northern California region, go to Santa Cruz, California in the morning and enjoy things to do as mentioned in Santa Cruz Outdoor Attractions and then drive east back over the hill to Gilroy and enjoy the holiday lights at Gilroy Gardens (or simply enjoy the gardens) in the afternoon.
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