Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Merced County Fair

    4.0 (6 reviews)
    Closed 8:00 am - 12:00 pm, 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM

    Merced County Fair Photos

    You might also consider

    Recommended Reviews - Merced County Fair

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    This site looks a few years old but it's the only one I could find. 6/11/22, my wife and I attended. We parked a block away and walked and it was ok. I observed that there are many Latin teenage gang members at this fair. I felt relieved to see the presence of Merced PD, Merced Sheriff's Department, police cadets, and even a police anti-gang squad group on foot patrol out in force throughout the exterior and interior of the fair. My wife won ribbons for 3 out of 3 of her art paintings. Truly a blessing. The horse racing and bull rides were way cool. We only bought a tasty large horchata there. It's a small quaint fair with a few hours of fun !!

    Lobster and fries. With a nice cold Chelada.

    See all

    11 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of TerceS A.
    0
    216
    910

    4 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Ask the Community - Merced County Fair

    Verify this business for free

    Get access to customer & competitor insights.

    Verify this business

    Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park - Fall things

    Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park

    (1.2k reviews)

    For years, based on the promotional photos I saw, I avoided the Gilroy Gardens (GG) family theme…read morepark. I thought it would be tacky and hyper-commercialized. Curiosity, together with my wife's desire to see the place, finally got the better of me--and I discovered that I had been wrong. GG in my opinion manages to strike the best balance that any such theme park probably can in terms of appealing to the masses while at the same time avoiding the trap of being tacky or hyper-commercialized. The varied rides and exhibits are pleasant and well-maintained. Some are even quite artistic (like the totem poles, illustrated in the image attached here) and educational (like the ecologically oriented Green Barn). If you're already familiar with GG, you don't need me to tell you about it. If you're not, here are a few tips--which might not be obvious to the uninitiated--that might help you better enjoy it: * The lines for the rides can be very long at times. You might end up waiting for an hour before it's your turn. Best to be prepared for that and plan it into your itinerary. * We noticed a small number of people who avoided the lines for all rides, being let in through the back gate/exit. When we asked about this at the Welcome Center, we learned that GG sells yellow wristbands that allow people to skip the long lines and enter through the "back door" (exit). They cost something like $85 per person for the year or about $30 per visit, in addition to the membership fee. * Even with those wristbands, you'll need more than one visit to see and do everything here. Rushing around a lot will spoil the fun. * The food everywhere, as far as we could tell, is pretty bad. You'll be ahead of the game if you pack your own, which will also avoid your waiting in another line. * The big secret, so to speak, of GG is "hidden" in plain sight--in the second word of the name itself, "Gardens." Most visitors are so preoccupied with going on the rides that they miss out on the natural beauty of the gardens. We found Camellia Garden and Claudia's Garden, in particular, to be like sheltered oases of calm and natural beauty within the hustle and bustle of the park. In our opinion, the three most obvious ways in which GG could be improved are as follows: 1. Improve the quality of the food that's offered. With all the traffic the park gets, those concession stands must be worth a small fortune. Either get them to do better or replace them with businesses that will. 2. Design a more user-friendly map. Those who already know their way around don't need a map but for those who don't, the existing map is not sufficiently clear (hint: it probably needs to be larger). 3. Do a better job of training the staff, in terms of both knowledgeability and attitude. Some are quite good (a special shout out to Nina at the Welcome Center and Sean at the Garlic Twirl ride: they exuded both warmth and professionalism) but others, who shall remain nameless, need more training. Minus one star for those deficiencies, as well as for not making it sufficiently clear at the time of the 2026 premium membership purchase that the bring-a-friend tickets that came with the membership had to be picked up almost immediately or they would not be available.

    Review update for the start of 2026 season:…read more I expected the park to be refreshed and in top top shape for the start of the season. They just opened for the season! Unfortunately, I didn't find that was the case. We went during spring break on a weekday, and found it was more packed than usual. With that, it's no surprise considering local schools were on break. What was surprising to me was how dirty some of the rides (the caterpillar is an example) were. I feel like all of the attractions need a good pressure washing and clean up before busy season starts. We were also surprised to learn that they're now a cashless park. I'm not sure when they stopped accepting cash ( I usually use a card ) but wanted to highlight it for visitors to plan accordingly! Will be updating this review later into the season. Fingers crossed they just haven't checked some of the cleaning off the to do list yet!

    Island Waterpark

    Island Waterpark

    (155 reviews)

    If you have young kids this place is great! Plenty of food options. Great for allowing your own…read morefood and snacks in. Cool after hour events for season pass holders. Way better than Wild Water!

    Went to the Fresno Fright Night at the Island. I was not sure how it would be but I was down for…read morethe ride. We went through the first three mazes fairly quickly the first house we tried was a chemical plant. It was missing some actors in spots that really would have hit. I am a scare actor so I was kinda let down more people didn't jump at working this event or maybe could have had call offs or no shows. Either way the set designs were amazing! My fave being the pizza place with animatronics. I loved the kitchen and the ticket redeem counter sooo good! The sliders were good wish there were more. The other highlight of this event was the bayou boat ride! Yes ride I said that. The creative minds turned the lazy river into a swamp bayou. I loved it so much. The price for the entry was too high. $150.00 for three of us and there wasn't re-entry to mazes. Most haunts are cheaper so you can get more people wanting to come. Knott's scary farm is $60, if you have theme park prices there should be theme park type entertainment with scare actors photo ops with them and more scare zones. It was a nice evening fall time event for myself and my teens. I hope to see more progress next year. You can only get scarier We scare because we care

    Moaning Caverns Adventure Park

    Moaning Caverns Adventure Park

    (526 reviews)

    Super fun place that I recommend! The tour was engaging enough, and the cave itself was a really…read morecool experience. Beautiful stalatctites and stalagmites and 100 feet down and up. It wasn't too claustrophobic at all -- but the initial walked down. Could be scary for some people because it's a little bit narrow. But everything is on stairs and steps and paved and you're pretty out in the open once you get down the staircase. It just takes a few minutes to walk down. We paid $25 each for the tour and they also have a crawl tour. You just see the main part of the cave on the $25 tour!

    This was a random find on here when I was looking for things to do or visit while we were in…read moreGroveland for a little weekend getaway. This place was about almost hour away from where we were staying. Booking was pretty easy as I booked our tickets on their website. They have a parking lot so easy to find parking. The drive there was windy from Groveland. They have restrooms, but it's really tight spaces. Staff were friendly. Our tour guide was funny and informative. I don't remember his name. Lol this was back in November. The staircase was crazy!!! My legs were sore for 4 days afterwards!! Omg! Lol It was definitely a fantastic adventure to visit the cavern and to walk that down deep underground. Pricing was okay. I think it was like 20 or 30something per person. They took a group photo of us, which I ended up buying. Lol They also have a small gift shop when you exit with memorabilia and little Knick-knacks. If you happened to be near the area, I would say it's a great place to visit! Probably better for adults or teens. It's harder for little kids or elderly people because of the stairs. We saw a mom carry her child. Such a strong mommy! Kudos!

    Great Wolf Lodge - Manteca

    Great Wolf Lodge - Manteca

    (1.3k reviews)

    My kids had the best time! I have two boys (11 and 7), and we went for my 7-year-old's birthday. I…read morealways said I'd never take them to Great Wolf Lodge, but my April baby always wants a "pool" party--and it's usually cold or rainy--so I gave in. Prices were actually reasonable, so we booked Sunday-Tuesday. Check-in lines were long, but the self-serve kiosk was quick and easy. We got wristbands for the room and water park and headed straight to the pool. It was packed Sunday around 5 p.m., which was expected, so we stayed a couple hours and went back to the room. Food inside the hotel was either closed or overpriced, but the location is great--about 0.5 miles from Panda Express, Chili's, Costco, La Estrella (amazing Mexican food), and more. We ate at Chili's. Parking is $20/day. You can use the water park from check-in day through checkout, which is awesome. My 11-year-old loved the Howlers Peak Ropes Course. My 7-year-old and I tried it, but he got scared at the top--staff helped him down right away. I don't blame him, it's high! I only did the first level, but my 11-year-old did the second level three times. My 7-year-old also loved the arcade. Most attractions cost extra, but there are decent deals. The only ones I wouldn't do again are mini golf and bowling--they're very small and just okay. We had the unlimited family pass, so we used them anyway. Best part: the slides! I'm 32 and my husband is 34, and we had just as much fun as the kids. Big or small, all the slides were a blast. Honestly, one of our favorite family vacations. The room (Grizzly Suite) was clean and spacious for 3 adults and 2 kids. Beds weren't super comfortable, but that's typical. Cleanliness mattered most. Checkout was easy via text, but double-check your bill--they tried to charge us $60 for "missing" towels we returned. A quick call got it refunded, but I can see how others might miss that. Overall, we'll likely be back within the next year.

    My bestie raved about this Great Wolf Lodge and her past visits with her family. We planned this…read moretrip on our kid's second week of Spring break and was hoping it would be quieter since we planned on going during the week. Easter weekend coming earlier this year I'm sure didn't help. We made the most of it. We booked a standard family suite for 3 nights. We added their breakfast club buffet for our time here and an unlimited eat and play package. The indoor Waterpark is included with your stay here. Our beds were comfortable, but the restrooms could use a vent and a deep clean about the shower itself. (See picture). I was emailed an offer to extend, bummed that when we tried calling the front desk. No one picked up and then we waited over 20 minutes to have an older lady working front desk that there was nothing left, so she's not sure why I got an email to extend. Room rates are cheaper when you book in advance or plan for longer stays, but overall we still spent a lot here. We should have just gone to Disneyland this time around. I like that it's convenient and they offer dining and booze on property, but like anywhere there's convenience; you pay the cost for that. We did everything we could possibly do with our kids here and they still spent most of their time at the arcade. The prizes and the ability to win more tickets were amazing. We were bummed our son wasn't more excited for the MagiQuest and the other activities offered on property. It was crowded everywhere we went here no matter what time of day it was. I recommend downloading their app to reserve tables, preorder food and drinks. We dined at their buffet for our breakfast club deal and they offered a little more than a continental breakfast with their omlet station. I made it a point to load up on protein and fiber. There weren't any employees that stuck out to me besides the gift shop ladies. They were actually friendly besides the guy that ran the buffet in the morning. Thank you. We enjoyed our trip here besides the crazy crowds. Our next trip we'll plan for an off season.

    Merced County Fair - amusementparks - Updated May 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...