My husband brought us here. We loved our time. So great that…read morethey sold cold water !!! We enjoyed the train ride so nice and we were the only ones since we came in a week day! I'm looking forward to coming back and bringing more family. Great photos and the ride is definitely worth the price.

Came here on a Saturday morning around 11am. Tickets for train and carousel is $5 per person and…read morefree for kids 2 and under. The train ride is less than 10 minutes with no cover so we brought our hats. It's a quick ride and you pass by the parking lot and a park. My girls enjoyed it. After we played by the nearby park. There is a bathroom close to the train ticket booth and lots of tables to enjoy a snack or even lunch. They were just starting the grill to cook the food for lunch but our girls were hungry so we left to get food elsewhere.

10/10 -- Worth Every Penny (Parlor/Dome Car Experience)…read more If you're considering the Niles Canyon Train of Lights, do yourself a favor and splurge on the Parlor Car or Dome car. It completely transforms the experience. From the moment you board, you're treated like a VIP: dedicated seating in a fully enclosed caboose, attentive service throughout the ride, and complimentary warm drinks and sweets that are perfect for a cold, wet winter night. Being waited on while rolling through a glowing canyon? Yes, please. One of the biggest perks is having your own reserved space, while still being free to explore the rest of the train--knowing your seat is secure and shared only with fellow Parlor Car Riders. It strikes the perfect balance between comfort and adventure. I've done both the 4:30 pm and 7:30 pm departures, and while both are enjoyable, 4:30 pm is the clear winner for me. You get to take in the scenery before the sun fully sets, which adds a magical transition from daylight to twinkling lights. The 7:30 pm ride feels more social and cozy--great for lingering conversations with family and friends--but the earlier ride lets you truly appreciate your surroundings. As for the cost, it's important to note that this railway is 100% donation-funded and entirely volunteer-operated. Knowing that every dollar goes directly toward preserving the historic railway, maintaining the trains, and supporting the volunteers who make this experience possible makes the price feel even more justified. You're not just paying for a ride--you're supporting a piece of living history. Bottom line: Cozy Thoughtfully curated For a great cause Perfect for winter evenings If you're on the fence about the Parlor Car or Dome Car upgrade--it's absolutely worth it.

All aboard! If you…read moreare looking for a low key outing that's suitable for all ages then consider booking a ride on Niles Canyon Railway. Enjoy a slow ride Sunol to downtown Niles and back, approx 1.5 hours. A docent will share tid bits of history during the ride. There are snacks for purchase and you can bring your own. I prepared a simple charcuterie for me and mom, gotta have something to nosh on as we enjoy the view. It's June and the hills are brown already but oh well it's still pretty. I was a little worried about whether my mom would struggle boarding the train as I didn't book ADA as she is not in wheelchair. The steps are slightly deeper than ours at home but she made it up without difficulty, there is a railing for support. Conductor did offer us to go to the car with the lift if we wanted. My next anxiety was holding up the boarding as mom navigated the stairs slowly and there quite a few people behind us. Everyone was patient thankfully and no one scoffed. Would love to do their holidays lights ride sometime but I haven't been successful in last few years to get tickets, they go fast.

Have you ever done the, "make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich" dance? If you haven't, you…read moreshould. You grab the ingredients, you spread on the toppings with both arms, and you dance it all around. That is how we got warmed up to race. Parking, at 7:15 was fast and right across the street: $10 Packet pick-up: Easy cheesy. Porto potties: At least they had them, right? Bag check: Free! They have a security guard watching over them. Obstacles: An adult playground. There was a back-up at the first obstacle, as they wanted people to get into groups of 8. That wasn't working, so it was more like awkward waves. A large bouncy pad with about 6 semi-tall barriers you launch yourself over. It was surprisingly challenging. There were: Two elevated slip & slides into shallow pools of water. One was supposed to have foam but it wasn't pumping correctly. A huge swirling cross pad, you had to run with it or against it along a narrow platform. Inflated balls that you had to balance and jump across. I made it onto the first one and couldn't stand up to launch to the next, so I flung off the side and laughed as I bounced to the ground. An inner tube water slide into a pool of water. A leap of faith onto an inflated bulls eye. Two huge rotating balls that chased you, as you tried to run across a slippery plank. I almost made it but lost my footing on the last step, splooosh! Two large stair/rope climbs to slides. The last one will give you a wedge. We only waited a couple of minutes to take an optional finisher photo and they handed us our medals. I love the photo opportunities, you scan your bracelet before you get onto the obstacle and they snap a picture of you. Bouncy, bouncy,..fun, fun, fun, fun, fun.

My 3rd year doing this and second at this location, safe to say I won't be doing it again…read more - ''Jump balls'' were not inflated properly. As soon as I stepped onto it I sunk so far I could feel the ground underneath my feet. I'm not exactly heavy either at 102lb. ''Jumping'' from one to the other was in no way possible nor an option. That's some lass ass bs excuse of an obstacle. Previous years this has been my favorite. - No foam on the ''Foam of Fury'', just water. Seriously?! - Not enough water on the ''Cool'' Running's''. Out of the 40 or so people that I saw tried to go down it they all had to get off and walk to the the end (where you are supposed to land in the pool) because friction had them stop. Myself included. Lame. - VIP entry I got my tech shirt upgrade but Hubs didn't. + You actually got a medal this year. + Vendors after the event handing out drinks. Neutral: You had a tag on your wristband which you swipe at obstacles to indicate you wanted your picture taken. I'm neutral on this because for the price of the registration fee I feel this should be included. My advice for the event organizers - Have the obstacles as advertised and either 1. reduce the price of registration (upwards of $65 plus fee's for a 5k is obscene) 2. Add more obstacles.

I visited Winterfest last weekend and had a great time with my family. Many other families and kids…read morevisited as well, it was traffic entering the parking lot. As a Gold Pass member, I was really happy to get free parking + park entry for Winterfest. Winterfest ran from 4pm-10pm and we stayed nearly the entire time. We mostly visited just to take pictures with the decorations, tree, and the lights, and we were not disappointed. Seeing as there aren't many Christmas activities in the South Bay (outside of Christmas in the Park in DTSJ and Santana Row), I recommend visiting for the holidays! Since I didn't have to pay for park entry, I splurged a little on the holiday foods. The beignets were my favorites of the holiday foods, but pretty pricey at $6 each. The hot chocolate was hit or miss, depending on where you bought it. The funnel cake was good, but too sweet after a while. (Highly recommend splitting that with as many ppl as possible bc of how sweet it is haha) Dress warmly and have fun!

To be honest, I wasn't expecting much as I've been to Great America back when it was THRIVING like…read moreParamount's Great America. When we had Top Gun, Vortex, and a working IMAX theater. Well we had family coming and they were interested in coming and luckily they took advantage of the Black Friday sale. So for about $20 a ticket plus $20 parking it was a bargain. So make sure you buy tickets when it's Black Friday! Parking is organized. Just be wary that if you come right at opening, it's a long line to get in but there's plenty of parking. There are areas for folks who just want to be dropped off. After getting scanned for your tickets, you're basically on your way. There's a gigantic ice rink in the front, of course you have to pay extra, but all the rides are free. We just kind of went to the first ride right away and I guess everyone does this. I forgot how rickety wooden rollercoasters are. Yeah I was not doing so well after that one. But I rallied. It was a little long wait but it wasn't atrocious (there's another ride which was). Demon is as great as it was how I remembered. There's just so much variety in that ride. It has great ride to thrill payoff. Now we went to Flying Eagles which...took forever like...the niece really really wanted to ride it so we waited. Unluckily for us, someone had an accident as we approached the front of the line and that delayed us even more. I think we ended up waiting like 1.5 hours? Yeah. Not worth it. So go here first if you want to ride it without the wait. It did get a bit cold, so make sure you bring jackets. There are a lot of non-rides to enjoy like pretty lights and singers/dancers on different stages as well as themed food for Winterfest. It was quite expensive for food. The funnel cake I believe almost cost $20. But hey...gotta get delicious funnel cake and it fed 5 people so not too shabby. The lines are a little crazy, food prices are a little extravagant, but as long as you know what you're getting into, it's actually much more fun than I thought it would be especially for the Black Friday price which was well worth it. I would totally go again but I hear they're shutting down Great America soon. So I got lucky to at least experience this once. But if it is open still this year, I'd totally go again.

we waited 2 hours and the ride broke down right before we had to go on. had to exit using fast…read morelane. if we waited that long, they should of at least gave us first pick when the ride gets back up. very dissapointed.

A single track thrill ride at Great America, this ride is super exciting dropping you with a…read morestraight to the ground drop at the very beginning. This ride is pretty smooth but you will experience significant gravity force against your body as you get tossed around, inverted, and thrust out of your seat into the restraints on this 40 second roller coaster. Unfortunately, the wait for this ride is at least 1 hour and much longer unless you get here right at the beginning of the day. If you plan on riding, I would highly recommend getting into the queue in the beginning of your day. That way the rest of your day can be spent waiting in 'less busy' lines. Lol!

A great spot where locals hang out by the water, fish, bike & hike the trails…read more You can get up in the mountains or walk as far as you want to from the trailheads.

I have come here countless times over the years. It's one of my favorite spots. It's peaceful, not…read moreoverly crowded, and has a really calming, almost zen feel to it. The views of the water and surrounding hills make it a great place to reset for a bit. Perfect for a quiet walk, light hike, or just getting away from the noise for a while.

The classic mouse type coasters usually I'm not really a fan of these types of rides but this one…read moreis by far the best one I've ever ridden on! This mouse coaster is one of 4 mouse coasters ever built by Arrow Development this coaster is soo well built that it was more expensive that most of your typical mouse coasters so not that many of them ever got created making this one ride very unique! This is by far the best of the mouse coasters I have ever ridden as it's smooth and not so jerky like most other models are it's also a neat little design as it feels like it has more drops and just an all around tighter track layout then other companies models! This ride really is a gem in Great America as it's super fun and perfect for all ages just make sure you get to it kinda early because the line gets very long on busy days as everyone wants to enjoy this Arrow classic!

This line is somewhat long for the most part as it appeals to more the kids and built by Arrow. I…read morereally do not like this ride as it is not smooth and really jerky and shakes you up and down and then when it turns it jerks you side to side which is an uncomfortable ride. Definitely a ride that needs to go away for sure as Arrow is defunct and parts are hard to come by. It is in the back of the park.

The reservoir is pretty nice, you can see large bass patrolling territory on the dam side if you…read morewake up early enough and carp school in the morning too. Come 9 am on Saturday the Sunnyvale Rod and Gun Club opens and it is a busy range, so expect to hear distant gunfire. The reason why this rating is lower than average is because some of the people on the reservoir have a lower than average iq. Normally everyone here is respectful but this morning I watched some paddle-boarder head right for some fisherman's line.. the reservoir is massive with so much space.

It's a beautiful park with trail heading to a reservoir. Parking $6…read more We walked through Tony Look trail to the dam. It's mostly flat except for a short road towards the dam. Too bad you can't walk around the dam, the trail makes a loop halfway around the dam.