Our little family lives in Sacramento which means we have very hot summers and often have to suffer through a lot of smoke and poor air quality due to wildfires. We will often take weekend overnight trips during August and September to escape the heat and get some fresh air in areas where no fires are burning. This past weekend we loaded up the car (including our doggy Holly) and had a short 3 hour road trip to Los Gatos and Santa Cruz for the weekend.

Because our children are currently so young, we don’t get super ambitions with a full itinerary when we travel. Los Gatos is the perfect small town to just take it slow and walk around with a stroller. The central downtown blocks of Los Gatos are known as a great walkable destination with many shops and restaurants to explore.

The temperatures are mild year-round in Santa Clara County so it’s comfortable to spend the majority of your day outside. Because Los Gatos is centrally located in Northern California, it’s a popular weekend destination for many metros areas including San Francisco, San Jose and Sacramento. The folks in the bay area are most likely trying to escape cold foggy days and head into Los Gatos for some sunshine. While the San Jose visitors are looking for that small town charm and then us Sacramento people are trying to get relief from over 100 degrees hot temperatures.

When it comes to traveling with your dog, Los Gatos is a great destination for a weekend trip. There’s great dog-friendly hotels and outdoor activities where your pup is welcome. We stayed at the Toll House Hotel which welcomes doggy guests and is very conveniently located in the heart of Los Gatos downtown. Right across the street is the Los Gatos Town Plaza Park with a large grassy lawn where your dog can go potty.

Kid-Friendly Things To Do in Los Gatos

Walk Through Downtown

Santa Cruz Ave (both North and South) and University Ave are the main downtown streets where you can leisurely walk with the family. You’ll find plenty of restaurants, cafes and boutiques for window shopping. Also for architecture buffs, there’s many quaint little Victorian style houses with beautiful details and flawless landscaping.

During our weekend stay in Los Gatos we walked with the strollers up and down the blocks. For lunch we ate burgers, fries and milkshakes from Main Street Burgers and our dog Holly was welcome on the patio.

For our Sunday morning in Los Gatos we stopped for coffee, chai tea and breakfast at Great Bear Coffee located in downtown Los Gatos. The inside of the cafe is warm and rustic while the outdoor patio is bright and colorful.

Los Gatos Sunday Farmers’ Market

The Los Gatos Famers’ Market happens every Sunday between 9am - 1pm at the Town Park Plaza on Main Street and N. Santa Cruz Avenue. Because our stay was on a Saturday and Sunday we got to experience this lively Farmers’ Market which is located right across the street from the Toll House Hotel. They have many booths with fresh farm produce, vendors selling hot food and local small businesses. We ate fresh tamales from the Oaxacan Tamales booth at the market. During this time they also had a puppet show and activities set up for children to play in the plaza.

Note: Dogs are not allowed into the Farmers’ Market so we had to take turns with the kids and the dog going into the zoned areas.

Old Town Los Gatos Shopping Center

Right in the heart of downtown Los Gatos is the outdoor premium shopping mall known as Old Town Los Gatos. Here you’ll find some of your favorite home, fashion and beauty brands such as Sephora, Anthropologie, Banana Republic, Gap, Sur La Table and more. This is a great walking destination after enjoying a meal downtown. Plus shopping and vacation always go well together!

Oak Meadow Park

Lovingly dubbed the Gem of Los Gatos, Oak Meadow Park is 12 acres of pristine recreation bliss for locals and visitors alike. In the park there’s playgrounds, biking and walking trails, BBQ and facilities, railroad trains, bocci ball courts and grass fields.

Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad & W.E. "Bill" Mason Carousel

Inside Oak Meadow Park this historical amusement park has small scale locomotive trains with open air trains cars that families can ride through the beautiful Oak Meadow and Vasona Parks. There’s also a historical carousel that children can ride. The trains and carousel are open on weekends from 10:30am - 4:30pm. Get more information on their website.

Hiking at Los Gatos Creek Trail

Depending on the ages of your children, you can choose to hike on dirt trails or stroller-friendly paved trails in these Los Gatos parks. The East Main Street trail access point at College Avenue leads to a wide dirt trail heading towards the Lexington Reservoir or the St. Joseph's Hill Open Space Preserve.

For families with strollers you can start hiking the paved trail at the Miles Avenue access point.

Get more information on Los Gatos Creek Trails on their website.

The whole family walking and window shopping in downtown Los Gatos.

Vasona Lake County Park

Vasona Lake County Park incorporates 45 acres of lawn surrounding the Vasona Reservoir body of water. Recreation inside the park includes renting paddle boats and row boats, picnic tables and fishing. This is another great place to enjoy some quality time outdoors with the family.

John Nicholas Trailhead in Sanborn County Park

If your children are older and they can handle a more robust hike, the John Nicholas Trail has some stunning natural beauty views. This trail goes from the Lake Ranch Reservoir to the Sunnyvale Mountain Staging Area in Saratoga which is 3.5 miles one way. This hike is rated difficult with over 1,000 elevation incline on the trail.

Testarossa Dog-Friendly Winery

While wine tasting may not be recommended for families with children, if you’re on a romantic getaway with your dog in tow then you can feel free to bring him with you to Testarosaa Winery. They serve world-class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the historic Novitiate winery in Los Gatos. They recommend you make reservations in advance for your visit.

Day Trip to Santa Cruz from Los Gatos

During our visit to Los Gatos we wanted to enjoy some coastal beach time so we headed to Seabright Beach in Santa Cruz. From the Toll House Hotel it’s a short 30 minute drive to the beach.

I specifically chose Seabright Beach because it is one of the few dog-friendly beaches in the Santa Cruz area. There’s also a paved walking trail along the coastline which is stroller friendly and you’ll see a picturesque lighthouse in the background. We walked along this trail to the Crow’s Nest Beach Market where you can get sandwiches, pizza, ice cream and drinks.