Alviso

The historic bayside neighborhood transports visitors to the decades before San Jose earned its reputation as the Capital of Silicon Valley. Alviso once served as San Jose’s port city and the now closed Bayside Canning Company (once the 3rd largest cannery in the US) serves as a reminder of that history.

Beyond Alviso’s Historic District, exploration awaits at Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, the first urban wildlife refuge in the United States. The refuge includes 30,000 acres of open bay, salt ponds, salt marsh, mudflats and a ghost town. The ghost town Drawbridge is accessible via the Union Pacific Railroad Tracks and beckons many curious travelers.

Shove away from land and float through the reeds on a kayak from Laine’s Baits and Rentals, enjoying the marsh birds and narrow waterways that connect into the San Francisco Bay.