Fremont, CA Road Trips

Unlike most sprawling suburbs, Fremont was planned and designed to be the way it is. In the 1950s, fearing that they would be annexed by the growing city of Hayward to the north, eight very small towns decided to unite to avoid annexation. Two towns (Alvarado and Decoto) closest to Hayward quickly incorporated into Union City. The six remaining towns got together and extensively planned how things would be. Space was allocated for industry and for homes. Space for roads large enough to support the massive traffic flows was set aside. One of the small towns (Newark) dropped out of the coalition because it was slated to become an industrial zone. The five remaining towns -- Centerville, Niles, Irvington, Mission San Jose, and Warm Springs, from north to south -- annexed all the surrounding land to form the City of Fremont in 1956. The oldest of the small towns was Mission San José, named for a Spanish mission founded in 1797. When this Mission was founded it was named "La Mision del Gloriosisimo Patriarch San José" in honor of St. Joseph. It is sometimes incorrectly called the Mission San José de Guadalupe, after "El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe" founded (1777) 20 miles south near the Guadalupe River, which became the present day city of San Jose. Fremont has been multicultural since its inception, and is home to dozens of immigrant communities and a broad range of ethnicities. Today's visitor is likely to hear half a dozen languages spoken even during a fleeting trip through the city.

1 Ardenwood Historic Farm, 34600 Ardenwood Blvd. Tu-Su 10AM-4PM. Ardenwood is a 200-acre working farm founded in 19th century and was the home of gold miner and sharecropper George Patterson. On Thursdays through Sundays, park staff and volunteers dress in Victorian costumes and demonstrate farm chores. Visitors can help with the crops, visit the farm animals, ride a hay wagon or horse-drawn train, and observe a blacksmith at work. Tu W Sa Adults $2, Children $1; Th F Su Adults $5, Children $4. 2 Fremont Central Park and Lake Elizabeth, 40000 Paseo Padre Parkway, ☏ +1 510 790-5541. Huge park south of the Fremont BART station (bounded by Paseo Padre Pkwy, Stevenson Blvd, and the Union Pacific Railroad) with paved trails around Lake Elizabeth and with Mission Peak as backdrop. Great for a picnic, kite-flying or exercise. Aqua Adventure water park anchors the south side of the park (off Paseo Padre near Grimmer). Moving north on Paseo Padre, one finds the Community, Senior, and Visitor Centers, respectively. Boat rentals available at the Boathouse near the Visitor Center. Along the Stevenson Blvd edge of the park are the Fremont Main Library and Police Department. The north side of the park supports 6 softball fields, 10 soccer/football fields, and 18 tennis courts. 3 Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge (Take SR84 west toward the Dumbarton Bridge. Go south at the Thornton Exit. After a quarter mile, turn right onto Marshlands Rd.), ☏ +1 510 792-0222.

1 Alameda Creek Trail (Niles Staging Area on Old Canyon Road). 5AM-10PM. This 12-mile-long bike trail follows the Alameda Creek flood-control channel from the hills to the bay. The paved trail is entirely car-free thanks to underpasses beneath each cross-street. About two miles from the bay, you can go to Coyote Hills for a good view. From there, you can proceed south to the Don Edwards Wildlife refuge, and then west to the bike lane over the Dumbarton Bridge. Starting from the easternmost point on the trail (at the Niles Staging Area on Old Canyon Road) means that you will generally go downwind last when you are most tired. 2 Aqua Adventure Water Park, 40500 Paseo Padre Pkwy (north of Grimmer in Fremont Central Park), ☏ +1 510 494-4426. 3 Coyote Hills Regional Park, 8000 Patterson Ranch Rd. Apr-Oct 8AM-8PM, Oct-Apr 8AM-6PM. Good place for hiking, biking, picnicking, and wildlife viewing. Isolated small hill near the bay with a great view of San Francisco on a clear day. $6 per motor vehicle. 4 Mission Peak. A great place for a challenging hike where you are rewarded with a very nice view of the Bay Area. The peak overlooks the Santa Clara valley and the Bay. To the east you can see Livermore and on a clear day, the Sierra Nevada. Bring a coat in the Fall and Winter. From Mission Peak, the Ohlone Regional Wilderness Trail leads through Sunol Wilderness and Ohlone Wilderness to Del Valle Regional Park and the Livermore area. 5 Niles Canyon Railway, 37001 Mission Blvd.

Many restaurants cater to Fremont's large immigrant community. Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian, and Afghani food are very common. 1 Pearl Bay Restaurant, 43635 Boscell Rd (Auto Mall Pkwy to Boscell Rd on the western edge of the Pacific Commons complex), ☏ +1 510-573-1174. Large restaurant quite popular for expensive (from $300 to over $1000 per table) Chinese banquets. Serves also wide array of Chinese dishes and great dim sum. Suitable for special occasions. Moderate. 2 Country Way, 5325 Mowry Ave (Between Farwell and I-880. Enter from Farwell.), ☏ +1 510 797-3188. This restaurant is of notoriety for Fremont residents. Ask anybody and they will tell you that this place has the best, most filling meals. Especially for breakfast. 3 De Afghanan, 37405 Fremont Blvd (Centerville), ☏ +1 510 745-9599. (updated Feb 2026) 4 Dino's Family Restaurant, 36930 Fremont Blvd (just north of Thornton Ave.), ☏ +1 510 792-6533. Be sure not to confuse this with Dina's Family Restaurant on 40800 Fremont Blvd. Dino's is a charming "mom & pop" American food diner: complete with friendly staff, plentiful portions, and very reasonable prices. Don't be surprised when you're called "dear" or "sweetheart," here. 5 Fu Lam Moon, 40460 Albrae St (west on Stevenson exit from I-880), ☏ +1 510 668-1333. M-F 11AM-2:30 5PM-midnight, Sa-Su 10AM-3PM 5PM-midnight. A fine place for dim sum on weekends from about 10AM-2PM. Not recommended for regular meals. 6 King Noodle, 39226 Argonaut Way (between Mowry and Walnut, in the Fremont Hub), ☏ +1 510 795-2888. Daily 9AM-9PM.

Bars are few and far between in Fremont, and nightlife is practically nonexistent. However, there is a large number of coffee and bubble tea shops in Fremont.

1 Courtyard Fremont Silicon Valley, 47000 Lakeview Blvd, ☏ +1 510 656-1800, fax: +1 510 656-2441. $139–199. 2 Days Inn Fremont, 46101 Warm Springs Blvd, ☏ +1 510 656-2800. Check-in: 2PM, check-out: 11AM. 3 Fremont Marriott Silicon Valley, 46100 Landing Parkway, ☏ +1 510-413-3700. Check-in: 4PM, check-out: 11AM. This hotel has indoor pool and 24 hour fitness center. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. 4 Hampton Inn, 6500 Landing Parkway, ☏ +1 510 498-1900. 5 Hyatt Place Fremont/Silicon Valley, 3101 West Warren Ave (Exit no. 12 off of I-880), ☏ +1 510 623-6000. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: noon. Free breakfast, 24/7 Gallery Market, and free wifi. 6 La Quinta Inn and Suites, 46200 Landing Parkway, ☏ +1 510 445-0808. Good free breakfast, free high-speed internet in some rooms, but call the local number to make sure you are really getting one of the right rooms--don't rely on the description when booking on the web. 7 Lord Bradley's Inn, 43344 Mission Blvd, ☏ +1 510 490-0520, fax: +1 510 490-3015. 8 Motel 6 Fremont North, 34047 Fremont Blvd, ☏ +1 510 793-4848, fax: +1 510 791-8170. This chain is a great cheap place to stay when you're out in the middle of nowhere on a highway. And usually terrible in major cities. Fremont resembles the latter. 9 Residence Inn Fremont Silicon Valley, 5400 Farwell Pl, ☏ +1 510 794-5900, fax: +1 510 793-6587.

Oakland Airport (OAK IATA) is about 20–40 minutes away by car via I-880 depending on the time of day. Rush hour traffic will almost certainly take 30–40 minutes, but most other times it is a very quick 15-20 minute drive. You can also take BART—the Bay Area's rapid transit system—which runs directly to Fremont. San Jose Airport (SJC IATA) is about half an hour away via I-880 or I-680. During commute hours the traffic can be horrific along 880, but 680 is often faster. You can also take a bus directly to the Milpitas BART station, and then go from there to Fremont. San Francisco International Airport (SFO IATA) is about 45–60 minutes away via US101 and SR84 (the Dumbarton Bridge; $7 as of 2022), or via 101 to 84 to US92 (the San Mateo–Hayward Bridge; $7 as of 2022) to 880. This is the most difficult airport to get to and is also has more flight delays than other airports in the area. However, it is one of the largest and busiest airports in the world, so there are likely to be more airlines and more flight options going into and out of SFO. Avoid SFO if you can get a flight direct to Oakland or San Jose instead. There is a BART station in SFO which can take you to Fremont in about an hour and a half.

The geography of city of Fremont and its street system is defined by the bay to the west and the hills to the east. Mission Blvd runs along the hills and most streets more or less perpendicular to it have address numbers increasing as you move away from Mission Blvd. Most streets running more or less parallel to the hills have address numbers in the five digits in Fremont, increasing as you move further south (e.g., 40000 is near Stevenson Blvd and represents roughly the 400th block from Lake Merritt, Oakland). Locals call streets running parallel to I-880 north-south streets, although they are more like northwest-southeast. Fremont Blvd is the main street running more of less parallel to the hills, cutting straight through the middle of the city of Fremont, making a turn at Irvington. In the middle part of city of Fremont, the major streets are on a grid, with Fremont Blvd and Blacow Rd one mile apart. Perpendicular to them, Central Ave, Mowry Ave, and Stevenson Blvd are also one mile apart, on the bay side of Fremont Blvd. Driving is the preferred method for getting around. Fremont streets are usually easy to navigate as difficult intersections were re-engineered for efficiency several decades ago, though some corridors such as Mission Blvd remain moderately congested. The major freeways through Fremont are the bayside Nimitz (I-880) and the inland I-680. Although the two freeways are only a mile apart in Fremont-Warm Springs, they do not intersect.

Fremont has a very low crime rate, and the crime that does happen is pretty much spread evenly throughout the city. Theft of valuables from cars is the most common crime in Fremont, and the incidence of this is highest at shopping centers like the Hub and Pacific Commons, so make sure that your car is always locked whenever you're not in it.