This Bay Area city, located between San Francisco and Silicon Valley, has many tech companies, Japanese gardens, and a popular downtown area with local restaurants.
San Mateo sits between San Francisco and San Jose on the San Francisco Peninsula, offering suburban comfort and easy access to urban areas. Walk through downtown streets framed by early 20th-century buildings that hold more than 800 shops and restaurants. Visit Central Park to see cherry trees framing stone lanterns in its Japanese garden or watch koi fish swim in shaded ponds. At Coyote Point Park, you might spot windsurfers catching bay breezes near interactive science exhibits at CuriOdyssey. The Hillsdale Shopping Center serves as a retail hub, and the city’s position near major tech campuses makes it a convenient stop for Bay Area explorations.
Downtown Shops and Public Spaces
Begin at the downtown core, where 19th and early 20th-century buildings house clothing boutiques, bookstores, and restaurants serving everything from sushi to Neapolitan pizza. Look up to spot curved Art Deco window frames and Victorian-style cornices on brick facades. Stop by family-run markets selling imported matcha and nori, reflecting the area’s Japanese-American roots. Walk eight blocks east to Central Park, where a miniature train takes children through groves of coast redwoods near baseball diamonds. The park’s Japanese garden displays a wooden pagoda surrounded by manicured azaleas and a pond filled with orange-and-white koi.
Parks Along the Bay
Coyote Point Park covers 670 acres along the bay shoreline, with trails giving views of cargo ships moving toward Oakland and small planes approaching San Francisco International Airport. At CuriOdyssey, children can build earthquake-resistant structures in engineering labs or watch river otters dive in freshwater pools. For longer walks, follow the Sawyer Camp Trail’s six-mile route past Crystal Springs Reservoir, where you’ll see the thick trunk of the 600-year-old Jepson Laurel. Cyclists use Seal Point Park’s paved loop to circle grassy fields, and hikers climb Laurelwood Park’s dirt paths to reach views stretching from Mount Diablo to the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Museums and Historical Sites
CuriOdyssey teaches physics through lever-and-pulley experiments and houses rescued foxes in outdoor habitats. The San Mateo County History Museum occupies a 1910 courthouse in Redwood City, with exhibits tracing local innovations from 19th-century dairy farms to semiconductor manufacturing. Pick up a free map for a self-guided tour of downtown’s Peninsula Hotel, noted for its Gothic Revival turrets, and the Central Park Theater’s stucco arches. In Belmont, Ralston Hall’s 1860s ballroom with crystal chandeliers opens for public tours on select weekends at Notre Dame de Namur University.
Local Events and Seasonal Programs
Join city leaders each March for updates on infrastructure projects during the State of the City presentation. Register children in April for summer camps focused on robotics, soccer, or mural painting. From November to January, pick up free sandbags at fire stations to protect homes from winter storms. Check the Downtown San Mateo Association’s website for weekend craft fairs on B Street or evening concerts in Central Park’s amphitheater. Residents can buy discounted compost bins each fall and attend workshops on drought-tolerant gardening.
Getting Around the Area
Major highways connect San Mateo to San Francisco, San Jose, and coastal Half Moon Bay. Ride the Caltrain from downtown stations to reach tech campuses in Mountain View within 25 minutes or San Francisco’s baseball stadium in 35 minutes. SamTrans buses run every 15 minutes to San Francisco International Airport’s terminals. Rent a bike to follow the Bay Trail’s flat route past marshlands, or walk between downtown restaurants and the Hillsdale Shopping Center in 20 minutes.
Weather Patterns and Trip Planning
Pack layers for summer mornings when fog lingers until noon, then clears for sunny afternoons reaching 75°F (24°C) – perfect for sailing lessons at Coyote Point. Winter rains from December to February rarely drop temperatures below 50°F (10°C), making it a good time to tour museums or hike redwood trails without crowds. March brings pink cherry blossoms to Central Park’s garden, and October offers clear days for bay-view picnics. Check tide charts before beach visits, as storm surges occasionally flood low-lying parking lots near the bay.
