A Day Trip To San Mateo, California
San Mateo may not top the list of places to visit in the Bay Area, but that’s a mistake! I was born in San Mateo County and grew up in nearby Half Moon Bay. My mom used to take me to San Mateo often, and while I don’t remember it all, I always feel happy when I’m there.
We only went for a few hours on this day trip, but you could definitely spend a full day, or even a weekend, here!
Sweetgreen
I first tried Sweetgreen at the start of 2020 and have thought about it constantly since then. After the first visit, I found a recipe online for the exact salad I had and made it about a dozen times because I loved it so much.
A trip to San Mateo is an obligatory lunch at Sweetgreen for me!
It’s like Chipotle, but with salads. You can choose a salad from the menu or completely customize your bowl. They have plenty of vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options to choose from. I've only tried the Shroomami bowl, but highly recommend it!
We got ours to-go and walked a block to the benches outside of the Japanese Garden in Central Park.
Central Park
Photo via Wikipedia
Bet you didn’t know there was a Central Park in California! Or maybe you did? It was a surprise to me. Even though I went often as a kid to play on the playground there, I never knew it was called Central Park (and let’s be honest, I have no memories of this playground from my toddler days.
There’s a large field where people were playing different sports and sitting out on blankets, there are picnic tables if you’d prefer that to sitting on the ground, and as mentioned above, there is also a large playground for kids.
Japanese Garden
The Japanese Garden, located in Central Park, was the main reason for our day trip! It’s open to the public with no fees, tickets, or membership. It’s a small garden, but still a decent size for something that’s free (compared to San Francisco’s Japanese Tea Garden, which costs $10-12/person at the time of writing this).
They have a large koi pond, two lovely bridges, a pagoda, flower trees/bushes, and lush greenery all around. It surprisingly wasn’t very crowded for a weekend and I was able to get plenty of photos without people around me.
Twice a day in Spring/Summer they do scheduled koi feedings for onlookers to watch. We missed it, but make note to check the feeding times if you’re interested in it!
There is also a Japanese Tea House, but I couldn’t find any information on whether they hold tea ceremonies there or if it was just for looks. Took some photos either way!
Japanese Garden Tea house
Adhere to all posted guidelines regarding mask use, pets (no dogs), etc.
Check the San Mateo County website or Google Maps for their opening hours because they close somewhat early. Note that the Google Maps hours were correct and the county website was incorrect the day we went.
Visit: 50 East 5th Avenue, San Mateo, CA
Rose Garden
The rose garden was created by the San Mateo Arboretum Society in collaboration with San Mateo City Parks and Recreation. Their website states that “a team of specifically trained SMAS Rose Volunteers tends to the pruning, dead heading, feeding, watering, and all of the other requirements that are needed to keep rose bushes health [sic] and vibrant.”
There is a beautiful white gazebo surrounded by all the rose bushes. It is a perfect photo spot! I was not able to get photos as there was a group of people taking their own when I walked by, but will definitely be back to get some of my own shots!
