Is Alviso California worth visiting?

As the Talking Heads might say, you may find yourself in Silicon Valley on a business trip, to see a show at the Levi Stadium, or maybe you just happen to live here and are looking for something to do. I think you should check out Alviso! It’s an interesting place to spend a couple of hours for a change of pace in Silicon Valley, and it IS worth visiting!

By the way, if you happen to take the Amtrak Capitol Corridor train from San Jose towards Sacramento, you will pass right through Alviso and get great views of the salt ponds there! For a related story, click here to check out my Amtrak California Zephr review!

History Lesson

Alviso is a section of northern San Jose on the southernmost end of the San Francisco Bay. It was founded in 1852 and was an important shipping port. As the railroads took over more and more in the late 1800’s, Alviso’s booming shipping business waned.

In the early 1900’s the third largest cannery in the US, Bayside Canning Company, thrived in Alviso. Bayside Canning Company was the first to can green asparagus! Who knew? The Cannery’s owner Thomas Foon Chew, became known as The Asparagus King. Abe Froman, Sausage King of Chicago, eat your heart out!

You can still see the ruins of the cannery today. Next door you can see the Union Warehouse, used for storage during the same time. The Union Warehouse has a sign posted with a phone number and you can rent it out for parties!

In the 1930s, Alviso developed a reputation as a dodgy place where you could gamble and have a wild time. Alviso was rolled into San Jose in 1968. Floods destroyed many structures in the 1980s. Nowadays, Alviso has a population of over 2000. It is on the Nation Register of Historic Places. There are lots of signs and plaques scattered around to help you learn about the history as you wander around.

Now a few of the historic buildings remain, as I mentioned above, including a few Victorians like this:

What to See

Alviso Marina County Park

_{1195 Hope St, Alviso}

The Alviso Marina County Park is part of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, or DESFBNWR for short! It’s a United States National Wildlife Refuge located in the southern part of San Francisco Bay, California, with its headquarters in Fremont. The Refuge is dedicated to protecting the migratory birds and endangered species in the area.

This park has trails and boardwalks along the Bay, salt ponds and wildlife refuge. It’s very picturesque and a popular spot for a long walk or a bike ride along the 9-mile Alviso Slough Trail! On a clear sunny day it feels like being part of a cowboy movie, or some other technicolor extravaganza!

There is a boat launch area here. The county also offers a Salt Marsh Safari boat tour of the wetlands, which sounds so interesting! Apparently, it is hard to get onto one of the tours, but here’s the link if you’re interested.

Pictures from the Park. Don’t be a yahoo and go off the trails, especially around the salt ponds because it may mess up the conservation efforts being made!

Map of the Alviso Marina Park

This map is from the Santa Clara County Parks website.

Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish

_{1385 Michigan Ave, Alviso}

Cute Catholic Church in the middle of a residential area of Alviso. It was established way back in 1984, when I graduated from high school. A big wedding was going on when I went by, but I wasn’t quite enough of a creep to take a picture for the blog post 😀

Topgolf

_{10 Topgolf Drive, San Jose}

Topgolf is technically not considered Alviso, but it is very close and visible from the Mexican restaurants mentioned in this blog post, so there.

At Topgolf you reserve a spot (for up to 6 players). Each spot has couches, a table, music, and a platform from which you hit golf balls out into a huge field with targets! A computer keeps track of your score. Lots of fun for a group. Food and drinks can be delivered to your area.

Even non-golfers can have a good time, and get some agressions out just whacking balls!

Restaurants

Vahl’s Restaurant & Cocktails

_{1513 El Dorado St., Alviso}

Vahl’s has been around since 1941. I can remember going there with my family as a kid as a unique, fun, old timey place to go. It was hit hard by COVID-19. Vahl’s now is primarily a bar, serving lunch only on Friday – Sunday. They also will host private events in their dining rooms.

Rosita’s De Basilio Deli & Market

5168 N 1st St, Alviso

Rosita’s is a hole-in-the-wall place with many fans of their traditional Mexican food.

El Taco de Oro Restaurant

5220 N 1st St, Alviso

Taco de Oro is located just down the street from Rositas. It serves delicious traditional Mexican food. There is lots of indoor seating, including some patio seating. They also have food trucks, which you can find in various locations around the South Bay Area.

Where to Stay

Alviso is right next to Santa Clara and it is actually in Northern San Jose, so there are many nearby lodging options. Including the following, with their distance from Alviso noted:

• Aloft Santa Clara – 0.6 miles
• Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott San Jose North/Silicon Valley – 0.4 miles
• Homewood Suites by Hilton San Jose Santa Clara – 0.7 miles
• Residence Inn by Marriott San Jose North / Silicon Valley – 0.4 miles

Map of Mentioned Places

You may also want to check out the other posts on Cities in Silicon Valley.

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