Blake Walsh

15 Best Things to Do in Union City, CA

  • Published 2023/02/18

Union City is situated in the San Francisco Bay Area in Alameda County and was previously a railroad and Steel Town with an expansive industrial heritage.

It’s approximately 19 miles south of Oakland, 20 miles north of San Jose, and 30 miles off San Francisco.

This fascinating city offers lovely parks, community centers, sports fields, various recreation programs, and social services for locals of all ages.

Moreover, Union City is famous for its profusion of arts and cultural venues, splendid weather, and an excellent location near the major cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland.

Learn more about the city’s rich history and culture with this list of creative things to do in Union City, California.

Fly without Wings at iFly

Do you dream of flying like a bird, even without wings?

iFly will make your dreams come true, where you’ll feel the sensation of flying in their ultramodern vertical wind tunnels.

You can learn the principles of science and technology and hold out against gravity by literally flying, and you should get the best experience from start to finish.

Located on Alvarado-Niles Road, this indoor skydiving facility ensures the safety of each visitor, whatever the weather.

You can celebrate your loved one’s birthday in iFly, and enjoy team building with work colleagues.

Otherwise, if you want to go solo, you can start with the basics with the help of professional instructors.

Discover New Hobbies at San Andreas Park

Located on San Andreas Drive, San Andreas Park provides exciting outdoor recreation and nature preservation.

This fantastic park is open to the public, offering open spaces maintained by the Union Parks Department.

It’s smaller compared to other parks in Union City but has excellent amenities that kids will enjoy.

There’s a playground with a tall structure, a set of swings, three slides, and three sidewinders (short, spiral, tall, and long).

You can ride your bike or scooter on the well-kept sidewalks surrounding San Andreas Park and connect across various routes.

Visit Seven Hills Park

Seven Hills Park is a cute park with play equipment, a basketball court, and clean restrooms on Florence Street.

Undoubtedly, your kids will adore the car-themed playground and will have fun.

They can race with their siblings or other kids by foot, bike, or scooter on the race track encircling the playground equipment.

There’s also a hot wheel course on top of the back wall along the playground.

This park is a bit descended from the parking area and the street making it safer for kids because they won’t just run onto the street.

If you’re lucky, you might even see a few wild turkeys coming down from the hills.

Seven Hills Park offers amenities, including benches, picnic tables, BBQ grills, and solid rubber surfacing.

Check Out Drigon Dog Park

Bring your fur buddy to a dog park with all the extravagant and incredible amenities.

Drigon Dog Park is fenced for optimum security and has a segregated area for small breeds and nervous canines.

There’s an off-leash area, offering pleasant grass from end to end and a bone-shaped trail running through the large breed area.

Your pets can enjoy plenty of nimbleness equipment, such as hurdles, hoops, and tunnels.

When your dogs become tired and thirsty, they can indulge in water fountains or fire hydrants for social scenting.

Located on 7th Street, Drigon Dog Park also features Pooch Plaza shielding you and your pups from the sun.

Visit Dry Creek Cottage and Gardens

Also known as Meyers Cottage, Dry Creek Cottage was a favorite summer refuge for the Meyers sisters: Jeanette, Edith, and Mildred.

They also owned the 1,626-acre Dry Creek Ranch, donated to the Park District in 1979 and eventually established as Dry Creek Regional Park.

On the other hand, the garden is a magnificently restored two-acre land teeming with almost 200 native and exotic greenery.

There were also reconstructed pathways and footbridges over the creek.

Dry Creek Cottage derived its name from the stream in the area.

You can have a great family snack at the park’s picnic shelters.

Located on May Road, Dry Creek Cottage and Gardens is a popular place among locals and visitors where they can hike, do some cardio exercises, do horseback rides, fly kites, or bring their dogs at no charge.

Jump around at Pump It Up of Union City

Your kids won’t be able to resist the fun of jumping up and down in this fantastic inflatable playground on Whipple Road.

Pump It Up of Union City offers Open Jump sessions, including special events with various fun games and playtime.

Start jumping around on inflatable bounce houses and explore obstacle courses.

This helps develop your kid’s social skills as they meet and play with other children.

Pump It Up of Union City is the perfect place to celebrate your kid’s birthday, where all will have so much fun, especially with the Balloon Drop.

Honor the Heroes of the Flight 93 Memorial

Finished and allocated in 2007, the Flight 93 Memorial in Union City, California, was built before the national memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the plane crashed.

The memorial has 40 granite stones with the names of the passengers, including the crew members, along a walkway that starts at the “Circle of Remembrance.”

Engraved on the stone tablets was the plight of Flight 93, describing each moment of the hijacking.

Some passengers and crew entered the cockpit and fought with the hijackers until the plane lost control and eventually crashed near a reclaimed strip mine.

The Flight 93 Memorial honors the bravery of 33 passengers, including the seven crew members who resisted the terrorists on the plane.

Spend the Day at Seabreeze Park

Situated on Carmel Way, Seabreeze Park ranks number five in tourist attractions in Union City, where dogs are also allowed.

The park’s major attraction is the delightful playground built with a tunnel and three slides: sidewinder, tube, and double.

There are also steps, various ladders, activities, and the crawl tube, which can be considered the fourth slide due to its angle.

It’s an excellent place to bring your kids and fur babies where they can roam around freely.

There may be no swings or playground extras, but the park is terrific for scootering, biking, or stroller walks; the “sea breeze” makes the air cold during hot days.

Explore Charles F. Kennedy Park

This park is special because it was developed with the Golden Gate Bridge in mind.

Located on Decoto Road, Charles F. Kennedy Park has a vast open space with many activities the whole family will surely enjoy, even your dogs.

The Golden Gate Bridge model has two slides that come from the middle.

There are swings, log runs, horses on springs, climbing wall rocks, two play structures, and slides, aside from clean restrooms.

After getting tired and hungry, you can have a picnic or cook some barbecues in the picnic areas with many picnic tables and grills.

You’ll never run out of fun things at Charles F. Kennedy Park because there is also a basketball court, horseshoe pits, and a sheltered amphitheater, and it’s free.

See the Outdoors at Eden Landing Ecological Reserve

The Eden Landing Ecological Reserve consists of restored salt ponds, adjoining diked marshes, and transitional areas to uplands structured for native and migratory waterbirds, including tidal marsh habitats.

You might see mallards, gadwall, Canada geese, widgeon, egrets, sandpipers, stilts, and herons, among others.

Regulated salt ponds and diked zones serve as a refuge for resident shorebirds.

Meanwhile, tidal marsh habitats are the nursery of salmon and steelhead.

You’ll also find the remnants of the Oliver Salt Company in this incredible reserve.

If you have a canoe or kayak, you can launch it from Mount Eden Creek and explore sections of San Francisco Bay and Eden Landing by water.

Other cool things you can do in Eden Landing Ecological Reserve are hiking, wildlife viewing, and waterfowl hunting.

Reflect at Veteran’s Memorial Park

Dedicated in 2017, the Veteran’s Memorial Park has a six-sided monolith depicting a short history of each of the five armed services.

The monolith also includes the Merchant Marines who served alongside the armed services during times of conflict.

The monument is a tribute to the Veterans of the United States Armed Services.

After visiting the monument, you and your family can play on the tennis, basketball court, and baseball field.

Your kids would love to play in the playground with bark flooring and a giant seesaw, climb on the dome climbing structure, slide, and swing.

The spinner chairs allow you to rock from side to side or spin around, a saucer seat your kids can bounce on, and a nice cement slide.

Located on Dyer Street, the Veteran’s Memorial Park also allows dogs and has clean restrooms and a huge space for parking.

Check Out Casa Verde Park

Casa Verde Park is a long and narrow park in a residential area on San Rafael Way near the Union Landing Shopping Center.

It offers playgrounds for your kids, basketball courts for you and your teens, and a small picnic area to enjoy a great snack.

There’s also a tube tunnel, two bridges, monkey bars, activities, and ground-suspended hopping steps.

This park’s six slides–two sidewinders, two tube spirals, a bumpy straight, and another shorter rough with a slight turn–will capture your kids’ attention, and you will try all of them.

Five of these slides are on the primary structure, while four are approachable using a ladder, including the sixth on the rock wall.

Casa Verde Park also features four square funnel ball courts and other blacktop games.

Spend Quiet Time at Union City Public Library

The Union City Public Library features a full-size cast-stone statue known as Boy and Girl Reading.

Enid Bell Palanchian created the beautiful sculpture, commissioned by the US Treasury Art Project.

It is also site #79 on the Jersey Women’s Heritage Trail.

You’ll find a large stained glass window on the second floor shaped like a keystone created by artist Joseph Sloman in 1938.

It details historical figures influential in fine arts, industry, science, music, and literature.

The Union City Public Library is located along Alvarado-Niles Road.

See a Movie at Century 25 Union Landing XD

Situated along Union Landing Boulevard, Century 25 Union Landing XD is a great place to bring your loved one to see phenomenal movies.

This place has advanced amenities, including video games and leather seats, giving it a fashionable feel.

Enjoy food and drinks like burgers, pizza, ice cream, coffee, and beer.

See movies from around the world, including Bollywood hits, with English subtitles for a better movie-watching experience.

Don’t miss the excellent movies now playing at the Century 25 Union Landing XD.

Bring Your Kids to Jolly Roger Land Play Center

Your kids can’t thank you enough if you bring them to the Jolly Roger Land Play Center headquartered on Courthouse Drive.

Spanning almost 7,000 square feet, this spacious play center offers high-tech and visually stimulating play structures and games.

Your kids will love climbing, crawling, sliding, and engrossing themselves to their hearts’ desire.

Structures and equipment are meticulously designed and manufactured to ensure the safety and satisfaction of children.

The interactive fun zones will keep you and your kids busy all day.

The Jolly Roger Land Play Center offers open and private party times, and when you go hungry, you can grab a snack at the Landlubber’s Bar.

Final Thoughts

Prepare your camera for a once-in-a-lifetime West Coast adventure!

Get ready for the creative things to do in Union City, California.

What are you waiting for?

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