Heading east from Gilroy on Hwy 152 toward I-5, Casa de Fruta is a commercialized farm stand with an old-fashioned carousel and choo-choo train rides for youngsters.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Mission San Juan Bautista

12.95 MILES

Founded in 1797, this mission claims the largest church among California’s original 21 missions. Unknowingly built directly atop the San Andreas Fault,…

2. San Juan Bautista State Historic Park

12.99 MILES

Buildings around the old Spanish plaza opposite the mission anchor this small historical park. Cavernous stables hint at San Juan Bautista in its 1860s…

3. Gilroy Gardens

13.61 MILES

Unusual Gilroy Gardens is a nonprofit family-oriented theme park focused on food and plants rather than Disney-esque cartoon characters. You’ve got to…

4. Fremont Peak Astronomical Observatory

16.99 MILES

Equipped with a 30in telescope, Fremont Peak's astronomical observatory is usually open to the public on many Saturday nights between April and October,…

5. Fremont Peak State Park

17.06 MILES

Containing the Fremont Peak Astronomical Observatory, this park offers excellent views of Monterey Bay and the Pacific Ocean from its four-mile network of…

7. Sunset State Beach

25.85 MILES

The La Selva Beach exit off Hwy 1, near Watsonville, brings you here, where you can have miles of sand and surf almost all to yourself.

8. National Steinbeck Center

26.22 MILES

This museum will interest almost anyone, even if you don't know anything about Salinas’ Nobel Prize–winning native son, John Steinbeck (1902–68), a…