How to Spend Two Days in San Jose, California

Our family made a quick, two-day trip to San Jose, California.

You might say that’s not enough time to enjoy the city. That’s probably true. However, we found ways to make the most of our two days in the city.

So, without further ado, here is our guide to spending two days in San Jose.

Take a US Ghost Adventures Tour

We have enjoyed taking US Ghost Adventures walking tours in cities. When we booked our trip to San Jose, my next objective was booking a ghost tour of the city.

We explored the city with our tour guide, who kept us spellbound with stories of apparitions and hauntings around the city.

You can book your own San Jose Ghost tour using this link. Family Well Traveled will earn a small commission if you use the link at no additional cost to you. Additionally, you can book a Lizzie Borden San Jose Ghost Tour with this link.

We toured with four other people during the primary one-hour, one-mile tour. Additionally, our family participated in the extended tour, which took us to two additional haunted sites. And we rented the EMF detector as well, attempting to pick up paranormal activity.

I will save the ghost stories for the tour guides. But, I will give you a quick preview. During the San Jose tour, you will learn about The Donner Party, The Winchester House, Japanese internment camps, devastating fires, a wedding gone wrong, a red-light district, and angry spectral visitors.

And, my son adamantly states that he saw unusual activity in the windows of the San Jose Improv Theater.

See the San Jose Sharks Warm up at Morning Skate

Our primary objective for a San Jose trip was to see a San Jose Sharks hockey game. Our entire trip revolved around watching the team hit the ice at SAP Center.

I reached out on social media, asking for things we could do in town before and after the game. One person provided a link to watch the Sharks  in a morning skate.

Umm, that seemed a no-brainer. I asked the kids if they wanted to attend morning skate, already knowing they would respond affirmatively.

The morning skate is free and open to the public (although the skate can be closed at the discretion of the team and coaches). Morning skates take place at the Sharks Rink at Sharks Ice, which has multiple ice rinks on site.

We excitedly went to the 10:30 a.m. skate time. Unfamiliar with the city, I navigated to the wrong location, which made us late for the skate.

However, we still got to see the players and coaches in action (and even saw some of the San Jose Sharks’ broadcast announcers, too).

Although we arrived late, the kids still received permission to get in the line for autographs. Players may sign autographs at their discretion. A few players did sign, and three managed to make their way to the back of the line, to my kids’ delight.

Check this calendar for team practice times.

Stay at Sharks Ice for Public Skating

As I mentioned, Sharks Ice has multiple rinks on site. Which makes for a bustling center filled with activities.

There are multiple Public Skate times at the rinks. We signed up for an afternoon session, which gave us two hours to skate (and fall). We booked a skating session and skate rentals online. It was a smooth check-in process, and the staff proficiently switched out my son’s figure skates for hockey skates, which he is better at using.

The facility also has a pro shop where the kids purchased Sharks memorabilia. And there is an on-site restaurant.

Catch a Hockey Game at the Tank

After spending much of the day at Sharks Ice, it was time to head to the sacrosanct home of the San Jose Sharks, SAP Center, affectionately called The Tank.

I have been a San Jose Sharks fan for too many years to count (actually, it’s been 30+ years).  I have been Sharks faithful through boon years and more bust years than I care to remember.

And I have raised the kids to be Sharks faithful too. Our San Jose trip was the brainchild of my son, who paid for our plane tickets to watch an NHL game on home ice.

I have been to the arena many time. My son had been once before when he was six-years-old. This was our daughter’s first trip to The Tank.

There is nothing like watching a professional sports event. Win or lose, the event is full immersion. You can’t help but feel the energy of the fans, the players, the coaches, and the mascot. We got a special visit from mascot SJ Sharkie, thanks to the diligent research of my wife.

We enjoyed watching everything from the players, to the intermission activities, to the pre-game attractions throughout the Arena’s concourse.

And, yes, we knew where to head after the game to wait on players leaving and hoping they would stop to sign autographs. Even though our team did not take home the W this night, we were grateful to those players who still stopped and signed autographs for my kids and the other fans.

Stroll Through the Japanese Friendship Garden

In between our public skating time and our NHL game, we had a little time to kill. I looked at a Google map at locations near Sharks Ice, and discovered the Japanese Friendship Garden was a literal stone’s throw from the arena.

The Garden was on our short list of places to visit. However, due to our brief visit, it did not make the final list of attractions. Fortunately, we were able to sneak a visit in.

The Japanese Friendship Garden is free to visit, although there is a $6 parking fee if you park on site.

We had about 30 minutes to stroll through the manicured gardens along winding pathways. It was a quiet, relaxing time to gather our thoughts before heading to an energy-filled SAP Center.

Discover Mummies at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum

San Jose has one of the United State’s largest collection of Egyptian artifacts. Who knew? The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum has more than 4000 artifacts on display.

When we learned of the museum, we knew we must visit.

We began our trip with a ghost tour. So, it seemed appropriate to conclude the trip with a visit to see mummies.

The museum in open Friday-Sunday only, so we had to carefully plan a visit around our short, two days in the city.

We spent a couple of hours touring the exhibits, which include a few actual mummified humans, as well as mummified cats, baby crocodiles, gazelles, and more.

We enjoyed looking at the well preserved bas reliefs from some of the tombs. And, we even got to walk through a recreated tomb found under one of Egypt’s pyramids.

The museum had a number of educational displays and many artifacts that left us with opportunities to learn about Egyptian history while admiring the artifacts.

Take a Side Trip to Pinnacles National Park

We flew into San Jose on a red-eye flight. That meant we were in the city at 5 a.m. with a 4 p.m. hotel check-in time.

Sure, that gave us plenty of time to explore the city.

Instead, we chose to drive 90 minutes south of San Jose to Pinnacles National Park.

We are national parks enthusiasts, and seek out every opportunity to visit the sites. So, we couldn’t let this trip pass without getting one more stamp in our National Parks Passports.

We spent a couple of hours in the park, searching for California Condors and other animals. We also hiked through the talus caves and got our feet wet as water ran through the caves.

It was a great way to stretch our legs and see some astounding natural landscapes after our long, overnight flight.

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