Things to Do in San Leandro, California
San Leandro's real recreational draws run through public shoreline amenities, a genuinely historic public golf course, and a real chocolate factory outlet -- a working-city recreation profile rather than a resort's activity list, and one this page covers honestly, including what the marina's closure took away.
Monarch Bay Golf Club: A Genuinely Historic Public Course
Monarch Bay Golf Club, at 13800 Monarch Bay Drive, offers a Scottish links-style 18-hole course (the 6,567-yard, par-71 Tony Lema Course, dedicated to the golfer's memory in 1983 and substantially redesigned in 2001 by architect John Harbottle III) plus a shorter nine-hole course and a double-deck driving range, sitting directly on San Leandro Bay's shoreline. This is a real, publicly accessible, bayfront golf experience with genuine history behind its current form, and it remains open and operating even with the adjacent marina closed.
The San Francisco Bay Trail: Seven Miles of Real Shoreline Access
A seven-mile paved and gravel segment of the San Francisco Bay Trail runs along San Leandro's shoreline, connecting toward the Hayward Regional Shoreline Interpretive Center -- genuine, unaffected walking, running, and cycling access along San Leandro Bay, independent of the marina's operational status. This is one of the more reliable, currently-confirmed recreational amenities in San Leandro's shoreline district.
Marina Park: Open Space Amid an Unfinished Redevelopment
Marina Park, the public open-space area adjacent to the closed marina basin, remains open for walking, biking, and picnicking, with lagoon and bay views, per local neighborhood-guide sourcing. This page states plainly that Marina Park sits directly next to the shuttered marina basin and the stalled, bankruptcy-delayed Monarch Bay Shoreline Development Project, covered in full on the hub page -- a real, current, honest juxtaposition of open public space next to an unfinished, sometimes-neglected redevelopment site, rather than a polished, complete shoreline park district.
The Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory Outlet: A Real, Non-Touristy Chocolate Stop
The Ghirardelli Ice Cream and Chocolate Factory Outlet at 1111 139th Avenue offers a genuine, San-Leandro-specific alternative to the well-known San Francisco Ghirardelli Square tourist destination -- a real retail connection to the actual manufacturing facility Ghirardelli operates in San Leandro, covered on the hub and Dining pages.
The Cherry Festival and San Leandro's Own Civic Calendar
San Leandro's annual Cherry Festival, tracing back to 1909 and the city's "Cherry City" agricultural heritage, remains the city's most historically significant recurring civic event, covered in full on the Seasonal Recreation page. Historically drawing tens of thousands of attendees at its early-20th-century peak, it continues today as a real community tradition worth planning a visit around if the timing aligns.
Downtown San Leandro and the Historical Society
Downtown San Leandro, anchored around the San Leandro BART station, offers a genuine walkable civic core, and the San Leandro Historical Society maintains the city's documented history -- including the 1868 earthquake's effect on the original county courthouse, the Cherry City agricultural era, and the city's Portuguese immigrant heritage, all covered on the hub and Practical Living pages -- for anyone interested in the deeper story behind the city rather than just its current amenities.
Day Trips: Oakland, San Francisco, and Cape Lookout of the East Bay
San Leandro's two BART stations make it a genuinely practical base for day trips into Oakland and San Francisco without needing a car, covered in full on the Practical Living page, and the Bay Trail connects directly toward the Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline and Arrowhead Marsh on the Oakland side of San Leandro Bay -- a real, adjoining East Bay Regional Park District birding and shoreline destination worth combining with a San Leandro Bay Trail walk, even though it sits across the municipal boundary in Oakland rather than in San Leandro itself.
The San Leandro Historical Society and Local Museums
The San Leandro Historical Society maintains the documented record behind much of what this site cites about the city -- the Rancho San Leandro land grant, the 1868 earthquake's effect on the original Alameda County Courthouse, the Cherry City agricultural era, and the city's Portuguese immigrant heritage -- and represents a genuine, if modest, cultural-heritage activity for a visitor or new resident interested in the deeper story behind the city's current amenities rather than only its present-day recreation options.
Bay Fair Center and Everyday Retail as a Real Activity
Bay Fair Center, the retail mall adjacent to the Bay Fair BART station at 15242 Hesperian Boulevard, functions as a real, everyday shopping and errand-running destination for San Leandro residents rather than a tourist attraction -- worth noting honestly here since this site tries to describe what a resident actually does day to day, not just what a visitor might photograph. The surrounding Bay Fair Transit-Oriented Development area, covered in full on the Neighborhoods page, is also in active redevelopment, meaning its retail and dining mix is likely to keep evolving over the coming years.
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Get a Free Agent Referral →Independent research. No ads. No sponsored listings. Data sourced from: Monarch Bay Golf Club's own website (monarchbaygc.com) and PGA.com for course details, the 1983 Tony Lema dedication, and the 2001 John Harbottle III redesign, also cited on the hub page; San Francisco Bay Trail program materials for the seven-mile paved shoreline segment, also cited on the Boating & Water Access page; Houseberry's Marina-Faire neighborhood guide for Marina Park's current open status; Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Apple Maps for the Ghirardelli Ice Cream and Chocolate Factory Outlet, also cited on the Dining page; and the San Leandro Historical Society for Cherry Festival and city-history context, also cited on the hub and Seasonal Recreation pages. Facts not independently confirmed and not invented here include: current admission fees or hours for Monarch Bay Golf Club beyond its general operating status; and a current, confirmed schedule for the Cherry Festival. Confirm current hours, fees, and event dates directly with each venue and the City of San Leandro before planning a visit. Nothing on this page is travel advice.