Storm clouds move over Mission Peak in Fremont as a pedestrian walks along a trail in Central Park on March 6, 2025. During the Super Bowl, consider taking advantage of the reduced crowds to snag a limited parking spot and head up the trail on this popular hike. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
If the thought of sharing room temperature guacamole dip with a bunch of friends of friends on Super Bowl Sunday isn’t exactly exactly your idea of pigskin paradise then, well, you’re going to want to keep reading.
Sure, it seems like everybody on the planet is focused in the NFL’s big game, which returns to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Sunday after a 10-year absence. Yet, we know that there are some people who want nothing to do with football — and its many related festivities — on this day.
And we have come up with some delightful alternatives for ways to spend Super Bowl Sunday in the Bay Area.
The options clearly aren’t as bountiful as a normal Sunday, since many concert arenas and other fun spots bow to the awe-inspiring draw of the NFL — and those fun TV ads that are shown during the break in the action — and just close their doors each year on this day.
But you can still find plenty of non-football fun if you know where to look. And that’s exactly what we have done.
The following are eight ideas for how to skip the Super Bowl and have a blast on this Sunday.
See a concert
The Bay Area’s concert scene basically hums along about 361 days a year, with the breaks in the action coming on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and, as we mentioned above, Super Bowl Sunday.
From the slim pickings, however, we still found a small handful of worthy options. Our top pick, by far, would be going to see Wu-Tang Clan legend GZA at Yoshi’s in Oakland. The phenomenal MC performs two shows, 7 and 9 p.m., and tickets start at $56, yoshis.com.
Also, check out the dark-rock doubleheader of Lord of the Lost and The Birthday Massacre at The UC Theatre in Berkeley. Showtime is 7 p.m., and tickets are $35, theuctheatre.org.
Go to the movies for Oscar nominees and more
Going to see a movie is pretty much always a great alternative to, well, whatever other people think you should be doing on that particular day. So, grab some popcorn money and make your plans to see a film on Super Bowl Sunday.
Oscar-nominated movies are the ones to catch on the big screen before the Academy Awards on March 15. The 3Below Theaters in downtown San Jose will be showing a full day’s lineup, including Best Picture nominees “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme,” “Sinners” and “One Battle After Another,” Other nominated flicks on the schedule include “Arco” and “KPop Demon Hunters.” (Bonus: 3Below validates for onsite parking.) 3belowtheaters.com
If you’d prefer a nostalgic look back, The Stanford in Palo Alto is offering a pair of musicals about Broadway composers — with clips and cameos from some of the top singers of the day. “Words and Music” (1948) is loosely based on the lives of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart and stars Mickey Rooney, Tom Drake, June Allyson and Ann Sothern. “Deep in My Heart” (1954) tells the story of Sigmund Romberg’s career with lead actor Jose Ferrer joined by Merle Oberon, Walter Pidgeon and Paul Henreid. stanfordtheatre.org
Of course, there are plenty of options for seeing the popular mainstream fare at the plethora of mall theaters in the Bay Area. Yet, we like the idea of going to see something a bit more out of the ordinary, so we’re definitely checking the Alamo Drafthouse website (drafthouse.com) to see what’s screening at its three Bay Area locations.
In that regard, we’d go for Oscar-winning director Hayao Miyazaki’s 1986 animated film, “Castle in the Sky,” which is showing in both Mountain View and Santa Clara. “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind,” another Japanese animated film, is also screening at those two locations. drafthouse.com/sf
Wander through a glorious garden
Even in winter, the Bay Area’s premier gardens are stunners.
In Walnut Creek, the Ruth Bancroft Garden invites visitors year-round to stroll through its 3.5 acres of botanical wonders — succulents and drought-tolerant plants from all over the world, as well as California natives. The garden — featuring Ruth’s extensive collection — was established more than 50 years ago on what had been a fruit and nut orchard. The February “what’s in bloom” guide will direct visitors to the Valley Violets, Mexican agave and all manner of unusual and colorful aloe plants.
Details: Open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 1552 Bancroft Road, Walnut Creek. Find admission, other info at ruthbancroftgarden.org.
If you head to the Filoli Estate and Gardens in Woodside, you’ll feel a world away on this football Sunday. Outdoors, the magnolias, camellias and winter roses are blooming, along with the first of spring’s showy daffodils, and the hiking trails are open. Among the redwoods, Filoli’s newest permanent resident, Rose Wonders, the giant troll by Danish recycle artist Thomas Dambo, holds court. Families will find the fairy train running through the trees, and there’s an activities station for children. Indoors, a display of Chinese decorative arts ushers in the Lunar New Year season.
Details: Filoli, 86 Cañada Road, Woodside, is open daily, rain or shine, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with timed admission and onsite dining options. Go to filoli.org to reserve ticket.
Join the ‘We’re Not Watching’ crowd
While everyone else is watching the big game, why not head to a restaurant that’s usually packed and find yourself a seat?
At the Bungalow Kitchen in Tiburon, one of chef Michael Mina’s popular spots, you’ll find a restaurant full of like-minded patrons at a special dinner. The restaurant is offering a one-night-only “We’re Not Watching …” menu at $95 per person, serving up a choose-your-own-adventure meal with meatballs, seasonal Dungeness crab garlic noodles and tiramisu.
Details: 5 Main St., Tiburon. bungalowkitchen.com
Catch a play on a Bay Area stage
Two shows that are well worth seeing will wrap up their runs this Sunday afternoon. Catch one of these matinees if they haven’t sold out.
In San Jose, City Lights Theater Company is presenting the world premiere of “Running After Shadows,” a play about childhood memories and the pain left by absentee fathers. “Vincent Terrell Durham’s solo show shines,” our reviewer says. cltc.org
On the Peninsula, music virtuoso Hershey Felder — the TheatreWorks favorite who is best known for telling the stories of history’s great composers — brings his own compelling story to the stage in “Hershey Felder: The Piano and Me” at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. theatreworks.org
Go for a hike
Super Bowl Sunday might just be the perfect day to go visit one of the Bay’s most popular hiking trails — you know, the ones where you’re supposed to arrive at the crack of dawn to snag a parking space. With everyone else watching the big game, these coveted spots could be all yours. As of now, game day parking reservations are available throughout the day at Muir Woods, offering an opportunity for quiet rambling among ancient redwoods.
Or, you could head for the Mission Peak trailhead for a vigorous summit trek. At the top, you’ll catch breathtaking panoramic views of the East and South Bay cities surrounded by rolling hills carpeted with lush, green winter grasses — plus, if you’re lucky, some early wildflowers.
Explore a culinary trail
A nice companion to the Bay Area’s hiking trails is its official culinary trails. Just enter these into a search engine to find the routes and tasty details. Some even intice flavor adventurers by offering swag you can accumulate by visiting several in a row.
In the Tri-Valley Area, there is an Ice Cream Trail with more than a dozen creameries and dairy shops serving scoops, gelato and paletas; there’s also a Caffeine Trail for coffeehouses and tea rooms and a Beer Trail for breweries and tap houses. Around there is the Livermore Winery Loop, a self-guided tour through the city’s wine country that’s great on an electric bike.
There’s an Oakland Ale Trail that highlights the city’s award-winning breweries. In Concord, the Taco Trail challenge is over, but it still recommends more than 40 Mexican restaurants and taquerias. San Francisco recently debuted a Martini Trail to celebrate the (supposedly) locally invented cocktail. Then in the North Bay, the famed California Cheese Trail offers cheese-tastings and family-friendly farm tours.
Track down a big, weird sculpture
Far from anything related to football, or normal stuff in general, is the Wind Harp. It is a 92-foot-high metal prong that hums and moans in the breeze, accessible by public parking on the Genentech campus at 500 Grand View Ave., South San Francisco.
Who put it there, and for what purpose? Is it possessed by demons? Perhaps an ancient artifact calling down aliens from Alpha Centauri?
Designed by artist Aristides Demetrios, this monumental sculpture is actually an aeolian harp, a musical instrument that plays itself when wind blows through it. It’s named after the Greek god of winds, Aeolus – who, fun story, gave Odysseus a bag of wind to help him return home from the Trojan War – and is one of the tallest examples of these thrumming structures in the world.
It’s worth visiting the Wind Harp at least once in your life. When your friends ask what you did for Super Bowl Sunday, you’ll have an interesting answer waiting.
Details: 500 Grand View Ave., South San Francisco
Originally published at Jim Harrington, John Metcalfe, Kate Bradshaw, Linda Zavoral