Easter egg hunts in Palo Alto

Easter in Palo Alto is a small, family affair. There is no city parade or big civic festival. Instead, families head to a garden party with a petting zoo, a scavenger hunt at a shopping center or a free hunt in a park in a neighboring town. The best known event in Palo Alto itself is the Easter Egg Hunt at Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden, a ticketed morning on the lawns of a historic house in Old Palo Alto.

This guide covers the Gamble Garden hunt in detail, then lists the other Easter events we could confirm in and around town. We give the most recent published dates and prices. The 2027 dates had not been posted when we checked on October 31, 2026. Easter 2027 falls on Sunday, March 28, so expect announcements in February.

Is there a city egg hunt?

Many towns on the Peninsula run a free egg hunt through their recreation department. Palo Alto is not one of them, at least in recent years. We checked the city's event listings and two local roundups of 2025 egg hunts. The Mountain View Voice listed hunts in Menlo Park and Mountain View but none in Palo Alto. A Palo Alto family events newsletter listed hunts in Menlo Park, Los Altos and San Carlos, with a scavenger hunt at Town and Country Village as the only Palo Alto entry. If the city adds a hunt in 2027, it will appear on the city calendar.

That leaves Gamble Garden as the town's signature Easter event, with free city hunts a short drive away in Menlo Park and East Palo Alto.

The Gamble Garden Easter Egg Hunt

Gamble Garden is a 2.5 acre public garden around a 1902 house at 1431 Waverley Street. A nonprofit runs it and keeps it free to visit every day. Its Easter morning, sometimes listed as the Easter Fair, is one of the fundraisers that pays for that. The garden describes it as an annual event. Our Gamble Garden guide covers the garden's history and everyday visits.

The hunt is only part of the morning. In 2026 the program included a petting zoo, arts and crafts and sweet treats alongside the egg hunt itself. Each time slot runs an hour, which is about the attention span of a preschooler with a basket.

Every guest needs a ticket, including babies. Children must come with a ticketed adult. Tickets are final sale and non-refundable and time slots cannot be swapped. Members get a discount code at checkout. Check the Gamble Garden events page from February for the 2027 date.

Tips for the Gamble hunt

• Book early. Time slots are limited and cannot be changed later, so pick the one that fits nap time.
• Bring a basket. A sturdy basket or bag is easier than a paper sack on damp grass.
• Dress for mud. Late March lawns can be wet. Rain boots are a good call for toddlers.
• Wash up after the petting zoo. Bring wipes for small hands before snack time.
• Plan photos. The flower beds and the old house make a classic spring backdrop.

Other Easter events in and near Palo Alto

Town and Country Village Bunny Hop

The open-air shopping center at 855 El Camino Real ran an Annual Bunny Hop from April 9 to 19, 2025. Children picked up a map and hunted for bunny cutouts in participating shops during store hours. A completed map earned a free ice cream scoop card while supplies lasted. It is a gentle, free option for small children and it pairs well with lunch. See our Town and Country Village guide.

East Palo Alto Easter Eggstravaganza

On Saturday, April 4, 2026, East Palo Alto's Joel Davis Park at 1960 Tate Street hosted a free afternoon from 2 to 4 p.m. The listing included an egg hunt, a scavenger hunt, prize wheel games, coloring, bubbles, chalk and storytelling, with activities from the Menlo Firefighters Association and food trucks on site. The egg hunt required pre-registration. Our East Palo Alto guide covers the town.

Menlo Park city egg hunt

The City of Menlo Park held its Spring Festival and Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 19, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. around the Arrillaga Family Recreation Center and Burgess Park. Hunts were grouped by age and included a sensory-friendly hunt. Tickets were free for Menlo Park resident children and $5 for nonresident children while supplies lasted. See our Menlo Park guide.

Los Altos and Mountain View

In 2025 Los Altos held a Spring Egg Hunt at the Hillview soccer field on the morning of Saturday, April 19. Families were asked to bring their own baskets. The Mountain View Farmers' Market held a free egg hunt with prizes on Easter Sunday morning. In Mountain View, The Ameswell Hotel ran a small ticketed hunt that day with separate times for younger and older children.

Parking and Caltrain access

Gamble Garden sits at Waverley Street and Churchill Avenue. It has two small lots, one off each street, plus street parking around the block. On hunt morning the lots fill fast, so arrive 15 minutes before your time slot. California Avenue station is about a mile away, a 20 minute walk. Note that Caltrain runs a weekend schedule on Sundays, so check times before you rely on the train with small children.

Town and Country Village has its own parking lot on El Camino Real and is about a 10 minute walk from the Palo Alto Transit Center beside the Caltrain station. Joel Davis Park in East Palo Alto and Burgess Park in Menlo Park are easiest by car from Palo Alto.

Easter brunch and the rest of the day

Many families follow the hunt with brunch. Downtown Palo Alto and California Avenue both have popular brunch spots, though Easter Sunday tables book up. Our brunch guide lists favorites. Hotel restaurants often add Easter menus too. In 2025 Rosewood Sand Hill in Menlo Park paired an Easter brunch with its own egg hunt, which sold out.

After lunch, spring in Palo Alto is made for being outside. Gamble Garden itself stays open to the public on regular days, the foothills are green and full of wildflowers and city parks are at their best. Our spring guide has ideas for the rest of the season.

Visiting family for Easter

If you are traveling to see grandchildren, Easter weekend is quieter for Palo Alto hotels than Stanford's big spring weekends. A hotel with a pool or a suite makes a long weekend with kids easier. You can compare family-friendly hotels in Palo Alto and choose a refundable rate while you wait for the hunt dates. For more ideas year-round, see our family events calendar.

Frequently asked questions