Gilroy Gardens

Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park, often shortened to Gilroy Gardens, is a horticulture-themed amusement park located in Gilroy, California, United States. Designed and built by Michael Bonfante, the park originally opened as Bonfante Gardens in 2001. The 536-acre theme park (217 ha) is owned by the city of Gilroy and operated by Gilroy Gardens, Inc. a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization; it features over 40 rides and attractions and is known for its Circus Trees, created by Axel Erlandson.^[1]

Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park

Previously known as Bonfante Gardens (2001–2006)
Location	3050 Hecker Pass Hwy. Gilroy, California, United States
Coordinates	37°0′19″N 121°37′41″W
Status	Operating
Opened	June 15, 2001
Owner	City of Gilroy, California
Operated by	Gilroy Gardens, Inc. a 501(c)(3) organization
Theme	Horticulture
Operating season	Late March–Early January
Area	536 acres (35 acres used for theme park)
Attractions
Roller coasters	2
Website	Official website

History

The park was founded by Michael and Claudia Bonfante after selling their Nob Hill Foods supermarket chain to Raley's in order to focus on building their tree park. The park was constructed gradually over a period of 25 years. Before it became an amusement park open to the public, it was known as Tree Haven, and was a commercial plant nursery, as well as a recreational facility for employees of Nob Hill Foods. The park opened to the public in June 2001 as Bonfante Gardens. The name was changed to Gilroy Gardens in February 2007.^[2] The park features 19 rides, 27 attractions and six gardens. The most well known garden features 24 Circus Trees that were grown and shaped with multiple trunks, basket-weave patterns, and hearts by the late Axel Erlandson.^[3]

Starting in 2004, the park began its annual holiday celebration, Gilroy Gardens Holiday Lights.

The park struggled with financial difficulty and low attendance during the first two years of operation. It closed early for its first two seasons and the park's management debated whether to open the park at all for the third season. Paramount Parks began to manage the park on contract starting with the 2003 season.^[4]

Cedar Fair (now Six Flags) acquired Paramount Parks from CBS Corporation in June 2006 and continued the management contract to operate Gilroy Gardens.^[5] On December 31, 2021, the contract to manage the park expired after both parties decided not to renew the contract.^[6] Gilroy Gardens Inc., the nonprofit that owns the park, began operating the park on its own for the 2022 season.^[6]

The city of Gilroy purchased the park on March 5, 2008.

In mid-March 2020 the park shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It reopened in May 2021, and since then it has been restricted to California residents and adhering to strict measures like social distancing and wearing masks.

On July 25-27, 2025, the site hosted the annual Gilroy Garlic Festival.^[7]

One of the famous Circus Trees at Gilroy Gardens^[8]

Attractions

Roller coasters

Name	Opened	Manufacturer	Model	Description	Thrill Level
Quicksilver Express Mine Coaster	2001	Morgan		A mine-themed roller coaster.	4
Timber Twister Coaster	2001	Zierer	Medium Tivoli	A rattlesnake themed roller coaster.	3

Family rides

Name	Opened	Manufacturer	Model	Description	Thrill Level
Apple & Worm	Unknown	Zierer	Unknown	Children's caterpillar ride around a giant apple core.	1
Artichoke Dip	2001	Morgan	Junior Seastorm	Artichoke ride around a coastal live oak tree.	1
Banana Split	2001	Chance Rides	Pirate Ship	Banana-shaped swinging ship ride.	3
Balloon Flight	2001	Bradley and Kaye	Balloon Flight	Balloon ride.	2
Big Red Engine Co.	2001	Venture Manufacturing	Unknown	Children's firetruck ride.	1
Bonfante Railroad Train Ride	2001	Chance Rides	Train ride	2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge[9] train ride around park perimeter.	2
Bulgy The Goldfish	2001	Unknown	Unknown	Children's fish ride.	1
Claudia's Carousel			Carousel	Children's carousel.	1
Illions Supreme Carousel	2001	Brass Ring Carousel Company	Carousel	Modern fiberglass carousel inspired by the original built in 1927 by M.C. Illions	1
Paddle Boats	2001	Bonfante family	Paddle Boats	Duck shaped paddle boats.	2
Panoramic Wheel	2001	Zierer	Ferris Wheel	Mini Ferris wheel.	2
Pit Stop Racers	2001	Ramagosa	Unknown	Children's race car ride.	1
Rainbow Garden Round Boat Ride	2001	Hopkins Rides	Raft ride	Raft ride though flower gardens.	2
Sky Trail Monorail	2002	Morgan	Monorail	Monorail ride through Monarch Butterfly Greenhouse. Audio tape still refers to the park as "Bonfante Gardens"	2
South County Backroads	2002	Morgan	Track ride	Car attraction featuring two tracks: one side themed to the 1920s cars, and the other themed to 1950s cars.	2
Strawberry Sundae	2001	Morgan	Junior Chair-O-Plane	Spinning strawberry ride.	1
Tubs-O-Fun	2001	Chance Rides	Teacup ride	Children's "tea cups" ride.	1

Thrill rides

Name	Opened	Manufacturer	Model	Description	Thrill Level
Garlic Twirl	2001	Morgan	Teacups	Garlic-themed "teacups" style ride.	3
Mushroom Swing	2001	Zierer	Wave Swinger	Mushroom shaped swing ride.	3

Other attractions:

• Bonfante Falls (formerly Pinnacles Waterfall)‍—‌Bridge behind an artificial waterfall.
• Oak Park Playground‍—‌Children's play area.
• Lakeside Splash - Water playground and slides for children (introduced in 2024 replacing Bonfante's Splash Garden)
• Water Oasis‍—‌Water play area aimed at smaller children (introduced in 2014 replacing Pinnacles Rock Maze.)

Former attractions:

• Pinnacles Rock Maze‍—‌Artificial maze resembling caves found at Pinnacles National Park.
• Bonfante's Splash Garden‍—‌Water play area, opened in June 2005, closed 2022.

Mascots

Gilroy Gardens has two mascots, Gil and Roy. Gil was introduced in 2007, and Roy in 2013.^[10]

The park also uses seasonal mascots for its Great Big Boo and North Pole Nights events.^[11][12]

See also

• San Francisco Bay Area portal
• Trains portal

• Tree Shaping: Creating with living trees structures and art