Mission Location
The Mission Santa Clara de Asis is in the north-central California area that bears the mission's name, Santa Clara. Part of the region known as Silicon Valley, the mission sits on the campus of Santa Clara University, a Jesuit Catholic University that serves more than 8,000 students each year. Visitors are welcome onto the campus in order to take a general tour or to visit the mission and can choose from guided or self-guided tours.
Interesting Facts
The mission is home to four bells, three of which continue to ring out multiple times during the day and before services on Sunday. Two of the bells bear the date 1799 on them, one is dated 1928 and one 1929. Over the centuries, the mission has been built and rebuilt six times, usually as a result of a natural disaster such as earthquake or flood.
Nearby Activities
Santa Clara is a crowded, highly developed community and home to many high-technology companies due to its location in Silicon Valley. Visitors can choose from a wide variety of activities in addition to visiting the mission. Great America, a large amusement park, is in Santa Clara and immediately adjacent to the mission on the grounds of Santa Clara University is the enclosed St. Clare Garden, a botanical garden representative of the medieval gardens of the 17th and 18th century.
Outdoor Recreation
A suburb of San Jose and part of the Silicon Valley, Santa Clara is close enough to active recreation opportunities including bicyling and hiking trails, inland lakes and is an hour from the beach, which makes the mission a popular destination for Bay Area residents. There are also a number of city parks within Santa Clara that offer pools, tennis courts, picnic areas and large grass fields for sports.
Travel To Santa Clara
Visitors to Santa Clara have multiple options including flying into either San Jose, San Francisco or Oakland airports, all of which are within an hour's drive time of Santa Clara. Santa Clara is also serviced by Amtrak trains and has an adequate public transportation system.
