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Located at 344 Tully Road in San Jose, the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds is the home to the Santa Clara County Fair. Around August, it hosts the Santa Clara County Fair.
According to the County Fair's Mission statement:
This guide features several Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) bus lines that stop in front of, or near, the Fairgrounds.
As with all of our guides, it is created as a public service. VTA, the County of Santa Clara, and County Fairgrounds organizers, management and sponsors have not officially endorsed this guide.
This guide was created as a public service from the Silicon Valley Transit Users (SVTRU), a grassroots-based non-profit organization of citizens concerned about mass transit in Silicon Valley. We are not affiliated with the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) in any form whatsoever. VTA has not endorsed this guide in any way whatsoever.
We are not responsible for anything that occurs on VTA property or any public property as a result of use of this guide.Bus Fares, Maps, and Other Information
The map above is courtesy of Google Maps. Click on either of the blue bus icons to find the times when a VTA bus is due to arrive at the stop.
The Santa Clara County Fairgrounds is directly accessible from the VTA's 26 bus line. In fact, a bus stop for Eastridge Mall-bound 26 buses is right near the main entrance on Tully Road, across from the main parking lot. The Fairgrounds' Gate D (for access to Paintball and Motocross) is on Monterey Road, with consistent access from VTA bus lines 66 and 68. VTA's 73 bus line stops near the Fairgrounds at Senter and Tully Roads.
Before you travel on VTA buses and light rail to the Fairgrounds, make sure to have the exact total fare ready for you (or your traveling party) when you board. It is best to buy a day pass (or day passes if you are not traveling alone) if you must transfer to a VTA bus from another bus or light rail to reach the Fairgrounds. VTA buses and their drivers cannot make change. Never taken a VTA bus or light rail train before? Here are some basic rules of etiquette aboard VTA buses.
Taking VTA light rail to the Curtner light rail station? It is best to purchase a day pass from the ticket vending machines at the platform of the station you are boarding from. The light rail ticket vending machines make change and accept credit/debit cards. Light rail operators do not sell tickets nor will they make change. If you are caught by any light rail fare inspector without valid fare, you can be fined!
For the latest information on VTA buses, light rail, maps, and fairs, please visit VTA's web site at http://www.vta.org/ or call them at (408)321-2300.
Driving or riding a bicycle to the Fairgrounds? Note that the Curtner light rail station has FREE parking for your automobile or bicycle. You can use the Curtner light rail station as a "park and ride" lot and transfer to an Eastridge Mall-bound 26 bus to the Fairgrounds' main entrance. This way, you can beat the gridlock and parking nightmare expected to occur at the Fairgrounds' main parking lot on Tully Road.
Note that all VTA buses can accept up to two (2) bicycles at the rack on the front of the bus. Depending on room aboard VTA buses, and at the bus driver's discretion, more bicycles can be permitted aboard VTA buses themselves.
The Curtner light rail station is your access point to the Fairgrounds from VTA light rail. From the Curtner light rail station, transfer to an Eastridge-bound 26 bus line and get off at the Fairgrounds.
From Downtown San Jose, take the VTA's 66 or 68 bus lines to Monterey and Old Tully Roads. From there, walk to Gate D on Monterey Road or walk 1/4-mile down Old Tully Road to the main Fairgrounds entrance on Tully Road.
The 66 bus line serves northern San Jose and the Great Mall, ending in northern Milpitas.
VTA's 68 bus line starts at San Jose Diridon Station - a direct connection from Caltrain, ACE (on weekdays only), the Capitol Corridor, Amtrak's Coast Starlight, and the Winchester light rail line from Campbell. The 68 bus line also serves South San Jose, Morgan Hill, and San Martin, with its southern terminus in Gilroy.
VTA's 26 bus line directly stops at the Fairgrounds from East San Jose and Eastridge Mall to the east. The 26 bus line also serves western portions of San Jose, Campbell, Cupertino, and Sunnyvale. Its western terminus, according to VTA, is at the Lockheed Transit Center in northern Sunnyvale.
revised March 2, 2010
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