The rides, shows and shopping were all great, however, I was not a fan of the staff controlling the rides or food stands. They all seemed pretty rude and like they did not want to be there at all. I was most disappointed when I took my 3 year old son on the rides and the staff were not kid friendly what so ever. The food is pretty pricey but not very good quality. The churro I got was stale and the onions I received on my sausage dog were pretty much mush from not taking them off the grill. I noticed the poor horses looked dehydrated and very sad, after all it was about 100 degrees the day we went. I hope that they had frequent water breaks but I did not see any water around them or any postings informing guests that the horses were taking breaks. I really hope all the animals during events like these take frequent breaks and get lots of water. I hope in the future that there will be some kind of posting letting us guests know that the animals are in fact getting plenty of water and breaks from them heat. read more

I live near these fair grounds and am often impressed by the variety of shows. Their "good guy car shows" are always popular and not only show classic cars but also sell car parts for those fixing up their own classic automobile. They also have dog shows; where many vendors sell great dog-related items such as crafts specific to certain dog breeds (beware of corgi or beware of Scottie). The dog shows have agility trials too, which are so much fun to watch, and they also sell dog food, leashes, bedding and similar items. It's also a good place to meet breeders and see their dogs if you are looking to adopt a purebred puppy. The fairgrounds also have craft shows, bridal shows, and Christmas trees for sale during December and have the county fair during the summer. They also have culture specific events like a Scottish fair, and an Indian/Persian Fair. Check out their website for a list of their upcoming events and prices, its www.alamedacountyfair.com and located right off the Bernal exit off of HWY 680 in Pleasanton its easy to get there. They have had some pretty cool bands at the summer county fair such as War (a classic band famous for the song Low Rider), and Raven (that nickelodeon preteen cutie). They have good fair food like corn dogs, ice cream, cotton candy, and more. During the summer they have a large ferris wheel and roller coasters. Be sure not to park on the street in summer time as the city of Pleasanton makes great money ticketing those who do. Check it out! read more

We really enjoyed the fair!! This was my very first county fair and it was really awesome. The main attraction (for us) was seeing all of the farm animals, such as the newborn piglets, lambs & calves and wander through the petting zoo. The goats really liked to nibble on the strap of my attache case! The All-Alaskan Piglet race (1:30, 3:30, 5:30 & 8:00) was really fun. The fairgrounds are quaint and had lots of neat old exhibit halls with interesting exhibits, like flowers, local honey, old tractors & a pavilion dedicated to old-school toy trains. The art exhibits were really fantastic, with ribbons for the talented kids' art work and homemade goodies (wish we could have sampled those!). There were lots of rides, many geared towards the kids. Easy to get to via transit - BART to Dublin/Pleasanton, then hopped on the convenient 10 Breeze bus (south side of station) which took us a couple of blocks away from the main A.C. fair entry gates. (get a BART transfer to get $1 off bus ride to the fair) Despite the scorching hot weather, a stroll through downtown Pleasanton afterwards was, well, pleasant. read more

I have been coming to the Alameda County Fair sense 1989. I moved to Austin, Texas in 2007. I flew out here for the first time in 4 & 1/2 years. I was very surprised to see that my 3 year olds wrist band for the rides, was $35, plus she wasn't able to go on them by herself. So of course, being her mother, I had to purchase one myself. Which was another $35. So that's $70 for 2 wrist bands. I remember them being $20. Ridiculous! Can't even feed my daughter without breaking the bank. Luckily, I didn't have to pay to get in because my dad's friend gave us "friends of the fair" tickets for 3 days & parking passes. the $15-$20 parking would have put us back on foodstamps had we paid for that! Needless to say, I won't be flying back to the place that I call home, any longer for the Alameda County Fairgrounds. Y'all are making plenty of money. 54,000 people came yesterday... Y'all have been open for 12 days, therefore that's $7,776,000 just on general admission... I think y'all can get away with making it a tad more affordable. just a suggestion for y'all. We can't all be millionaires! Thanks! read more

Can't say enough good about the Fairgrounds. Since we moved to Pleasanton in 1966 I have been to the Fair, boat shows, Goodguys car shows, concerts, Oktoberfests, RV shows, home shows, political functions, Scottish Games, you name it. My wife, in-laws, nephews and nieces have all shown animals during the fair over many years ,and I have played at the Fair and political functions in our band. I now live in Livermore but I presently golf there at least once a week and the staff and maintenance crew at the course are stellar. The fairgrounds are kept to a high standard as well. Every time I go there someone is cutting the grass, trimming flowers, or cleaning something. I'm glad it's close cause I'll be going for years to come. A local gem of many many years. read more

This is a fun place for the family to go, however this is not what I consider an county fair, other than the Alameda County Sheriff's office and the Alameda County Fire Dept, nothing else is Alameda County about it, everything is "contracted" from exhibits to the ridiculously over priced food, the absurd beer prices and the ridiculously over priced rides, which sad to say did not help my niece who is 42" or less she had the choice of two rides and my nephew just the merry go round, there could be more children's rides. There was a lot of advertisement booths for home improvement and such. What could be done? Perhaps the food court could be improved by not having large corporate food "vendors" which charge $20 for a high school cafeteria style burger and Costco style frozen fries and replace it a farmers type market with fresh produce and invite local food trucks who are licensed in Alameda county was well as local residents who have baked goods and healthy options, and provide TWICE as much seating, we had to wait 20 minutes to find one of the 15 tables which were set out for the thousands of visitors, more kids rides for the little ones and more local type exhibits like they do at art and wine festivals, invite local Alameda county breweries to show their beers and some Alameda County Wineries, this is a few miles from Livermore "wine country" yet I saw not one single winery there. I am not sure I would be back here, sorry to say, my $40-80 budget would be better spent at 6 Flags or Great America or Santa Cruz where you'd have a lot more fun for price. If, the Alameda County Fair showcased the entertainment and food of Alameda County residents and businesses I'd be more open to spending my cash, sending money on out of state vendors just isn't my Idea of fun. read more

complete waste of money . dont waste your time there. you have to pay for parking, to get in, and for the tickets. the rides are NOT worth it. but the food is good i guess. read more

deep fried snickers!!!! children riding sheep!!!! rigged carnival games!!!! duckling 5 for $20!!! oh yes!

Had a good time at the fair this year. The food is always good and the horse racing is exciting. If you can still make it down there this year you should. This fair is still the one that is above everyone else's fair. read more

"The fair was good, the fireworks great- but traffic leaving the fair was an absolute nightmare. It took us literally 2 1/2 hours to get out of the parking lot once we were in our car ready to go. Granted it was the 4th and the fireworks is a popular event- but my God, no traffic controls whatsoever. They really need to figure out a better way to organize the exiting of the traffic. Needless to say, it put a real damper on what was an otherwise delightful experience." EXACTLY - Lack of police officers to direct traffic in an orderly condition where others were cutting-in. Will never go again as the crowd was out of control, it reminded me of the Los Angeles Black Out!! Avoid at all cost, unless you don't mind crazy crowds. read more

The fair is nice and the rides are nice (kinda scary) but those game venders are ripping people off. They charge you $5 to play a game and if you win they give you a 25 cent stuffed toy. The food is over rated and too expensive, a dry burger with dry fries for 10 bucks. read more

Come here for Alameda County Fair starting end June. The fair is well organized and a lot of fun. Bring your kids along. Great place to shop for household items at the display center. read more

I got absolutely chumped by these people. Made a reservation five months in advance, only to receive a voicemail one week before my trip stating that I was being bumped by a party stayting longer. No offer of restitution or anything. This campground has now been blacklisted by my RV club and travelers are highly encouraged to avoid it. read more

I've been coming to the fair since I was a little girl and it'll always be a favorite thing to do during summer. What I love the most is the different variety, amazing booths they have. Alot of the stuff they sell are handmade, and it can get expensive but so beautiful! And we can't forget about the attractions. I'm a bit of a adrenaline junkie so all their "scary" rides are my top priority to get to. But most of all, my favorite one to go on is the Ferris Wheel. I love saving that ride for the last ride of the night because the whole fairgrounds is light up with bright colors and you can see everything and the view is amazing up there. The reason why I bumped a star down is because of the prices at the fair is rediculous! We can't all afford some of these stuff especially with families that have a big group. I understand it's tough times but it seems like the fair has ALWAYS been pricey. Thankfully this year, my friends and I went on a special day where the rides we're only $1. Saved us a BUNCH of money. Anyways, regardless of the prices, this place is where you need to go at least once a year. Fun for you and the family :) read more

This place is the worst RV park we have stayed at. We were put in the south lot, the lots are not set up for RV's. The majority of the spots set ups are on the right side of your space. If you park your trailer according to the set ups you walk out of your front door with your neighbors shitter set ups right in front of your door. So either have extra hoses to be able to reach the set ups or plan on have a great view of your neighbors shitter hose. Laundry room is small. No one picks up after there pets. Dog poop every where. Wild cats run all over and residents put out food to feed them. We were placed in a lot where the residents walked through to climb over the fence to get to the stables. At all hours. At 930 at night we here screaming going on. We go out side to see 1 lady crying about how she doesn't want to go to jail. While another lady on the other side of the fence trying to calm her down... Really at 930 at night. Have some respect. We called to talk to the head lady that runs it about our complaints. We were told they are not suppose to climb over the fence but there is nothing she could do about it but we could call security. We call security and are told to call the local police....REally? Your run this place and you can't do any thing about it?.. WOW. on the plus side the majority of the residents are very friendly. read more

i went to the alameda county fair's last day with some of my famiy members, because we thought it would be less people going on that day. it opened from 10am to 10pm (rides didn't started until 12pm). we got the tickets earlier and online, because it was cheaper & it would help save us some money. we bought the unlimited rides wristband ($20) online, and it was $28 at the fair. so just by the wristband, we saved $8 on each wristband we bought (we bought three! hah) we got there at around 12pm & parked at the general parking area because we just didn't want to pay for parking, so we parked pretty far away from the fair and it would've been a hell of a walk. but luckily, they provided FREE trams that picked up people in different areas & give them a ride to the main entrance, you could also take the tram back (the last tram was at 7:30pm). as expected, they had many different variety of food for everyone, booths to buy stuff, rides, etc. it was extremely too hot for me to take once it was in the afternoon (2pm-4pm) & we spent at least $15 just on drinks (including the coupons we printed out from online, buy one drink & get another one for free, which was a big money saver!). so once it got too hot for us, we walked around inside the buildings where they were selling stuff to people, & they had the ac on! i literally started screaming for joy once we got inside. there wasn't a lot of rides to ride on, but they had an alright amount of them. they seperated the rides into two different parts, the little kid rides & the rides for obviously bigger people. after we got tired of the rides, we went inside of the horse track to try to win some money & stayed for a couple of races, but sadly didn't win anything. i thought the fair overall was okay, but i would've really enjoyed it if the heat hadn't gotten to me. they also had a foot long corn dog ($6), now tell me where else can you find something like that!?! read more