Menlo Park

Menlo Park is a suburban, tree-lined community in San Mateo County midway between the major cities of San Francisco and San Jose. Menlo Park offers visitors easy access to Stanford, Palo Alto and Silicon Valley. It is best known for its old-fashioned train station and downtown, and for being the home of venture capital and Meta (formerly Facebook). It also encompasses the USGS Headquarters, Veterans Administration Hospital, SRI Campus, and portions of the Stanford University campus, including the Stanford Linear Accelerator (SLAC).

Understand
Menlo Park is relatively small (36,000 residents), nestled between the San Francisco Bay (and US 101) in the north, and the Pacific Coast Mountain Range (and I-280) in the south. The town is divided in half by El Camino Real (CA 82), the Caltrain railway and the downtown commercial center. The academic and business hubs of Stanford and Palo Alto are to the east, while East Palo Alto and Redwood City are to the north and east. To the west, Menlo Park it is bordered by the estates of Woodside and Atherton.

Leafy, suburban and with a mild year-round climate, Menlo Park is often considered to be one of the most pleasant towns on the San Francisco Peninsula. Northern portions of Menlo Park, north of US 101 tend to offer fewer attractions to visitors. In the south, Sand Hill Road is home to dozens of venture capital firms, which manage tens of billions of dollars for financing Silicon Valley technology companies that have become the economic backbone of Silicon Valley.

This article is primarily about Menlo Park's downtown area which is active during business hours. Since many businesses close by 8 or 9PM, visitors often turn to neighboring Palo Alto and Redwood City for late-night dining, beverage and entertainment options.

Get in
Downtown Menlo Park is accessible by automobile, rail, bus and plane from San Francisco (30 miles or 50 km away) and San Jose (25 miles or 40 km away).

By automobile
Primary access by car is via CA-82 (El Camino Real), US-101 (Bayshore Freeway) or the more scenic I-280 (Junipero Serra Freeway). Access from the East Bay, is via CA-84 and the Dumbarton Bridge. Menlo Park is served by local ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft.

By rail
Perhaps, the easiest way to get to and from downtown Menlo Park is by using Caltrain.



By bus

 * SamTrans is San Mateo County's regional bus system. It provides routes which service areas north of Menlo Park toward San Francisco.
 * Stanford runs a free shuttle called Marguerite that makes stops in Menlo Park. It's best suited for traveling between Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Stanford.
 * VTA is Santa Clara County's regional bus and light rail system. It provides transportation from Palo Alto's train station to areas south of Menlo Park toward San Jose.

By plane
Menlo Park is roughly equidistant (about a 30-minute drive) to the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and the San Jose Mineta Airport (SJC). San Francisco's status as a major airline hub means that travelers are more likely to come through SFO.


 * From San Francisco International Airport, it's possible to get to Menlo Park via public transit: take the BART train from the San Francisco Airport to the Millbrae station, then connect to Caltrain heading south and get off at the Menlo Park station. The combined BART/Caltrain trip will likely take 1 to 2 hours, depending on timing and train connections.
 * From San José Mineta International Airport, take the free shuttle bus #10 to get to the Santa Clara Caltrain station. From there take a Caltrain north to the Menlo Park station.

Get around
Menlo Park has an appealing and very walkable downtown area that is centered along Santa Cruz Avenue. It extends for about 10 blocks south (a 15- to 20-minute walk) from the Caltrain railroad station, across El Camino Real, and down to Camp Fremont Park.

Biking is a good option for exploring beyond downtown Menlo Park. Biking can also be combined with the train or bus. Caltrain and the regional SamTrans or VTA bus systems can get you to further destinations. Ride sharing apps, like Uber and Lyft are also good, but more expensive options.

Most Menlo Park residents drive a personal automobile when they are not walking or biking.

See






Buy
There are many shops in downtown Menlo, the ones listed here are unique or especially popular.

Coffee and tea
Menlo Park has many coffee and tea shops. Local favorites are:



Alcohol
Most restaurants in Menlo Park close by 9PM, so a late night drink can be a challenge. While nearly all restaurants in town serve wine and beer, and some have a bar, there are several places that stand out for liquor and cocktails.

Connect
The area code for Menlo Park and the surrounding area is 650.

Free Wi-Fi is available at:


 * Most coffee shops like Starbucks, Peet's and CoffeeBar
 * Most coffee shops like Starbucks, Peet's and CoffeeBar

Phone and Computer Repair

 * Techloop Electronics Repair, 708 Santa Cruz Ave

Medical Care

 * Menlo Medical Clinic, 1300 Crane St. - Appointment required.

Print Media

 * The local newspaper is The Almanac. It's available for free along Santa Cruz Avenue in newspaper boxes.

Go next
Menlo Park is a good base of operations for visiting both Silicon Valley and San Francisco. It's close to Stanford, Palo Alto, and the Stanford Shopping Center.