Arriving in Palo Alto by bike

Few places in the Bay Area are as easy to reach by bike as Palo Alto. The town is flat from the bay to the foothills. Its bike boulevards keep cars slow on the main north to south routes. Shoreline trails link it with its neighbors. Caltrain carries dozens of bikes on every train. Stanford students and tech workers bike in from Menlo Park, Mountain View and beyond every day.

This page is about getting here with a bike, whether you ride the whole way or combine a ride with a train. Once you arrive, our guides to Palo Alto's bike boulevards and biking in Palo Alto cover the routes around town.

Bringing a bike on Caltrain

Caltrain is the main way to arrive with a bike from San Francisco, San Jose or anywhere on the Peninsula. The rules on its bikes on the train page are simple.

Bike cars

• Electric trains have two bike cars, each limited to 36 bikes, for 72 per train.
• Riders with bikes board the bike cars first and move in as far as they can.
• Stack bikes by destination and display a destination tag. Ask the conductor for one or print one from Caltrain's site.
• Diesel trains on the South County service to Gilroy have one bike car.
• Gas-powered, tandem and three-wheel bikes are not allowed.

Caltrain has paused enforcement of its bike attachment rules while it reviews its bike policy. It also states that scooters are allowed on board. When a bike car fills up, riders can be left on the platform. Caltrain calls this a bike bump and invites riders to report it. Bumps are most likely on weekday peak trains and before big events in San Francisco, so allow a spare train if you are on a schedule.

Folding bikes

Folding bikes can ride in any car if they are no wider than 32 inches at the widest point. Fold the bike before you board, keep it under your seat and keep it out of aisles, stairs, vestibules and wheelchair spaces.

Fares and timing

Bikes ride free; you pay only your own fare. Palo Alto is in Zone 3, so San Francisco is three zones away and San Jose Diridon two. Weekend trains are all locals and stop at both Palo Alto stations about every 30 minutes. Our Caltrain guide covers fares and train types.

Bikes on other trains and ferries

Riders coming from farther away can combine other services with Caltrain.

• Capitol Corridor. Trains from Sacramento and the East Bay to San Jose have two bike cars holding about a dozen bikes each, plus three racks on the lower level of every car. Folding bikes under 34 by 15 by 48 inches count as baggage.
• BART. Bikes are allowed on BART with rules about crowded trains and certain cars. Check bart.gov before riding to Millbrae for the Caltrain transfer.
• Golden Gate Ferry. The ferry operator publishes a guide to bringing your bike on board, useful for riders coming from Marin through San Francisco.
• Buses. Many regional buses carry bikes on front racks with limited space. Check each operator's rules before you count on it.

The Bay Trail

The San Francisco Bay Trail follows the shoreline around the bay. More than 350 miles of a planned 500 are built. Near Palo Alto it runs from Bedwell Bayfront Park in Menlo Park through East Palo Alto and the Palo Alto Baylands to Shoreline at Mountain View. The surface changes from gravel levee to boardwalk to paved path. The whole route is flat.

It is the most pleasant way to ride in from the north or the south. The views of the marsh are wide open, though the wind off the bay can be stiff in the afternoon. From the trail, Embarcadero Road leads west into town past the Baylands Nature Preserve. Our Bay Trail guide describes each segment.

The Stevens Creek Trail from Mountain View

The Stevens Creek Trail is a paved creekside path of about five miles through Mountain View. It runs from Shoreline and the Bay Trail at its north end to Dale Avenue and Heatherstone Way at Highway 85, passing under or over every major road. Riders from Sunnyvale and south Mountain View can use it to reach the shoreline, then follow the Bay Trail north to the Palo Alto Baylands.

A shorter link crosses US 101 on the Adobe Creek bridge for bikes and pedestrians, which opened in November 2021. It connects south Palo Alto with the shoreline trails near the Mountain View border.

Routes from neighboring towns

The Bol Park path is a paved former rail line through Barron Park, described in our Bol Park guide. The city's bike route map also labels the Homer Tunnel and the California Avenue tunnel under the railroad. Both are useful for crossing between downtown or Midtown and the west side of town.

Planning a ride in

A ride into Palo Alto is short from most neighboring towns. Menlo Park and East Palo Alto are about 10 to 15 minutes from downtown at an easy pace. Mountain View and Los Altos take a little longer. From Sunnyvale or Redwood City, many riders combine a short ride with a Caltrain hop to save time on the busy stretches of El Camino Real.

• Ride the quiet streets. El Camino Real, Alma Street and Middlefield Road carry heavy traffic. Parallel streets such as Bryant Street are calmer and better marked for bikes.
• Mind the wind. Afternoon wind blows in off the bay, often from the northwest. Riding south on the shoreline in the afternoon is usually easier than riding north.
• Carry lights. California requires a white front light and a red rear reflector after dark. The shoreline trails are unlit.
• Find company. Local clubs run group rides most weekends. See our guide to cycling clubs and group rides.

Bike parking at the stations

If you ride to a station and leave your bike, these are the options Caltrain lists:

• Palo Alto station: 178 bike racks plus BikeLink eLockers. Read more on our Palo Alto station page.
• California Avenue station: 33 racks plus eLockers, covered on our California Avenue station page.
• San Jose Diridon: 26 rack spaces and 32 BikeLink e-lockers, per the Capitol Corridor station page.

BikeLink eLockers are rented by the hour through the BikeLink app or card. Downtown, a city survey in December 2023 counted 679 bike parking spaces along University Avenue, Hamilton and Lytton avenues and nearby side streets. Racks near the station fill first, so you may need to lock up a block away.

Frequently asked questions