Sharon Heights

Sharon Heights is the part of Menlo Park most visitors only see from a car window. Drive up Sand Hill Road from Stanford toward Interstate 280 and it is on your right, a hillside of curving streets, mature trees, garden apartments and single-family homes overlooking the Stanford foothills. It has no downtown, no tourist sights and no Caltrain station. What it has is a convenient neighborhood shopping center, a private golf club and a location that puts the venture capital offices of Sand Hill Road within walking distance.

This guide covers the neighborhood's history, what is there today and how it connects to Stanford and Palo Alto. For the city as a whole, see our Menlo Park guide.

Where Sharon Heights is

Sharon Heights fills the southwest corner of Menlo Park. Sand Hill Road runs along its southern edge, with Stanford land on the other side. Alameda de las Pulgas and unincorporated West Menlo Park lie to the east. Interstate 280 runs just to the west, with an interchange at Sand Hill Road.

The neighborhood is split from downtown Menlo Park by West Menlo Park, which belongs to San Mateo County rather than the city. That quirk explains why Sharon Heights feels like its own place. Downtown Menlo Park is roughly two to three miles away by road. Downtown Palo Alto is a similar distance via Sand Hill Road and El Camino Real.

History

Rancho to estate

Like most of Menlo Park, the land was once part of Rancho de las Pulgas, the huge Spanish and Mexican era land grant that covered much of the mid-Peninsula. Before that, it was Ohlone land. After California statehood, wealthy San Franciscans bought large country estates in the hills here.

The Sharons

One of those estates belonged to Frederick W. Sharon (1859 to 1914) and his wife, Louise Tevis Breckinridge Sharon (1858 to 1938). Frederick was the son of William Sharon, the Comstock silver millionaire who served as a U.S. senator from Nevada. Louise was a daughter of Lloyd Tevis, the San Francisco financier who was a president of Wells Fargo. Their estate covered about 600 acres of hills in southwest Menlo Park.

Suburban development

In the 1960s the estate was developed and named Sharon Heights. It was part of the same postwar suburban boom that produced Palo Alto's Eichler tracts. The country club opened in 1962 and the shopping center followed in 1965.

Sand Hill Road changed at the same time. In the early 1970s the first venture firms moved into low office buildings at 3000 Sand Hill Road, just down the hill. Our page on 3000 Sand Hill Road tells that story.

Sharon Heights Shopping Center

The shopping center at 325 Sharon Park Drive is the neighborhood's everyday hub. A 2024 leasing listing describes it as a 1965 neighborhood center with about 85,000 square feet of shop space, 26 stores and 438 parking spaces. A new entrance was added in 2013, which the Almanac called the first major improvement since the center opened.

Safeway is the anchor. The chain lists its Sharon Park Drive store at 325 S. Sharon Park Drive. The 2024 listing also named a CVS pharmacy, a Starbucks, a UPS Store, a State Farm office and branches of Wells Fargo, Chase and Comerica. The Comerica branch may now operate under a different name, so check with the bank before you visit. Small tenants come and go, so check a business's own site before you make a trip for it.

For residents, the center covers groceries, prescriptions, banking and coffee without a drive down to El Camino Real. For visitors staying on Sand Hill Road, it is the closest place to pick up snacks, sunscreen or a sandwich. For sit-down meals, head to downtown Menlo Park. Our guide to where to eat in Menlo Park covers the options.

Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club

Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club, at 2900 Sand Hill Road, has operated since 1962. The club describes itself as a private club offering golf, dining and recreation and notes that it holds a Platinum Club award. Its course sits on the hills at the western edge of the neighborhood, close to Interstate 280.

The club is for members and their guests only. There are no public tee times. If you want to play near Palo Alto, our golf guide covers public options such as Baylands Golf Links. The Stanford Golf Course across Sand Hill Road is also private, though its driving range is open to the public.

Sand Hill Road at the doorstep

The stretch of Sand Hill Road below Sharon Heights is the most famous venture capital address in the world. Firm offices line the road between Interstate 280 and Stanford. Sequoia Capital is at 2800 Sand Hill Road, Kleiner Perkins at 2750 and Andreessen Horowitz at 2865, according to SEC filings and firm websites. There is nothing to tour, but the buildings are a quiet piece of Silicon Valley lore.

Also nearby:

• Rosewood Sand Hill, the luxury resort at 2825 Sand Hill Road, with its restaurant Madera. Our Rosewood page has the details.
• SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, at 2575 Sand Hill Road, which offers free public tours about twice a month. See our research labs guide.
• Stanford's foothills, including the Dish trail a few miles southeast.

Sand Hill Road has fast traffic and limited sidewalks along much of this stretch. It is a road for cars and road cyclists, not for a stroll.

Living in Sharon Heights

• Housing: a mix of single-family homes, townhouses and apartment and condominium complexes, much of it dating from the 1960s onward. Prices are high, in line with the rest of Menlo Park.
• Schools: Sharon Heights is in the Las Lomitas School District for elementary and middle school, not the Menlo Park City School District. High schoolers are in the Sequoia Union High School District.
• Commute: Interstate 280 is minutes away and Stanford is a short drive or bike ride. Getting to Caltrain means driving or biking to the Menlo Park or Palo Alto stations.
• Services: PG&E supplies power and gas, as in the rest of Menlo Park.

People moving to the area often compare Sharon Heights with Palo Alto neighborhoods such as Palo Alto Hills. Both offer hillside quiet, though Sharon Heights has more apartments and a shopping center inside the neighborhood.

Visiting and getting around

1. By car: From Palo Alto, take Sand Hill Road west from El Camino Real past Stanford Shopping Center and Stanford's campus. Turn right on Sharon Park Drive for the shopping center. The drive takes about 10 minutes outside rush hour.
2. By bike: Sand Hill Road has bike lanes and is a popular route for road cyclists heading to Portola Valley and Woodside. The climb up from Stanford is gradual.
3. By transit: Service is limited. Plan on a car, a bike or a rideshare.

If you are visiting Sand Hill Road for meetings and need wheels, you can compare rental cars from SFO or SJC.

Frequently asked questions