Riding the Los Altos Hills loop

Los Altos Hills was founded in 1956 by residents who wanted to keep the foothills rural. It still shows. The town has no shopping center and no main street. Lots are large and roads are narrow, often lined with oaks. Many have no center stripe. Footpaths, many of them dirt, wind between properties. For cyclists that adds up to a maze of quiet lanes a few minutes from Palo Alto, with views back over the valley and a horse or two around most corners.

This loop uses the main roads through the hills. It starts at California Avenue station, crosses into Los Altos Hills on Arastradero Road, follows Purissima, Robleda and Elena roads south, adds an optional climb on Moody Road toward Hidden Villa and comes home fast on Foothill Expressway, with a detour for coffee in downtown Los Altos. For the town's story, see our Los Altos Hills guide.

The ride at a glance

We traced this route on OpenStreetMap with a cycling router and sampled U.S. Geological Survey elevation data. Expect small differences on your own device. The figures are approximate.

Start, parking and Caltrain

Start at California Avenue station, where electric Caltrain trains with two bike cars stop. If you drive, park in Palo Alto and ride out. Los Altos Hills has very little public parking and its narrow roads leave no room for parked cars. Downtown Los Altos has free public parking plazas behind the shops if you prefer to start there.

Turn by turn

1. To the Bol Park path. Ride south on Park Boulevard and through Barron Park to the Bol Park path. Follow it to Arastradero Road near Gunn High School.
2. Arastradero Road. Turn right and ride west, crossing Foothill Expressway at the signal.
3. Purissima Road. Turn left onto Purissima Road. It rolls south for about 1.8 miles through Los Altos Hills, past large lots and pastures.
4. Robleda and Elena roads. Jog onto Robleda Road for a short block, then onto Elena Road, which leads south toward Foothill College.
5. Moody Road (optional). Elena brings you past Foothill College to El Monte Road. Where El Monte meets Moody Road, head west on Moody and climb up the canyon toward Hidden Villa, about 2 miles. Turn around and descend the same way.
6. El Monte Road. Ride down El Monte Road past Foothill College to Foothill Expressway.
7. Foothill Expressway. Turn left and ride northwest on the wide shoulder.
8. Downtown Los Altos detour. At San Antonio Road, turn right and ride about a mile into downtown Los Altos for coffee, then return to Foothill Expressway.
9. Home. Continue on Foothill Expressway to Arastradero Road, turn right and retrace the Bol Park path to California Avenue.

Surface and traffic

Everything on the loop is paved, but the road widths change a lot. Arastradero has bike lanes in places. Purissima, Robleda and Elena are narrow country roads, often without a center line and with little or no shoulder. Traffic is light, but drivers come round bends without much warning and service trucks park half in the road. Hold a steady line and keep your speed down on descents.

Moody Road is the most demanding section. It climbs through a tight, shaded canyon with blind curves and little room to spare. Ride it single file. On the way down, stay on your side of the road and brake before the bends. Foothill Expressway is the opposite: fast traffic but wide shoulders, heavily used by cyclists. The main risks there are cars turning right across the shoulder and debris in it.

Horses and riders use the town's pathways and sometimes the roads. Slow down, give them plenty of room and talk so the horse knows you are a person.

Water, restrooms and coffee

This is the weakest part of the ride. Los Altos Hills has no commercial district and we could not confirm any public restroom or drinking fountain on the route from an official 2026 page. The town's website, which we checked in November 2026, did not mention restroom access at Town Hall on Fremont Road. Foothill College is a campus with its own rules and visitors may need a daily digital parking permit there. Carry two bottles and plan your stop in Los Altos.

• Manresa Bread, 271 State Street, Los Altos. Its website lists hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. with indoor and outdoor seating. Our Los Altos food guide covers the State Street Market food hall nearby, among other choices.
• Hidden Villa, at the top of the Moody Road climb, is a nonprofit farm and wilderness area with a parking fee and an access system. It is not a rest stop, so check its rules before you ride in.

Closures we checked

We checked the Town of Los Altos Hills, the City of Palo Alto and Caltrans in early November 2026. The town's home page listed no road closures or construction notices for Purissima, Elena, Moody, Robleda, Fremont, Arastradero, El Monte or Altamont roads. Caltrans posted no work on these local roads. On the Palo Alto side, the city has closed about 4.1 acres of the Page Fire burn scar in Pearson-Arastradero Preserve through June 30, 2027, which does not affect trails or Arastradero Road. For anything new, the town posts Public Works monthly updates on its website.

Safety

Seasons

Spring is the best time to ride here, with green hills and blossoms along Purissima. Summer is warm on the open sections, though Moody Road stays shaded. Fall is usually dry and calm. In winter, rain leaves leaves and grit on the narrow roads and the shaded canyon on Moody stays damp for days. Since daylight saving time ended on November 1, 2026, sunset has come before 5 p.m. Shorter versions are easy: skip Moody Road, or turn the ride into the Arastradero loop by staying on Arastradero over the ridge. For the climbs further up the hill, see our road cycling climbs page.

Frequently asked questions