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Robles Park is a neighborhood park in the old sense: a block of green set behind houses so that most of it is out of sight from the street. Families from Charleston Meadows reach it by short paths and side entrances. The city calls it a "quiet neighborhood park hidden from view." Inside are two children's play areas, picnic tables, barbecue grills, a basketball court, a ball field and open lawn. It is the park this part of south Palo Alto uses most.
The address is 4116 Park Boulevard. The city lists it at 4.7 acres, the same size the city lists for Peers Park farther north on the same street. The city's full name for it is Don Secundino Robles Park. This guide covers what is there, the playground renovation, the rancho family behind the name and how to get there without a car.
Robles Park at a glance
The city's park page lists BBQ grills, picnic tables, basketball courts, a baseball or softball field, walking trails and playgrounds. Here is how that plays out on the ground:
- Playgrounds: two children's play areas, according to the city's renovation project page, which covered new equipment and surfacing in both.
- Picnics: tables and barbecue grills. No reservations. First come, first served.
- Sports: a basketball court, a baseball or softball field and open lawn for informal games.
- Paths: walking trails through the park.
- Restrooms: the city's page lists no restroom.
- Dogs: on a leash only.
- Fees: none.
Our playgrounds guide describes Robles as a quiet park with several play areas. That quiet is the draw. It is a good choice when the Magical Bridge Playground at Mitchell Park is packed on a weekend morning.
The playground renovation
The city's Public Works department runs a Robles Park Renovation Project focused on replacing the play equipment and surfacing in the park's two playgrounds. The city's project page records these steps:
- October 11, 2023: first community meeting.
- April 25, 2024: second community meeting, held on Zoom.
- December 3, 2024: updated playground equipment presentation, along with a public survey on equipment choices.
- Spring 2025: construction anticipated, according to the project page.
We could not confirm when the work finished. The project page still showed the spring 2025 target when we checked in November 2026. An earlier version of the plan, listed in the city's capital program in 2022 as project PE-18015 at about $669,500, also named basketball court repairs, perimeter fencing, pathways, irrigation and turf restoration. The later project page lists only the playgrounds. Check the city's Robles Park project page for the current status and any closure.
Don Secundino Robles
The park honors one of the most colorful figures in early Santa Clara Valley history. In 1847 José Peña sold most of Rancho Rincón de San Francisquito to the brothers Secundino and Teodoro Robles. Some histories give the year as 1849. The rancho covered much of today's south Palo Alto. The family renamed it Rancho Santa Rita.
A 2021 plaque at the Santa Clara Mission Cemetery, where Secundino and his wife are buried, says that as a boy in 1824 he found an Ohlone cinnabar mine at New Almaden. It also says he served as mayordomo of Mission Santa Clara in the 1840s. He married María Antonia García in 1835. They had 29 children. Sources disagree on his birth year.
The family hacienda stood near the end of today's San Antonio Road and was a social center for the area until the 1906 earthquake ruined the adobe. A plaque at Alma Street and Ferne Avenue marks the site, a short ride from the park. The long American court process cut the Robles claim over the years. The family sold land in pieces. One of those sales, 250 acres to Elisha Oscar Crosby in 1853, became Mayfield Farm, today's Barron Park.
The park's own name has changed. Our history pages and OpenStreetMap records note that it was called Mayfield Park until 1968, the year the city renamed several parks for people tied to local history. Our guide to the Spanish and Mexican era has the full Robles story.
Tips for a visit
Because the park sits behind houses, first-time visitors often drive past it. Look for the gaps between homes along Park Boulevard and the side streets. Once inside, the noise of El Camino Real and Alma Street fades. Shade trees cover parts of the lawn, which helps on summer afternoons, though the play areas can be sunny.
The barbecue grills make Robles a practical place for an informal family cookout. Bring everything you need and take your trash home if the cans are full. Since the city takes group picnic reservations only at Mitchell, Rinconada and Foothills, a large party here works on a first come basis. Arrive early on holiday weekends.
Hours and rules
The city's Robles page shows no posted hours. Palo Alto's municipal code sets a 10:30 p.m. closing for city parks, with parks closed until sunrise. The same code bans alcohol outright at Robles Park, one of a short list of parks where no permit is available. The usual rules apply too: dogs on leash, no drones and no feeding wildlife. The code's text is on the Palo Alto Municipal Code site.
Charleston Meadows and the creek
Robles is the park of Charleston Meadows, one of Joseph Eichler's earliest Palo Alto tracts. Anshen and Allen designed the homes, built around 1950 and 1951 between El Camino Real and Alma Street. Residents hold an annual fall social with ice cream in the park, according to Palo Alto Online.
Adobe Creek forms the southern edge of the neighborhood. The Wilkie Way bike and pedestrian bridge crosses it, giving a quiet route toward the San Antonio shopping area in Mountain View. Our Adobe Creek guide follows the creek from the foothills to the bay.
Just across the creek is Monroe Park, Palo Alto's southern tip. Its half-acre park is a small alternative for families on that side, though Monroe Park homes go to Los Altos schools rather than Palo Alto Unified.
Getting there
Park Boulevard is a calm north to south street that runs parallel to the Caltrain tracks. It is one of the corridors the city has named for future bicycle boulevard work. The nearest Caltrain stop is San Antonio station in Mountain View, on the other side of Adobe Creek. VTA Route 22 and Rapid 522 run along El Camino Real at the west edge of the neighborhood.
By car, reach Park Boulevard from Charleston Road or West Meadow Drive and use street parking. Please keep entrances and driveways clear. The paths into the park run between homes.
Schools, food and other parks
A 2014 Palo Alto Online profile listed Juana Briones Elementary, the middle school now called Ellen Fletcher and Gunn High School for Charleston Meadows. Boundaries can change, so confirm any address with the district's school finder.
- Mitchell Park: across Alma Street, with the Magical Bridge Playground, restrooms, a dog run and the library. See our Mitchell Park guide.
- Ventura Community Center: another park and playground a short ride north.
- Food: restaurants line El Camino Real a few blocks west. The San Antonio shopping area in Mountain View is a short ride south.
An easy weekend plan: playground time at Robles in the morning, lunch on El Camino Real, then the library and Magical Bridge at Mitchell Park in the afternoon.
Frequently asked questions
Has the Robles Park playground been renovated?
The city ran a project to replace the play equipment and surfacing in both playgrounds. It held community meetings in October 2023 and April 2024 and showed updated equipment designs in December 2024. Its project page said construction was expected in spring 2025. We could not confirm the completion date, so check the city's project page.
Who was Robles Park named after?
Don Secundino Robles, a Californio ranchero. With his brother Teodoro he bought Rancho Rincón de San Francisquito, which covered much of today's south Palo Alto, in 1847. Some sources say 1849.
Does Robles Park have restrooms?
The city's page for Robles lists no restroom. Mitchell Park, across Alma Street, lists restrooms and has the Mitchell Park Library next door.
How do you get to Robles Park from Mountain View?
On foot or by bike, the Wilkie Way bridge over Adobe Creek links Charleston Meadows with the streets toward the San Antonio shopping area. By car, Park Boulevard is reached from Charleston Road or West Meadow Drive.
Is alcohol allowed at Robles Park?
No. The municipal code lists Don Secondino Robles Park, spelled that way in the code, among the city parks where drinking alcohol is banned outright.