Palo Alto - Parks

Palo Alto Parks

Palo Alto parks vary dramatically in size and amenities. Each Palo Alto park has a short description and list of amenities.

Bol Park

• Location: 3590 Laguna Avenue (between Barron and Matadero Avenues)
• Description: A 13.8 acre park with a beautiful undeveloped meadow and meandering creek. This park was named after Cornelis Bol.
• Amenities: a jogging path, wood benches, a large climbing structure, and a one-mile bicycle path running from Gunn High School to Arastradero Road.

Bowling Green Park

• Location: 474 Embarcadero Road
• Description: A 1.86 acre lawn bowling area with a clubhouse and rest rooms.
• Notes: Maintained by the city, but membership is required to use the facility.

Boulware Park

• Location: 410 Fernando Avenue (east of El Camino Real and south of Oregon Expressway)
• Description: A 1.5 acre park with an open grassy area,
• Amenities: Basketball court, picnic area with barbeque facilities, and toddler playground.

Bowden Park

• Location: 2380 High Street (Alma Street at Oregon Expressway)
• Description: A 2.0 acre park with open grassy area and mounds. The park has lovely landscaping and a small redwood grove.
• Amenities: Toddler playground with two climbing structures, benches, and picnic tables.

Briones Park

• Location: 609 Maybell Avenue (between Foothill Expressway and El Camino Real)
• Description: A 4.1 acre park with a large shaded grass area surrounded by hills and a large bridge.
• Amenities: Picnic areas, toddler play equipment, swings, and a climbing structure.

Byxbee Park

• Location: 2375 Embarcadero Road (near the San Francisco Bay)
• Description: Large open space land with trails and many water birds. Numerous artistic elements were incorporated into the park's design. The trails are covered in crushed oyster shells.

Cameron Park

• Location: 2101 Wellesley Street (between College and Stanford Avenues)
• Description: A 1.1 acre park with playground equipment and picnic tables.

Cogswell Plaza

• Location: 264 Lytton Avenue (at Bryant Street)
• Description: A 0.5 acre park with an open grassy area and redwood trees. Free concerts are held at noon on Thursdays during the summer months.
• Amenities: Benches.

El Camino Park

• Location: 100 El Camino Real (across from Stanford Shopping Center)
• Description: Palo Alto's oldest park has a soccer field and softball field with bleachers and lights.
• Amenities: Soccer field, softball field, bleachers and lights.

El Palo Alto Park

• Location: 117 Palo Alto Avenue (corner of El Camino Real and Alma Street)
• Description: A 0.5 acre park preserving "El Palo Alto", the redwood tree for which Palo Alto is named. A pedestrian bridge crosses San Francisquito Creek to Menlo Park.
• Amenities: Only a couple benches.

Foothills Park

• Location: 3300 Page Mill Road
• Description: A 1,400 acre preserve open to Palo Alto residents and their guests only. In includes rugged chaparral, woodland, fields, streams, a lake, spectacular views of the bay area, and wildlife.
• Amenities: hiking trails, lake for fishing and boating, camping facilities, picnic facilities, rest rooms, and a Nature Interpretive Center.

Greer Park

• Location: 1098 Amarillo Avenue (at West Bayshore)
• Description: A 22 acre park with many large grassy areas used by a variety of sports activities.
• Amenities: five soccer fields, three softball fields, on little league diamond, two basketball courts, a picnic area with barbeques, a par course, skateboard bowl, toddler playground, a climbing structure, and rest rooms.

Heritage Park

• Location: Homer Avenue and Waverly Street
• Description: Palo Alto's newest park. 2.01 acres in size with an open grass covered area and a children's playground. A large Coast Live Oak was moved to the sandy playground area in 2003. The park was officially opened in 2006.

Hoover Park

• Location: 2901 Cowper Street (between Colorado and Loma Verde)
• Description: A 4.2 acre park with a large open grass area and a dry creek bed filled with boulders and pebbles.
• Amenities: two tennis courts, two handball courts, tennis backboard, softball field, picnic facilities, with barbeques, toddler playground, two climbing structures, and a multi-purpose concrete bowl with a basketball hoop.

Hopkins Creekside Park

• Location: Palo Alto Avenue from El Camino to Middlefield
• Description: A 12.4 acre strip of land bordering San Francisquito Creek which is never more than 200 feet wide.
• Amenities: three open grassy areas with benches and tables.

Johnson Park

• Location: Everett Avenue between Kipling and Waverley Streets
• Description: A 2.5 acre park with community garden plots, many shaded areas, a toddler playground, basketball hoops, a sand volleyball pit, and a picnic area.
• Amenities: toddler playground, sand and water play equipment, wide concrete slide, wooden climbing structures, basketball hoops, sand volleyball pit, and community garden plots.

Lytton Plaza

• Location: 202 University Avenue (Emerson & University)
• Description: A small 0.2 acre brick paved park with benches and shade trees in the heart of downtown.
• Amenities: Benches.

Mayfield Park

• Location: 2300 Wellesley Street
• Description: A 1.1 acre park with a grassy area on the site of the College Terrace Library.
• Amenities: benches

Mitchell Park

• Location: 600 East Meadow Avenue
• Description: A 21.4 acre park supporting many different activities.
• Amenities: shuffleboard courts, checkerboard/chess tables, seven tennis courts, two paddle tennis courts, four handball courts, a multi-use concrete bowl, picnic areas with barbeques, toddler playgrounds, children's wading pool, a large dog run, and rest rooms.

Monroe Park

• Location: 4305 Miller Avenue (corner of Monroe and Miller)
• Description: A 0.55 acre park with mounded grass covered areas.
• Amenities: toddler play area with swings and benches.

Pardee Park

• Location: 851 Center Drive (corner of Center and Channing)
• Description: A 9.5 acre park with a large grassy area and shade trees. It has a concrete bowl.
• Amenities: Toddler playground, picnic facilities with barbeques, and a multi-purpose concrete bowl.

Peers Park

• Location: 1899 Park Boulevard
• Description: A 4.7 acre park with a large grassy area and supporting both tennis and basketball.
• Amenities: two tennis courts, picnic tables, toddler and school age playground equipment, climbing structures, basketball courts, and rest rooms.

Ramos Park

• Location: 800 East Meadow Avenue
• Description: A 4.4 acre park with shade trees named after Don Jesus Ramos.
• Amenities: toddler playground, climbing structures, swings, spring rides, picnic facilities with barbeques, and a multi-purpose square cement slab with a basketball hoop.

Rinconada Park

• Location: 777 Embarcadero Road
• Description: A large 19 acre park with a community swimming pool, two large picnic areas with barbeques, tennis courts, shuffleboard courts, a tennis backboard, a cemented multi-purpose bowl, a large playground for toddlers, a big kids play area with a climbing structure, sand and water play area, a large open turf area surrounded by jogging paths. The park has many large California Live Oak trees.

Robles Park

• Location: 4116 Park Boulevard
• Description: A 4.7 acre park with a large open grass area.
• Amenities: Picnic tables with barbeques, playground with sand, climbing structure with slide, and toddler swings.

Scott Park

• Location: 911 Scott Street (at Channing Ave)
• Description: A small 0.4 acre park with a circular basketball court, toddler play equipment, and benches.

Seale Park

• Location: 3100 Stockton Place (next to Matadero Creek)
• Description: A 4.3 acre park with large area for toddlers to play, and a large open area for volleyball and soccer.

Stanford/Palo Alto Community Playing Fields

• Location: 2700 El Camino Real (El Camino Real & Page Mill Road)
• Description: Palo Alto's premier field sport complex. Two regulation size soccer fields with night lighting, rest rooms, snack facility, and seating area.
• Amenities: Two regulation-size soccer fields, rest rooms, snack facility, benches and small picnic tables.

Terman Park

• Location: 655 Arastradero Road
• Description: A 7.7 acre park with four tennis courts, one basketball court, two soccer fields, a softball field and a walking/bicycling path at the back of the park.

Tower Well

• Location: Alma Street and Hawthorne Avenue
• Description: The 8,437 square foot lot is the home to the tower well built in 1910 and abandoned in 1987.

Wallis Park

• Location: 202 Ash Street (at Grant Street)
• Description: A 0.3 acre park surrounded with flower beds and curved paths located in the middle of the California Avenue shopping district.
• Amenities: Benches to sit on and enjoy the scenery.

Weisshaar Park

• Location: 2298 Dartmouth Street
• Description: A 1.1 acre park with two tennis courts and an open grassy area with benches.

Werry Park

• Location: 2100 Dartmouth Street
• Description: A 1.1acre park with a toddler play area and a large open grass area.
• Amenities: Toddler play area, sand, swings, climbing structure, and open grass area.