“Alpine Road, commonly known as Stanford Weekend Acres, offers a borough steeped in history, simple living and a close-knit community.”

A quirky unincorporated area immersed in rural history, the Alpine Road neighborhood of Menlo Park is an assemblage of 1 bedroom cabins, most notably a group on Homer Lane collectively owned by residents who jointly maintain the property and share communal laundry facilities.

A far cry from the archetypal subdivisions and mini-mansions of the area, Alpine Road, more commonly referred to as Stanford Weekend Acres, sprang from a group of cabins used as a retreat by the middle class. Much to the liking of the 126 residents, there has been infrequent development since the 1920s. Additions of the smallest of subdivisions and bucolic, one-off customs homes elicit protests by long-time locals, who desire to maintain the pastoral peacefulness of their rare borough.

Designed to attract a very specific demographic, this neighborhood of rural seclusion, one-lane rustic roads and close-knit sense of community is not about ostentatious estates and McMansions. It does afford access to top-notch Las Lomitas schools and convenient access to highway 280, all while holding fast to its history and serenity.

Neighborhood Price Point

$1,400,000 – $2,700,000

Favorable Attributes
  • Brimming with untouched history and rustic, simple living
  • Very small, yet tight-knit community
  • Eclectic, quirky dwellings offering rare pastoral serenity
  • Access to Las Lomitas schools
  • Easy entrance to highway 280 as well as recreational open space

History of Alpine Road Area, Menlo Park

Stanford Acres grew organically from its untamed roots, which sprouted in the 1920s with the construction of simple weekend lodges. Until the 1960s when the area became a favorite of the counterculture, it happily remained removed and secluded from the rest of Menlo Park. Attracting a population that included Whole Earth Catalog founder Stewart Brand, many residents were active in the Midpeninsula Free University, which had no campus and whose open curriculum was taught in homes and storefronts.

During this same period, SRI International, then known as Stanford Research Institute, erected a giant radio tower accessible by Weekend Acres Piers Lane. Completed in 1966, the grounds of “The Dish” have become popular among local hikers.

In 2012, residents battled (and lost) a proposition to subdivide a Bishop Lane lot. Their ‘uprising’ demonstrates the importance locals place upon the preservation of the neighborhood’s underdeveloped, eccentric personality.