Barron Park walking tour

Barron Park feels different from the rest of Palo Alto. Many lanes have no sidewalks, lots come in odd shapes and a creek runs past a pasture where donkeys have grazed, on and off, since the 1930s. The neighborhood stayed outside city limits until December 8, 1975. It kept its semi-rural character as part of the deal. That history is the reason to walk it.

This loop links the state landmark that marks the area's first farm, Bol Park and its donkeys, the bike path on an old rail line and a park planted with apricots. Every stop is a public park, a public path, a state landmark or a public building. Our Barron Park guide covers the long annexation fight in detail.

Before you go

The full loop is about 3.5 miles and takes about 2 hours on foot. By bike it takes under an hour and the path makes riding pleasant. If you need a bike, compare bike rentals before your trip, since Palo Alto has no bike share. Park on a side street near La Selva Drive or on Laguna Avenue near Bol Park, where spaces are limited.

Many Barron Park streets lack sidewalks. Walk facing traffic and wear something visible at dusk. Weekday school hours bring a stream of student cyclists on the path, so midmorning and weekends are calmer.

The route, stop by stop

1. Sarah Wallis Mayfield Farm, La Selva Drive. California Historical Landmark No. 969, with a plaque dedicated on October 11, 1986. Elisha Oscar Crosby bought 250 acres here in 1853 and called it Mayfield Farm. In 1856 the farm passed to Sarah Wallis to settle a debt. She became a leading suffragist and president of California's first statewide suffrage group. Edward Barron, who gave the neighborhood its name, bought the land in 1878.
2. Laguna Avenue. Walk west toward Bol Park. Notice the lanes without curbs, the overhead wires and the mix of cottages, ranch houses and new homes. This is the semi-rural character residents asked the city to keep in 1975.
3. Bol Park, 3590 Laguna Avenue. The neighborhood's front yard is a lawn and playground along Matadero Creek. It is named for Cornelis Bol, a Dutch physicist who invented a high-intensity mercury vapor lamp and later worked at Stanford. Santa Clara County acquired the land in May 1971 while Barron Park was still unincorporated. It passed to the city after annexation.
4. Matadero Creek. Stand on the bank, not in the channel. The creek's Spanish name means slaughtering place and it appears as Arroyo del Matadero on maps from the 1830s and 1840s. It runs about 8 miles from the foothills to the bay.
5. The native habitat garden. Volunteers from the Barron Park Association tend a California native garden in the park, with help from local students, Scouts and Grassroots Ecology.
6. The donkey pasture. Across the creek from the old Bol cottage on Roble Ridge, visible from the path. The Barron Park Donkey Project cares for the animals on private land. In 2026 the project lists Buddy and April. Read the rules below before you approach.
7. Bol Park path, north spur. Walk north along the paved path beside the VA Palo Alto campus toward Hanover Street and Stanford Research Park, then turn back. This adds about a mile round trip. Skip it if you are short on time.
8. Bol Park path to Gunn High School. Head south on the path to its end at Miranda Avenue and Arastradero Road, beside Gunn High School at 780 Arastradero Road. Our Gunn High School page covers the campus.
9. Fire Station 5, 600 Arastradero Road. Walk east along Arastradero. Artist Bodeck Luna painted the station's roll-up door as part of the city's mural program. Keep the driveway clear for engines.
10. Juana Briones Park. Next door. Once an apricot orchard, it is now an open field with play structures. Volunteers have planted small apricot groves around the edges to honor that past. The park carries the name of Juana Briones, a Californio landowner whose home site on Old Adobe Road is California Historical Landmark No. 524.
11. Maybell Avenue back toward El Camino Real. Walk northeast along Maybell and side streets to return to La Selva Drive. El Camino Real has cafes and restaurants for lunch.

The donkeys' history

The donkey story begins in 1934. According to the Barron Park Donkey Project, Cornelis Bol took his sons to the county fair to buy a horse and came home with a donkey. The family lived on Roble Ridge from 1936 and the herd grew to nearly half a dozen. Mickey, the last of the Bol family donkeys, lived on for years after the family was gone.

Volunteers formed the Donkey Project to care for the animals and the environmental nonprofit Acterra has served as its fiscal sponsor. Perry's fame grew after the first Shrek film in 2001. The Palo Alto Daily Post reported that animators from Pacific Data Images studied him in 1998 to capture how donkeys move. The herd changes over time, so check the Barron Park Donkey Project website for who is there now.

The Bol Park bike path

The path follows the old Southern Pacific right-of-way, abandoned in the mid-1960s. Southern Pacific donated about three acres in 1974 and Stanford owned the rest of the corridor. Construction began in 1979 and the regional path was dedicated in May 1980. It runs about 1.25 miles from Hanover Street to Miranda Avenue. Because there are no cars, it is one of the safest school routes in the city. Ring a bell or call out when passing. Our Bol Park guide has more and our biking guide shows how the path fits the city network.

An independent neighborhood

Barron Park argued about joining Palo Alto for almost 30 years. A 1947 fire district proposal lost by three votes. Voters rejected annexation in November 1948 by 338 to 261. In 1949 they formed their own fire district. In 1965 the neighborhood association switched to supporting annexation on its own terms. Residents finally voted about two to one to join the city and annexation took effect on December 8, 1975. Bol Park became the city's newest park soon after. For the older layers, see our page on the Spanish and Mexican era and the story of Mayfield, which took its name from the Wallis farm.

Etiquette and safety

• Most of the route outside the parks passes private homes. Stay on the road edge or path.
• Dogs must be leashed in the park and on the path.
• Keep children back from creek banks after heavy rain.
• Arastradero Road is busy. Use crosswalks near Gunn High School.

Extending the walk

From Gunn High School, ride west on Arastradero Road to the trails of Pearson-Arastradero Preserve. Heading north, connect with our California Avenue walking tour, which ends near old Mayfield's main street. The Barron Park Association's Celebration and Craft Fair is scheduled at Juana Briones Park on November 15, 2026, from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Families should also see our Palo Alto with kids guide. For recorded tours elsewhere in the region, browse self-guided audio tours.

Frequently asked questions