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Drive north on Interstate 280 past the cemeteries of Colma and the hills suddenly fill with pastel houses packed edge to edge. This is Daly City, home to about 105,000 people and the first city south of San Francisco. Its northern line follows almost all of San Francisco's southern border, so many visitors cross it without noticing.
Daly City is worth a deliberate look. It has wild ocean bluffs where paragliders launch, the 1941 Cow Palace arena, the hillside tracts that inspired a famous folk song and some of the best Filipino food in the Bay Area. This guide covers the trip from Palo Alto, the city's story, the coast, the Cow Palace, where to eat and why to go.
Where Daly City is and how far
Daly City covers about 7.7 square miles in the northwest corner of San Mateo County. It borders San Francisco, Brisbane, Pacifica, South San Francisco and the small town of Colma. The city runs from the Pacific bluffs on the west over the ridge to the Bayshore district on the east, below San Bruno Mountain. The San Andreas Fault runs just offshore and through the western edge of town.
From downtown Palo Alto it is about 28 miles. Outside rush hour the drive takes 30 to 35 minutes on Interstate 280, which runs straight through the city. Fog is part of life here. On summer afternoons the marine layer often pours over the Westlake hills while Palo Alto sits in sunshine.
Getting there from Palo Alto
By car
Interstate 280 north is the easy route. Exit at Serramonte Boulevard for the main shopping area, at John Daly Boulevard for Westlake and the coast or continue to Highway 1 for Mussel Rock and Thornton Beach. For the Cow Palace, take Highway 101 north and follow signs to Geneva Avenue.
By Caltrain and BART
Caltrain does not stop in Daly City. Ride north to Millbrae, where Caltrain and BART share a station, then take BART north to Colma or Daly City. An express train from Palo Alto reaches Millbrae in about 21 minutes. Daly City station opened on November 5, 1973. It was the end of the line for years. The extension to Colma came in 1996 and to Millbrae and SFO in 2003. See our Caltrain guide for fares from Palo Alto.
By bus
SamTrans runs its ECR route along El Camino Real between Palo Alto and Daly City BART. It is cheap but slow, with stops in every town on the way.
From La Portezuela to Daly City
Ohlone people lived along this coast long before the Spanish arrived in 1769. Mission priests marked a trail south from Mission San Francisco de Asis in 1778 and named the gap between San Bruno Mountain and the coastal hills La Portezuela, the Little Door. That spot later became Daly's Hill and is now called Top of the Hill. In the Mexican era, parts of three ranchos covered the area, including Rancho Buri Buri and Rancho Laguna de la Merced.
After an 1853 survey opened land to settlers, mostly Irish farmers took up ranches in what are now Westlake, Serramonte and Colma. Many left within a decade as fog killed their grain and potatoes. The rest turned to dairy and cattle. In 1859 the political feud between US Senator David Broderick and former judge David Terry ended in a duel near Lake Merced. Terry shot Broderick, who died three days later. Two granite shafts mark the site, California Historical Landmark No. 19.
The town takes its name from John Donald Daly, who came west in 1853, worked on a dairy farm and built up 250 acres at the Top of the Hill. When the 1906 earthquake struck just offshore near Mussel Rock and fire destroyed much of San Francisco, refugees camped on the ranches to the south. Daly and his neighbors gave them milk and food. Daly later subdivided his land and many refugees stayed. Fear of annexation by San Francisco led to an incorporation vote in March 1911. It passed 132 to 130.
Daly City stayed small until the late 1940s, when developer Henry Doelger began building Westlake, a planned district of hillside houses and a shopping center. Malvina Reynolds wrote her 1962 song Little Boxes about those rows of houses. Racial covenants kept Filipino Americans out of Westlake, so from the 1950s they bought homes east of Junipero Serra Boulevard, the start of the city's large Filipino community. In 1963 Daly City annexed Bayshore, which brought the Cow Palace inside the city. The Daly City History Museum opened in March 2009 in the building that once held the John Daly Library; check with the museum for its hours.
The Cow Palace
The Cow Palace was built as the California State Livestock Pavilion, inspired by the popular livestock hall at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition. It opened in 1941 at 2600 Geneva Avenue. The city line runs through the property, so part of the upper parking lot sits in San Francisco.
Few arenas have hosted so much. The Republican National Convention met here in 1956 and 1964. The San Francisco Warriors played here from 1962 to 1964 and again from 1966 to 1971. Boxing champions such as Joe Louis and Sugar Ray Robinson fought here, roller derby held its championships here and the circus came every year for decades. The Grand National Rodeo, Horse and Stock Show has been its signature event since 1941, apart from a break during World War II. Event listings showed the 2026 rodeo opening on Friday, October 9. Check the Cow Palace website for upcoming shows, flea markets and expos.
The coast: Mussel Rock and Thornton Beach
Daly City's western edge is a line of crumbling sandstone bluffs above the Pacific. Mussel Rock Park, at the south end, is a city park and a well-known launch site for hang gliders and paragliders when the westerly wind blows steadily. Short trails lead along the bluff top with views south to Pacifica. The 1906 earthquake's epicenter was offshore nearby.
Thornton State Beach, about 58 acres at the north end of the coast, was closed in 2009 because of landslides. It has since reopened, but the bluffs keep moving, so check California State Parks for trail conditions before you go. To the north, across the San Francisco line, Fort Funston continues the same cliffs. The water here is cold and rough with strong currents. It is a place to walk and watch, not to swim. Our guide to beaches near Palo Alto covers safer sand.
Inland, the city borders San Bruno Mountain State and County Park, Lake Merced and the Olympic Club golf course.
Food and shopping
Daly City is one of the best places in the Bay Area for Filipino food. Bakeries selling pandesal and ube treats, turo-turo steam table restaurants, lechon specialists and Filipino grocery stores are spread through the neighborhoods east of Junipero Serra Boulevard and around the big shopping centers. Chinese, Mexican and many other kitchens fill out the mix in a city where more than half of residents are Asian.
Serramonte Center, at Interstate 280 and Serramonte Boulevard, is the main mall, with department stores, a food court and many local businesses. The Westlake district has its own long-running shopping center along John Daly Boulevard. Weekend traffic around both can be heavy.
Why a Palo Alto resident might go
- Filipino food. Few places outside the Philippines offer as much variety in one city.
- Dramatic coast close to the city. Mussel Rock and Thornton Beach feel wild, yet they are minutes off Interstate 280.
- An event at the Cow Palace. The rodeo each fall is a rare chance to see one in the Bay Area.
- A gateway to San Francisco. Park near Daly City BART and ride into San Francisco, or pair the coast with the San Francisco Zoo just across the line. You can browse San Francisco tours to plan the rest of the day.
Good to know
- Bring layers. Daly City is often much cooler and grayer than Palo Alto in summer.
- Stay well back from bluff edges; the cliffs collapse without warning.
- Caltrain does not serve Daly City. Change to BART at Millbrae.
- Daly City has a 650 area code but its northern streets merge into San Francisco's grid.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get from Palo Alto to Daly City on public transit?
Take Caltrain north to Millbrae, where Caltrain and BART share a station. Then ride BART north to Colma or Daly City station. An express train reaches Millbrae in about 21 minutes. SamTrans ECR buses also run the length of El Camino Real from Palo Alto to Daly City BART, but the ride is long.
Is the Cow Palace in Daly City or San Francisco?
The arena itself is in Daly City, at 2600 Geneva Avenue, in the Bayshore neighborhood that Daly City annexed in 1963. The city line runs through the property, so part of the upper parking lot is in San Francisco. The venue opened in 1941 as the California State Livestock Pavilion.
What was the Little Boxes song about?
Malvina Reynolds wrote Little Boxes in 1962 after driving past the hillside tract homes of Westlake, a Daly City district built by developer Henry Doelger from the late 1940s. The song mocked suburban sameness and became a folk standard. Westlake is now studied as an early large planned suburb.
Where can you see paragliders in Daly City?
Mussel Rock Park, on the bluffs at the south end of the city, is a well-known launch site for hang gliders and paragliders when the ocean wind is right. The 1906 earthquake began offshore near Mussel Rock. Trails along the bluff top are short but the drop is steep, so stay back from the edges.
Why does Daly City have so many Filipino residents?
Filipino Americans began buying homes east of Junipero Serra Boulevard in the 1950s, when racial covenants kept them out of Westlake. The community grew for decades. In the 2020 census, 33.2 percent of Daly City residents were Filipino and 57.3 percent were Asian.