San Leandro

San Leandro is the city between Oakland and Hayward that most drivers see only as a run of exits on Interstate 880. About 91,000 people live here. It is one of the oldest towns in the East Bay, with a downtown that grew on a Mexican rancho, a long Portuguese heritage and a cherry festival held since 1909.

For a Palo Alto resident, San Leandro makes a good half-day outing or a stop on the way to Oakland. Its Spanish-style Casa Peralta is one of the most unusual houses in the Bay Area, its shoreline has easy walks on the Bay Trail and Lake Chabot sits just over its eastern edge. This guide covers the trip, the history, the sights and when to go.

Where San Leandro is and how far

San Leandro lies on the east shore of the bay, with Oakland to the northwest and the unincorporated communities of Ashland and Castro Valley and the city of Hayward to the southeast. The city covers about 15.5 square miles. The San Leandro Hills rise above it to the northeast. The Hayward Fault passes under Foothill Boulevard. Its slow creep has been photographed cracking the pavement there.

From downtown Palo Alto it is about 32 miles. Outside rush hour the drive takes 35 to 45 minutes over the San Mateo Bridge and north on Interstate 880.

Getting there from Palo Alto

By car

Take Highway 101 north to Highway 92, cross the San Mateo Bridge and head north on Interstate 880. Exit at Davis Street for downtown and the shoreline, or at Marina Boulevard for the marina area. Tolls are charged only westbound: $8.50 for a car in 2026, rising to $9.00 with FasTrak on January 1, 2027. Interstate 880 is one of the slowest freeways in the region at weekday rush hours, so travel midday or on weekends if you can.

By BART

San Leandro has two BART stations: San Leandro station is a short walk from downtown and Casa Peralta. Bay Fair station sits beside the Bayfair shopping area. On weekdays, take the Dumbarton Express from Palo Alto to Union City BART and ride north. Any day, you can take Caltrain to Millbrae, ride BART through San Francisco and under the bay and change in Oakland for a train south. Allow about an hour and a half either way. Our Caltrain guide covers the first leg.

From Rancho San Leandro to a Portuguese town

The Spanish soldier Pedro Fages and Father Juan Crespi passed through on March 20, 1772, the first Europeans recorded here. In 1820 the vast Rancho San Antonio, covering much of today's East Bay, went to Luis Maria Peralta. In 1842 the smaller Rancho San Leandro, about 9,000 acres, was granted to Jose Joaquin Estudillo. The name honors St. Leander of Seville, a sixth-century bishop. Both grants lay along El Camino Viejo, the old road that is now East 14th Street.

Beginning in 1855, two of Estudillo's sons-in-law, John B. Ward and William Heath Davis, laid out a townsite bounded by San Leandro Creek. In 1856 San Leandro became the seat of Alameda County. The 1868 earthquake on the Hayward Fault wrecked the courthouse. The county seat moved to Brooklyn, now part of Oakland, in 1872. That same year, on March 21, San Leandro incorporated as a city. Casa de Estudillo, the family's last home, has been a California Historical Landmark since 1938.

From the 1880s, Portuguese immigrants from the Azores and Hawaii settled here, working farms and opening businesses. By the 1910 census they made up nearly two-thirds of the town. The cherry festival grew out of the orchards that once surrounded the town.

After World War II, San Leandro was one of many suburbs that used restrictive covenants to keep out Black buyers. In 1960 the city was 99.3 percent white while neighboring Oakland had a large Black population. The Supreme Court had already ruled such covenants unenforceable. The city began to diversify in the 1980s. By 2010 Asian Americans were the largest group.

Casa Peralta and downtown

Casa Peralta, at 384 West Estudillo Avenue, is the showpiece of downtown. A member of the Peralta family built the house in 1901 in Colonial Revival style. In 1927 Hermania Peralta Dargie hired Captain Antonio Martin to remake it in the style of the family's estate in Spain. He added a formal garden with a fountain, a four-story tower and a front porch covered in tiles that show scenes from Don Quixote. The house joined the National Register of Historic Places on January 4, 1982. It is now a museum run by the city.

The city has offered docent tours on weekend afternoons depending on volunteer availability, so call before you go. The tour climbs steep stairs. The garden and the tiled porch are worth a look even from the sidewalk. The San Leandro History Museum, with Ohlone artifacts and Peralta family belongings, sits next door. The Little Brown Church, once a classroom wing of an 1867 Presbyterian church, stands behind. All of it is about a four-minute walk from San Leandro BART.

The Cherry Festival

The San Leandro Cherry Festival dates to 1909, according to the city. It fills historic downtown on a Saturday in early June. The 2026 festival on June 6 opened with a parade from 10 to 11 a.m. of community groups, floats and classic cars, followed by a street festival until 6 p.m. with live music, more than 150 vendor booths, a fresh cherry market, a family zone and a car show. Check the city's festival page for the 2027 date.

The shoreline and Lake Chabot

The San Leandro Shoreline Recreation Area wraps around the marina at the west end of Marina Boulevard. It has group picnic areas, lawns and trails, with a long flat stretch of the Bay Trail toward Oakland and Hayward. The city has been redeveloping parts of the shoreline, so expect some construction. See our Bay Trail guide.

Lake Chabot, just over the city line in Castro Valley, is a 317-acre reservoir formed by damming San Leandro Creek in 1874 and 1875. Its earthen dam was named a California Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1976. The lake was closed to the public for 91 years before limited recreation was allowed. Today Lake Chabot Regional Park and Anthony Chabot Regional Park offer hiking and bike trails around the shore, boat rentals, fishing and camping. Swimming is not allowed because the lake is a standby water supply. Toxic algae also bloom in warm months. Our fishing guide covers permits.

Food and everyday stops

San Leandro has long been a food-processing town. Ghirardelli has major operations here. Maxwell House roasted Yuban coffee in the city from 1949 until 2015. Today's restaurants reflect a mixed population, from taquerias to Filipino, Chinese and Vietnamese kitchens, with a few reminders of the town's Portuguese roots. Downtown along East 14th Street and Davis Street has the most choice. The Bayfair area near the BART station adds chains.

Why a Palo Alto resident might go

1. A one-of-a-kind house. Casa Peralta's Don Quixote tiles and tower are worth the trip on a tour day.
2. Cherries in June. The festival is a classic small-town street fair.
3. Lake Chabot. A rental boat on the lake is a calm morning close to Oakland.
4. An Oakland pairing. Combine San Leandro with the Oakland Zoo in the hills just north or a full Oakland day trip. With an early flight from Oakland's airport, you can compare hotels near Oakland Airport and see our Oakland airport guide.

Frequently asked questions