Palo Alto Orchards

Palo Alto Orchards is a neighborhood you could drive past a hundred times without noticing. Its five short streets branch off Arastradero Road near El Camino Real, between larger apartment buildings and the hotels on the boulevard. Inside, it is a quiet grid of family homes with big backyards. The name recalls the fruit trees that covered the land before the houses came.

The Palo Alto Weekly lists it among the city's neighborhoods and residents are quick to say it is not Barron Park, even though it shares a border. This guide covers where it is, how it began, what the houses are like and the parks, schools, shops and transit nearby.

Where Palo Alto Orchards is

Palo Alto Online places the neighborhood off Arastradero Road, bordering Barron Park, between a high-rise apartment complex and the Crowne Plaza Palo Alto hotel at 4290 El Camino Real. It covers five streets:

• McKellar Lane
• Suzanne Drive and Suzanne Court
• Kelly Way
• Lorabelle Court

OpenStreetMap places McKellar Lane on the edge of the area it labels Charleston Meadows, which shows how loosely neighborhood lines are drawn in this corner of town. Green Acres lies to the west along Arastradero Road. Charleston Meadows is across El Camino Real. Gunn High School and the foothills are farther west.

From orchards to a postwar tract

Like most of south Palo Alto, this land was farmed for decades before it was built on. Fruit orchards dominated the Santa Clara Valley in the early twentieth century. The neighborhood's name says what grew here. After World War II the land was sold and subdivided.

The developers left their mark on the street signs. Palo Alto Online reported that the tract's original developers, James McKellar and Matthew Kelly, named the streets for themselves and their wives, Suzanne and Lorabelle. McKellar Lane, Kelly Way, Suzanne Drive and Lorabelle Court all trace back to those four people.

Many first owners were World War II veterans who bought with help from the G.I. Bill. Owners were moving in by about 1950. When Leslie and Jim Fish bought in 1980, they told the Weekly, the neighborhood was still largely made up of those original owners and the Fish family were the young couple on the block. As the first generation aged, younger families moved in. Now the cycle is turning again. Our history of postwar growth explains how tracts like this transformed the city.

Housing in general terms

Palo Alto Online counted about 100 households, mostly in single-family homes with a few apartments. The housing tells the neighborhood's life story:

• Original 1950s homes. Small, single-story tract houses. Jim Fish told the Weekly that every original house still standing has been expanded in some way.
• Expanded originals. Some owners added a second story over the garage to gain space without giving up yard.
• New two-story homes. Many originals have been replaced. Several newer houses are in a Spanish Revival style with stucco walls and red tile roofs.
• Apartments. A few apartment buildings sit at the end of McKellar Lane.

A resident who moved from Midtown described the result as an interesting mix of old one-story tract homes and opulent two-story houses. Backyards are generous by Palo Alto standards. One family told the Weekly their yard comfortably held about 50 guests for a birthday party. Residents also described the neighborhood as less affluent than some other parts of the city, with police officers and engineers living next to retirees. Owners planning an addition should start with the city's rules on setbacks and height. Our guide to building permits and remodeling walks through the process. For the wider market, see our real estate guide.

Parks and open space

Palo Alto Online listed two nearby city parks:

1. Juana Briones Park at 609 Maybell Avenue, a former apricot orchard with lawns and play structures.
2. Terman Park at 655 Arastradero Road, beside Ellen Fletcher Middle School.

A longtime resident named the Terman watershed and the Bol Park path as her favorite places to walk. The Bol Park path runs through Barron Park past a donkey pasture. Farther up Arastradero Road, past Gunn High School, the Pearson-Arastradero Preserve offers grassland and oak trails. For a longer ride, rent a bike and head into the foothills.

Schools by attendance area

The schools are a big part of the appeal. Palo Alto Online listed:

All three are within walking distance or a short bike ride. Attendance areas can change, so confirm any address with the PAUSD school finder. Our public schools guide explains enrollment.

Shopping and getting around

There are no shops inside the neighborhood, but El Camino Real is at the end of the street, with restaurants, services and hotels. The San Antonio shopping area in Mountain View is a short drive south. A resident pointed out to the Weekly that the neighborhood is about the same distance from Castro Street in Mountain View as from University Avenue in Palo Alto.

Transit is better than in many south Palo Alto tracts because El Camino Real is so close. VTA Route 22 and the Rapid 522 run along El Camino, with a Rapid stop at Arastradero. A resident noted that the area is less walkable and bikeable to shops than Midtown, but better served by buses. See our guide to VTA buses and shuttles. The California Avenue and San Antonio Caltrain stations are each a bike ride away.

Living this close to El Camino Real has another advantage: hotels. The Crowne Plaza Palo Alto at 4290 El Camino Real, with 195 rooms, sits at the neighborhood's edge, so visiting relatives can stay within a short walk. Hotel Citrine and the AC Hotel Palo Alto, side by side on San Antonio Road, are a short drive south.

Arastradero Road is the main school route for three campuses, so it gets busy before and after classes. Plan drives around those hours.

Neighborhood association and community

Palo Alto Online's most recent profile does not list a neighborhood association for Palo Alto Orchards. Next door, the Barron Park Association runs community events such as May Fete and a holiday craft fair. Check the City of Palo Alto's neighborhood association list to see whether a Palo Alto Orchards contact is registered today.

The neighborhood's social life is informal. Longtime residents describe a give-and-take culture: older neighbors without children who were patient with loud boys, families who opened their yards to kids from nearby apartments and neighbors who gather for birthdays and holidays.

Visitors here can stay along El Camino Real, within walking distance. Compare hotels on El Camino Real for the closest options.

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