A college visit to Palo Alto

Many families make their first trip to Palo Alto for a college visit. Stanford is the draw, but the area offers more than one school. Santa Clara University is 20 to 30 minutes south. Foothill College, a well-regarded community college, sits in the hills 15 minutes away. Berkeley and San Jose are within an hour. With a little planning, two days covers several campuses and still leaves time to see what student life here looks like.

This page is a travel plan, not admissions advice. It uses the visit programs each school publishes and links to their official pages. Schedules change by term, so confirm every time before you book flights. For the details of Stanford's programs, read our guide to visiting Stanford as a prospective student.

Stanford's official visits

Stanford's Office of Undergraduate Admission runs all guided visits. According to its campus visit page, fall 2026 programs follow this pattern:

Winter quarter programs run from January 4 to March 26, 2027. Registration for them opened on October 26, 2026. Spring programs, from March 29 to June 11, open at a later date. Stanford asks parties to bring no more than three guests besides the registrant, so four people in all. Guided visits run on select Saturdays only. Most weekends and all university holidays are for self-guided visits.

December is a problem month

If you are planning a winter break trip, note Stanford's posted December schedule. Programming is reduced December 7 to 11, 2026 during final exams. From December 14 to 17 the Visitor Center opens only from 9 a.m. to noon and tours are self-guided. From December 18, 2026 to January 3, 2027 the Visitor Center is closed for the campuswide winter closure. You can still walk the campus, but no guided programs run.

Booking tips

1. Register first, then book travel. Stanford advises waiting for its confirmation email before booking flights or hotels.
2. Pick a Monday or Friday if you can. Those days offer the full information session plus tour and the noon forums for students and parents.
3. Register for a general visit if programs are full. Stanford has no online waitlist, but visitors registered for a general campus visit get priority for spots that open from cancellations.
4. Cancel if plans change. It frees the spot for another family.

Stanford states that a campus visit has no effect on admission decisions. If the dates do not work, a self-guided visit gives a good feel for the place.

Day 1: Stanford

Arrive 30 minutes early. The Stanford Visitor Center at 295 Galvez Street, near the stadium, is the admission office's hub, open on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Read your confirmation for the exact meeting point. Visitor parking is paid on weekdays through ParkMobile by zone number. In October 2026 Stanford listed $4.46 an hour and $35.68 a day plus a small fee. Our parking and transit guide explains the system.

A Monday works like this. Attend the 9:15 a.m. information session and tour, which ends around noon. Split up for the student and parent forums at noon. Then meet for lunch at Tresidder Union, the main campus food court, since the dining halls are closed to the public. Our campus dining guide lists what is open. In the afternoon, take the self-guided route to the free Cantor Arts Center, the Rodin garden and the Arizona Garden. Our campus walk maps it. The Cantor is closed Tuesday and Wednesday.

A Friday works in reverse: forums at noon, a self-guided morning and the 2:15 p.m. session and tour.

Day 2 morning: Santa Clara University

Drive about 17 miles south of downtown Palo Alto on US 101 or El Camino Real to Santa Clara University, a Jesuit university founded in 1851. In a straight line it is about 14 miles. Its campus visits are booked through the admission office's online portal. The visit opens with a presentation from an admission counselor, followed by a campus walk led by a student ambassador. The Leavey School of Business offers its own tours of Lucas Hall and the School of Engineering runs tours led by engineering students. Check the campus tours page for dates. The admission page noted a December pause, with tours resuming in early January, so plan winter trips accordingly.

The campus centers on Mission Santa Clara de Asís, an active church that carries on the eighth California mission, founded in 1777. It welcomes visitors outside services. Our Mission Santa Clara guide covers its history and the de Saisset Museum next to it. Our Santa Clara day trip page has lunch and transit ideas.

Day 2 afternoon: Foothill College

Head back north to Foothill College at 12345 El Monte Road in Los Altos Hills, about 15 minutes from Stanford. Founded in 1957, it is part of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District, along with De Anza College in Cupertino. Foothill runs on a quarter system, which is unusual among California community colleges. Architect Ernest Kump designed the hillside campus with landscape architects Hideo Sasaki and Peter Walker. It is worth seeing for students weighing a community college or transfer path. Check the college's website for any organized tours.

Parking needs attention. The district's parking page says visitors must register for a daily digital permit, with the license plate serving as the permit. On a clear Friday evening, the college's observatory holds free public viewing from 9 to 11 p.m.

More campuses within an hour

• UC Berkeley is about an hour north across the bay. Our Berkeley day trip covers the town. Book its admission tours on the university's own site.
• San Jose is 25 to 35 minutes south and home to San José State University. Check its admission site for visits.
• Cañada College in Redwood City is the closest community college on the San Mateo County side. Our Cañada College guide covers visits.
• San Francisco has several universities and is about 40 minutes away by express Caltrain.

Trying to see more than two campuses in a day usually means more time in traffic than on campus. Two a day is a good limit.

Getting around

A car makes a multi-campus trip much easier. Stanford is reachable by Caltrain and the free weekday Marguerite shuttle, but Santa Clara and Foothill are awkward by transit. If you fly into San Jose or SFO, you can compare rental cars at either airport. Avoid driving between campuses at rush hour, roughly 7 to 10 a.m. and 3 to 7 p.m. on weekdays. If you plan to stay in Palo Alto and use the train, you can book an airport transfer to your hotel instead.

Where to stay

Stanford does not run a public hotel. Its Stanford Guest House is limited to guests with a Stanford, SLAC or Stanford Medicine affiliation and an educational purpose, so prospective families do not qualify. The closest public hotels are on El Camino Real near Palm Drive, within walking distance of campus. Our guide to staying near Stanford compares them. If you are visiting Santa Clara or San Jose too, Mountain View sits halfway and often costs less. See staying in Menlo Park or Mountain View.

Rates climb on Stanford event weekends: Family Weekend on February 26 and 27, 2027, Admit Weekend from April 28 to 30, 2027 and commencement from June 10 to 13, 2027. Book a refundable rate as soon as your tour is confirmed. You can compare hotels near Stanford for your dates.

Frequently asked questions