Alice's Restaurant California: The Ultimate Motorcycle Destination on Skyline Boulevard

Oct 8, 2025

Ask any Bay Area rider where to stop after a run through the Santa Cruz Mountains and you’ll probably hear the same answer: Alice’s Restaurant in San Francisco. It's been part of local riding culture for generations, the kind of place where the parking lot fills with bikes every weekend and stories get passed around over coffee. 

It’s one of those rare spots that still feels connected to what riding’s all about, which is why so many people think of it as one of the classic motorcycle destinations in California. In this blog, we’ll talk about how the love for Alice’s Restaurant all started, the best ways to ride there, and why it continues to bring riders together year after year.

The Bay Area’s Sunday Morning Ritual at Alice’s Restaurant

Sunday mornings at Alice’s Restaurant have become a routine that doesn’t need announcing. Riders know the timing, the flow, and the feeling of showing up and seeing the lot already filling up. It’s not tied to any official event, but it still brings out dozens of bikes, often from the same familiar groups who’ve been doing this for years. People ride up just to be part of it. You might catch a local club rolling in after an early run on Highway 84, or see someone riding alone who never misses a Sunday. There’s a comfort to it, knowing that no matter what kind of week you had, you can count on this place to bring everyone back together. That’s what makes it such a lasting biker hangout in California.

How Alice’s Restaurant Became a Skyline Boulevard Motorcycle Landmark

Most people are surprised to learn that Alice’s Restaurant in SF started out as a small general store more than a century ago. It served the loggers and travelers who passed through the Santa Cruz Mountains long before the roads were popular with riders. By the 1950s, it had turned into a café, and a few years later Alice Taylor bought it and gave it her name. The name took on a life of its own after Arlo Guthrie released his song “Alice’s Restaurant” in the late 1960s. The two had nothing to do with each other, but the song gave the place a bit of cultural magic.

When riders started exploring Skyline Boulevard and Highway 84, Alice’s naturally became part of the route. The location made sense, but what really kept people coming back was how it felt to be there. You could pull up, find a spot near the trees, and know that someone would strike up a conversation sooner rather than later. It was relaxed, welcoming, and never tried too hard to be anything else. What started as a small stop on a quiet stretch of road turned into a place people returned to again and again simply because it felt right.

If you visit today, that feeling hasn’t gone anywhere. The wooden siding still blends into the trees, the redwoods still wrap around the lot, and there’s a warmth inside that feels effortless. Photos on the walls show decades of riders who stopped for the same reason everyone does today: to slow down for a bit, share a meal, and feel like part of something that’s been there all along.

Planning a Visit? Ride to Alice’s Restaurant on Skyline Boulevard

• Alice's Restaurant Location: 17288 Skyline Blvd, Woodside, CA
• Hours: Monday-Saturday: 8am to 8pm, Sunday: 8am-7pm
• Official website

The ride to Alice’s on Skyline Boulevard is one of those routes that people around here never get tired of. It runs along Highway 35, cutting through the Santa Cruz Mountains at about 2,000 feet of elevation, with Highway 84 and Highway 92 connecting riders from all directions. Coming from the coast on Highway 1, you climb inland through redwood canyons before the road opens up along the ridge, giving you views of both the Pacific and the valley below. The pavement is clean and well-kept, the turns are steady, and traffic usually moves at a comfortable pace. You can pull off at overlooks like Windy Hill or Sky Londa if you want to take in the view before rolling into the lot at Alice’s. It’s a route that locals ride often but never get tired of, because every trip feels a little different depending on the light, the fog, and the time of day.

Tip: If you want a good parking spot, get there early. By the time everyone else shows up, you’ll be parking in the dirt and walking uphill.

Best Motorcycle Routes to Alice’s from San Francisco and the Coast

Alice’s sits at the meeting point of some of the best Bay Area motorcycle routes, with each one offering a different view of the mountains, the coast, and the ride itself.

• From San Francisco via I-280 and CA-35: Take I-280 south, merge onto Highway 92, and follow the signs for Skyline Boulevard. The ridge run along CA-35 is smooth and steady, with light traffic and plenty of open air before you reach Alice’s.
• From the Coast through Pescadero and La Honda Road (CA-84): Turn inland from Highway 1 at Pescadero and follow 84 through redwoods and quiet curves. It’s a shaded, low-traffic climb that drops you right at Alice’s intersection with Skyline.
• From Silicon Valley through Woodside and Portola Valley: Take I-280 to Woodside Road and follow it through the trees and rolling foothills. The climb is short but scenic, and it meets Skyline just a few turns from Alice’s.
• From Half Moon Bay via Highway 92 and CA-35: Head east on 92 and turn left onto Skyline Boulevard. The ride is quick but beautiful, climbing from ocean level into cool mountain air.
• From Los Gatos via Highway 9 and CA-35: Ride north on Highway 9 through Saratoga Gap, then follow Skyline along the ridge until you see the Sky Londa intersection. It’s longer than most routes but worth it for the quiet roads and steady climbs.

If Alice’s Restaurant is just a stop for you and you’re looking for more to explore before or after, check out our blog below for even more routes worth riding.

Roads You Shouldn’t Skip Near Alice’s

By the time you’ve finished your meal at Alice’s, you’ll see riders coming and going in every direction. It’s a reminder that Skyline is just the middle of the story, not the end of it. If you’ve still got gas in the tank, there are a few nearby roads that are too good to skip.

Alpine Road

Alpine Road cuts right off Skyline just south of Alice’s and drops through thick forest toward Pescadero Creek. It’s one of the older mountain roads in the area, originally built for logging trucks, which explains why it’s narrow and uneven in spots. You’ll ride under redwoods most of the way before the trees clear near the bottom, where small farms and open hills start to appear. It’s quiet, scenic, and a good reminder of what this part of California looked like before it was paved over.

Page Mill Road

Page Mill Road starts down in Palo Alto and climbs all the way up to Skyline, about 2,000 feet higher. It’s known for its tight corners and blind rises, but also for its incredible overlook near Monte Bello Preserve. From there, you can see across the entire South Bay on a clear day. The lower section passes through residential hills and vineyards before turning into sharp switchbacks near the top. It’s a steep, challenging climb that locals know well, whether they’re on two wheels or four.

Tunitas Creek Road

Tunitas Creek Road connects Highway 1 with Skyline Boulevard just a few miles south of Alice’s. It’s heavily shaded, lined with redwoods and ferns, and stays cool even on hot days. The road follows the creek for most of the way up, and if you listen closely, you can hear the water running beside you for miles. There’s almost no cell service and very little traffic, which gives it that old backroad feeling. It’s not a fast road, but it’s one of the most peaceful in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Explore Skyline Boulevard on a San Francisco Motorcycle Tour

After riding through the roads near Alice’s Restaurant, you can see why so many people come back to this area again and again. If you’d rather explore with someone who knows every turn, Riders Share has motorcycle tours in San Francisco led by local hosts who ride these routes all the time. Some tours include Highway 1, Skyline Boulevard, and Alice’s itself, giving you a full day of Bay Area riding. One even comes with lunch on the house if you don’t spot at least one Ferrari or McLaren before the day’s over. It’s a fun, laid-back way to see the coast, the redwoods, and the mountain ridge all in one day. 

Book your tour on Riders Share and experience the same Skyline ride locals can’t stop talking about.