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atherton neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Lloyden Park, Atherton Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
North-central Atherton by the old Fair Oaks train stop: the 1927 Lloyden Park subdivision between El Camino Real and the tracks, plus the larger Fair Oaks Lane lots across the tracks to Middlefield Road.
Lloyden Park by the numbers
lloyden park by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Lloyden Park (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in lloyden park · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Lloyden Park
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Lloyden Park from the MLS, updated automatically, with a map of the neighborhood outline.
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Listings come from MLSListings and other MLSs through IDX and show their listing brokerage; confirm details with the listing agent. The map outline is the neighborhood boundary used by our listing search (Lloyden Park (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Lloyden Park came to be
Before it was Atherton, this was Fair Oaks. The Town's history page says the area was a flag stop called Fair Oaks on the San Francisco-San Jose line by 1866, serving the farms, ranches and large estates north of Menlo Park, and a 1906 photo on a Town centennial sheet shows the "Fair Oaks" station sign. When the community incorporated on September 12, 1923, the name Fair Oaks was already taken by a town near Sacramento, so it became Atherton. The later Atherton station stood on today's Dinkelspiel Station Lane, just south of Lloyden Park.
Lloyden Park grew from a private estate beside the tracks. A 2020 magazine profile says it was subdivided in 1927, mostly into lots of about a third of an acre, and that many of its houses went up in the 1940s. The estate's 1912 carriage house, designed by San Francisco architect Willis Polk in a Mediterranean-Mission style, still stands on Lloyden Drive, and a streamlined house on Rittenhouse Avenue was built in 1937 by architect Mark Daniels as a "Home of the Future" for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island. Gas-lamp pillars mark the entrance.
The trains mostly stopped. Caltrain ended weekday service at Atherton in 2005, and before the pandemic the station had only weekend trains every 90 minutes, averaging 114 riders a weekend day. Caltrain's board voted in November 2020 to close it, the Town took over the little 620-square-foot depot, and in April 2023 the council awarded a contract to turn it into a small rail history museum, paid for with a Caltrain grant. Trains still run through, but since June 13, 2016 the Fair Oaks Lane and Watkins Avenue crossings have been a federal quiet zone, so engineers sound horns there only in an emergency.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
Lloyden Park proper is a narrow wedge between El Camino Real and the tracks. Lloyden Drive curves through the middle from El Camino to Fair Oaks Lane at the crossing, with Belleau, Rittenhouse, Wilburn, Fairfax and Snowden avenues to the north and Lloyden Park Lane, Barmetta Way, Normandy Lane and Redwood Way to the south. The El Camino side is screened by fencing and greenery. The streets have sidewalks lined with antique-style street lights on green poles; in 2016 the Town began designing new circuits and LED fixtures to replace their old high-voltage series wiring.
The houses mix Cape Cod, colonial, contemporary and art deco designs on lots that average about half an acre of Census block land per home, streets included. The Town's zoning map puts these blocks in the R-1B district, which allows a 28-foot main house (18-foot sidewalls) and 30-foot front and rear setbacks, with shallower setbacks for some older shallow lots. On a lot under an acre, floor area is 16.5 percent of the lot plus 1,500 square feet, so about 3,900 square feet on a third-acre lot.
Across the tracks, Fair Oaks Lane continues northeast to Middlefield Road past Jennings Lane, Mount Vernon Lane, Virginia Lane, Burns Avenue, McCormick Lane, Marianna Lane and Heritage Court, with Watkins Avenue and the Atherton Channel on the south side. This side is R-1A with larger lots, roughly 1.3 acres of block land per home. North of Middlefield, Holbrook Lane and a few lots on the ends of North Fair Oaks streets form a small Atherton pocket where the town line zigzags along back fences. Across that line is unincorporated North Fair Oaks with Menlo Park 94025 addresses; everything inside this outline is the Town of Atherton, 94027.
streets in lloyden park
- Lloyden Drive
- Lloyden Park Lane
- Belleau Avenue
- Rittenhouse Avenue
- Wilburn Avenue
- Fairfax Avenue
- Snowden Avenue
- Barmetta Way
- Normandy Lane
- Redwood Way
- Fair Oaks Lane
- Jennings Lane
- Mount Vernon Lane
- Virginia Lane
- Burns Avenue
- McCormick Lane
- Marianna Lane
- Heritage Court
- Holbrook Lane
- Watkins Avenue
- Middlefield Road
- Marsh Road
- El Camino Real
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Lloyden Park
- landmark
Atherton Town Center and Library
Across Fair Oaks Lane: City Hall, the police department and the Atherton Library (2 Dinkelspiel Station Lane), which opened in June 2022 and added a 6,200-square-foot garden in June 2026.
- landmark
Former Atherton station
The 620-square-foot depot on Dinkelspiel Station Lane, closed to trains since 2020 and slated by the Town to become a small rail history museum.
- park
Holbrook-Palmer Park
Atherton's only park, 22 acres at 150 Watkins Avenue, about half a mile from the middle of this area (straight line), with paths, tennis courts, a ball field, gardens and a playground (closed for renovation from May 4, 2026).
- shopping
Middlefield Road and El Camino Real in North Fair Oaks
Shops and restaurants start just past the town line on Middlefield Road and El Camino Real; downtown Redwood City is about 2 miles northwest (straight line).
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
This area is split. Census school district maps put Lloyden Park proper, between El Camino Real and the tracks, in the Redwood City School District, and the Fair Oaks Lane side and the Holbrook Lane pocket in the Menlo Park City School District; Fair Oaks Lane west of the tracks is roughly the line. All of it is in the Sequoia Union High School District. Nearby public schools include Garfield Community School (Redwood City SD) at 3600 Middlefield Road in North Fair Oaks, about a third of a mile away, and Encinal School (Menlo Park City SD) at 195 Encinal Avenue, about 0.6 to 0.9 mile away (straight line). Attendance boundaries change, so check the exact address with each district.
Menlo Park City Schools guide · Sequoia Union guide · Silicon Valley school districts
Getting around
- Caltrain: Atherton's station closed in 2020. Redwood City station is about 2.1 miles northwest of Lloyden Park and Menlo Park station about 1.3 miles southeast (straight line).
- El Camino Real runs along the west edge; SamTrans route ECR (Daly City BART to Palo Alto Transit Center) runs on it.
- US 101: the Woodside Road (State Route 84) and Marsh Road interchanges are each roughly 1.4 to 1.8 miles away (straight line); I-280 is about 3 to 3.5 miles southwest.
- Two Caltrain grade crossings, at Fair Oaks Lane and Watkins Avenue, link the two halves of this area; both are in the Town's quiet zone.
- Bike: Atherton signs shared-lane bike routes on Watkins Avenue and Dinkelspiel Station Lane, and the Town has studied bike lanes on Watkins.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Lloyden Park: what we check
Buying here
- Know which side of the tracks you are on. Lloyden Park is R-1B (28-foot height, 30-foot setbacks, floor area of 16.5 percent of the lot plus 1,500 square feet on lots under an acre); the Fair Oaks Lane side is R-1A (30-foot height, 60-foot setbacks). Confirm the zoning and numbers for the parcel with the Town.
- School districts change at the tracks: Redwood City SD in Lloyden Park, Menlo Park City SD east of the tracks, per Census maps. Verify the exact address with the district before you count on a school.
- Trains: lots that back onto the right-of-way sit next to Caltrain's main line. The crossings are a quiet zone, but horns can still sound in an emergency. Visit at different times of day.
- Native oaks of 48 inches in circumference (15.2-inch diameter) at 54 inches above grade are heritage trees anywhere on a lot; get an arborist's map before planning a rebuild.
- FEMA maps this area as Zone X (minimal flood hazard), and the Atherton Channel runs along Watkins Avenue and Marsh Road. Check drainage on lots that back onto the channel and confirm the FEMA zone for the parcel.
Selling here
- Lead with the setting: a 1927 subdivision with sidewalks and street lights, a short walk to the Town Center and library. Have lot size and existing floor area ready, since R-1B math drives what a buyer can build.
- If your house has documented history, such as a known architect or an early build date, gather plans and permit history; buyers will ask what they can change.
- Disclose the school district for your side of the tracks plainly, and point buyers to the district lookup.
- Atherton allows construction only on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., not on holidays, so plan pre-listing work accordingly.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Lloyden Park questions, answered
Is Lloyden Park east or west of the Caltrain tracks?
West. Lloyden Park proper sits between El Camino Real and the tracks, north of Fair Oaks Lane. This guide also covers the Fair Oaks Lane streets east of the tracks up to Middlefield Road.
Is Lloyden Park in Atherton or North Fair Oaks?
Atherton, with 94027 addresses. North Fair Oaks, an unincorporated county area with Menlo Park 94025 addresses, starts at the town line just north of Snowden Avenue and the Holbrook Lane pocket.
Which school district serves Lloyden Park?
Census maps put Lloyden Park in the Redwood City School District and the Fair Oaks Lane side east of the tracks in the Menlo Park City School District. Sequoia Union High School District serves both. Check the exact address with the district.
Can I still take Caltrain from Atherton?
No. Atherton's station closed in 2020. The nearest stations are Redwood City, about 2.1 miles northwest, and Menlo Park, about 1.3 miles southeast (straight line).
Do trains blow their horns here?
Not routinely. Since June 13, 2016 the Fair Oaks Lane and Watkins Avenue crossings have been a federal quiet zone, though engineers can still sound horns in an emergency.
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