Getting to Stanford

Directions and Parking Info

Stanford is about 30 miles (~50 minutes) south of San Francisco and 20 miles (~35 minutes) north of San Jose, and is about the same driving distance from either airport. Here are some useful links:

Gates Building: Driving instructions and parking information.
The Stanford Visitor Information page has links to directions, maps, parking, and public transportation information.
Included on the Visitor Information page is this comprehensive parking/transportation map (large pdf).
Also included on the Visitor Information page is a searchable campus map. Here's a link directly to the search results page for "Gates".
Here is a reliable locally-hosted portion of the campus map (jpg) showing Gates and environs (note that Clark Bio-X building is marked by a dashed line).

WARNING: Some on-line maps (notably Yahoo! and Google) suggest it is possible to drive through central campus on Serra Street. Serra Street is CLOSED TO PUBLIC TRAFFIC between Galvez Street and Via Ortega. To get from one end of campus to another, you must circle around on Campus Drive.

Parking (Coins)

Bring lots of quarters if you can -- the small parking lot that is directly behind, the Gates building (off Campus Drive) has parking meters that cost $1.50 per hour (each quarter gets you 10 minutes). Credit cards are NOT accepted in this parking lot.

If you cannot find any free spots in the small parking lot behind Gates, we suggest either Parking Structure 1 (S-1 on some maps) or Parking Structure 2 (S-2 on some maps), both with metered parking on the first floor. Credit cards are NOT accepted in this parking lot either!

Parking (Credit Card)

The Stanford Parking and Transportation Services webpage has detailed information on where you can park if you need to pay using a credit card. Of the options that they list, the Cantor Art Center (near the Rodin Sculpture Garden) is the nearest one to Gates.

Parking (Scratcher)

If you have an "A" parking permit, there are several parking lots on campus where you can park. You can find a full list of them on the Stanford Parking And Transporation Services maps page. The locations nearest to Gates are the Oval at the end of Palm Drive and the lot behind the Clark Center.

Last Updated Oct 2006