Best Time to Drive from San Francisco to Menlo Park

Right now (5:47 pm PDT): about 50 minutes via US-101 South, usually 36 at this time.

Only 77% of this drive is measured by working traffic sensors right now. The rest is estimated from nearby sensors, typical speeds and street traffic, so times can be off. Why so few sensors work.

Typical drive time by departure time

Minutes from San Francisco to Menlo Park by day and time you leave (local time)
Leave	5am	6am	7am	8am	9am	10am	11am	12pm	1pm	2pm	3pm	4pm	5pm	6pm	7pm	8pm	9pm
Mon	29	30	32	39	38	34	33	34	33	33	36	36	36	34	32	31	30
Tue	29	29	32	45	44	36	33	32	32	32	37	39	38	36	33	31	30
Wed	29	29	32	45	40	34	32	32	32	33	38	39	40	35	32	31	30
Thu	29	29	33	43	39	35	33	32	32	33	40	40	40	36	33	31	30
Fri	29	29	31	33	32	32	32	32	32	33	36	36	34	34	32	31	29
Sat	29	29	29	29	30	31	31	32	32	32	32	33	33	34	32	31	30
Sun	29	29	29	29	29	30	31	32	31	31	31	31	33	32	31	32	30

About this drive

On weekdays the 31-mile drive from San Francisco to Menlo Park (via US-101 South) usually takes as little as 29 minutes and up to 48 minutes, when leaving around 8:30 am on Tuesdays. The fastest times to leave are before 7 am or after 7:30 pm. Midday (11 am to 2 pm) it takes about 32 minutes. On weekends it is slowest around 6 pm on Saturdays (34 minutes).

About 28 miles of it is freeway, where times follow typical and live traffic from our sensors, and about 3 miles surface streets (4 to 10 minutes on weekdays), estimated from how jammed the freeways around them are at that time. Drive times are measured from downtown San Francisco to central Menlo Park along the route on the map. Starting or ending elsewhere in a big city can add or save several minutes.

Simulated from typical freeway speeds at each point of the drive for the time you would reach it, from every 5-minute reading we have recorded. We don't have sensors on surface streets yet, so the time on them is estimated from how congested the freeways around each end of the drive are at that time, in both directions: streets jam when the freeways do.

Questions

What is the best time to drive from San Francisco to Menlo Park?

On weekdays, leave before 7 am or after 7:30 pm. The drive usually takes about 29 minutes then, versus up to 48 minutes at the worst times.

How long does it take to drive from San Francisco to Menlo Park?

The 31-mile drive usually takes 29 to 48 minutes on weekdays, depending on when you leave, and about 32 minutes midday.

When is traffic worst from San Francisco to Menlo Park?

Leaving around 8:30 am on Tuesdays is usually slowest, about 48 minutes.

Freeways on this drive

US-101 South in Bay Area (28 miles)

Bay Area traffic right now · Bay Area traffic tomorrow

More drives

Menlo Park to San Francisco (return trip) · San Francisco to San Jose · San Francisco to Palo Alto · San Francisco to Berkeley · San Francisco to Fremont · San Francisco to Walnut Creek · San Francisco to San Mateo · San Francisco to Hayward · San Francisco to Mountain View · San Francisco to Pleasanton · San Francisco to Santa Clara · San Francisco to Richmond

Open the live traffic map →

Leave	5am	6am	7am	8am	9am	10am	11am	12pm	1pm	2pm	3pm	4pm	5pm	6pm	7pm	8pm	9pm
Mon	29	30	32	39	38	34	33	34	33	33	36	36	36	34	32	31	30
Tue	29	29	32	45	44	36	33	32	32	32	37	39	38	36	33	31	30
Wed	29	29	32	45	40	34	32	32	32	33	38	39	40	35	32	31	30
Thu	29	29	33	43	39	35	33	32	32	33	40	40	40	36	33	31	30
Fri	29	29	31	33	32	32	32	32	32	33	36	36	34	34	32	31	29
Sat	29	29	29	29	30	31	31	32	32	32	32	33	33	34	32	31	30
Sun	29	29	29	29	29	30	31	32	31	31	31	31	33	32	31	32	30

Leave	5am	6am	7am	8am	9am	10am	11am	12pm	1pm	2pm	3pm	4pm	5pm	6pm	7pm	8pm	9pm
Mon	29	30	32	39	38	34	33	34	33	33	36	36	36	34	32	31	30
Tue	29	29	32	45	44	36	33	32	32	32	37	39	38	36	33	31	30
Wed	29	29	32	45	40	34	32	32	32	33	38	39	40	35	32	31	30
Thu	29	29	33	43	39	35	33	32	32	33	40	40	40	36	33	31	30
Fri	29	29	31	33	32	32	32	32	32	33	36	36	34	34	32	31	29
Sat	29	29	29	29	30	31	31	32	32	32	32	33	33	34	32	31	30
Sun	29	29	29	29	29	30	31	32	31	31	31	31	33	32	31	32	30

Leave	5am	6am	7am	8am	9am	10am	11am	12pm	1pm	2pm	3pm	4pm	5pm	6pm	7pm	8pm	9pm
Mon	29	30	32	39	38	34	33	34	33	33	36	36	36	34	32	31	30
Tue	29	29	32	45	44	36	33	32	32	32	37	39	38	36	33	31	30
Wed	29	29	32	45	40	34	32	32	32	33	38	39	40	35	32	31	30
Thu	29	29	33	43	39	35	33	32	32	33	40	40	40	36	33	31	30
Fri	29	29	31	33	32	32	32	32	32	33	36	36	34	34	32	31	29
Sat	29	29	29	29	30	31	31	32	32	32	32	33	33	34	32	31	30
Sun	29	29	29	29	29	30	31	32	31	31	31	31	33	32	31	32	30