Mountain View, CA Road Trips

Mountain View is a mid-size city at the heart of Silicon Valley, hosting offices of a number of notable tech companies--Google, Microsoft, Intuit, LinkedIn, among others. Shockley Semiconductor, the first high-tech company to establish itself the region, began research and manufacturing operations in Mountain View in 1956. For this reason, Mountain View is often considered the 'Birthplace of Silicon Valley.' Mountain View's history prior to the mid-20th century is dominated by agriculture; in fact, much of the city's infrastructure (roads, parks, etc.) bears the names of wealthy families who owned farms and orchards throughout the now-densely urbanized city. Silicon Graphics, one of the early pioneers in the graphical processing hardware industry, was headquartered in Mountain View before it was sold and later relocated in the early 2000s. Once a small startup with a nondescript office along Charleston Blvd., Google has since grown to dominate Mountain View's corporate ecosystem. Google tests many of its experimental technologies within the city limits, and self-driving cars maneuvering about on test drives are a common sight along city streets.

1 Computer History Museum, 1401 N Shoreline Blvd (near Highway 101), ☏ +1 650-810-1010. W-Su 10AM-5PM. The world's largest and most complete museum on computing history, documenting the area's primary industry. Be prepared for a massive collection of room-sized computers, vacuum tubes, entangled wires, and devices large and small. A geek's delight and a must-see in Silicon Valley. Adults $21.50, Seniors, Students, Active Military, and Educators $16.50, Youth (8-10) $6. (updated Mar 2026) Selected Computer History Museum exhibits: 2 Castro Street. Castro Street is a charming district full of ethnic diversity and interesting local businesses. Fully pedestrianized from the Caltrain station down to California Avenue, it's a lively, popular area with the community atmosphere of an old-fashioned downtown. Although there is a strong Asian presence among restaurants and shops, many different cultures are represented along these blocks. There is a weekly farmers' market and on certain Thursdays it is home to a great street fair with vendors and a classic car show. Also convenient access from public transportation by way of both Caltrain and VTA light rail (Mountain View station) as well as buses. 3 Google Headquarters (Googleplex), 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy. Drive around the large campus of buildings to see where all the geeks work and get a taste of the mischievous Google corporate culture. The campus is also a 10- to 30-min walk from the Computer History Museum depending on where exactly you want to go.

1 Shoreline Amphitheatre, 1 Amphitheatre Parkway (Off Shoreline Boulevard near Highway 101), ☏ +1 650-967-4040. Outdoor concert venue with huge tent cover, location for many large Bay Area concerts as well as community events. 2 Cinemark Century Mountain View 16, 1500 N. Shoreline Blvd, ☏ +1 650-961-3828. Large movie theater with ample parking showing recent big movies. 3 Shoreline Aquatic Center, 3160 N. Shoreline Blvd (in Shoreline Regional Park at the end of Shoreline Blvd), ☏ +1 650-965-7474. Water sports center with boating, windsurfing, and other aquatic activities. Equipment rental available. 4 Stevens Creek Trail. Good for walking or riding a bike. 5 NASA Ames Research Center (Moffett Federal Airfield, off Highway 101), ☏ +1 650 604-6497, [email protected]. Tu-F 10AM-4PM, Sa Su noon-4PM. Founded in 1939, Ames Research Center has evolved into one of the nation's premier research labs. Ames provides the products, technologies and services that enable NASA missions and, in turn, expand human knowledge. 6 Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St, ☏ +1 650-903-6000, [email protected]. (updated May 2020)

Castro Street is the main street in the downtown area with many restaurants and bars. East and South Asian food is available in abundance, but it is by no means the only choice. Watch the hours of operation; most restaurants in Mountain View are not open very late. There are some wonderful Mexican restaurants in the area serving Poblano style food. 1 Gelato Classico, 241 Castro St. Italian ice cream. A local favorite, with long lines out the door during peak hours. 2 The Posh Bagel, 1040 Grant Road. Bagels, sandwiches, crepes, and grilled panini. 3 Los Altos Taqueria, 2105 Old Middlefield Way. Cheap Mexican food in a low-frills setting 4 La Plaza, 40 S Rengstorff Ave. Mexican supermarket with an attached food court. Best tortas in Mountain View. 5 Hong Kong Bakery, 210 Castro St. Chinese bakery operating for more than 40 years with delicious and affordable desserts. Cash only. (updated Feb 2022) 6 Cheztakos, 323 El Camino Real, ☏ +1 408 841-2191. Su-Th 5-11PM, F Sa 5PM-midnight. Mexican food truck offering tacos, burritos, and quesadillas (choose your own meat) with vegetarian options too. (updated Feb 2022) 7 Amarin Thai Cuisine, 174 Castro St, ☏ +1 650-988-9323. Good Thai food. Also has branches in Santa Clara and San Jose. 8 GEN Korean BBQ House, 2540 W El Camino Real, ☏ +1 650-559-5997. Korean BBQ and ban-chan 9 Olympus/Das Bierhauz, 135 Castro St, ☏ +1 650-336-7613. Two restaurants in one; one serving Mediterranean fare, the other serving German favorites. Also serves delicious desserts and has a number of German brews on tap.

Savvy Cellar Wine Bar & Wine Shop, 750 W Evelyn Ave, ☏ +1 650-969-3958. (updated Dec 2021) 1 St. Stephens Green, 223 Castro St. Stiff drinks, good pub food and plenty of standing space available, St Stephens Green is perfect for happy hour drinks or just a casual meet up with friends. Although an Irish pub, it seems that hip hop is the vibe of choice here. 2 Molly Magees, 241 Castro St. Local Pub frequented by tech workers with good bar food. 3 Fred's Place, 2534 Old Middlefield Way. Laid back dive bar with relatively cheap drinks.

The nearest campgrounds are in the hills to the southwest. In 2021, the city banned people from parking large vehicles (22' or longer) on "narrow" roads, which was about 85% of them. If you rent an RV to visit Mountain View, you'll have to do some research to figure out where you can legally park. 1 Best Western Mountain View Inn, 2300 W El Camino Real, toll-free: +1-800-785-0005, fax: +1 650 962-9011. 2 Holiday Inn Express, 1561 West El Camino Real, ☏ +1 650-967-7888. 3 Hotel Strata, 93 W El Camino Real, toll-free: +1-800-445-7774, fax: +1 650-967-4834. Hotel Aria, 1012 W El Camino Real, ☏ +1 650-961-6720, fax: +1 650-559-9045. Check-in: 2PM, check-out: 11AM. 4 Hotel Zico, 200 E. El Camino Real, ☏ +1 650-969-8200. 5 Hotel Fairchild, 5 Fairchild Dr, ☏ +1 650-395-9031, fax: +1 650-968-9562. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: noon. 6 Ramada Limited, 55 Fairchild Dr, ☏ +1 650-967-6856, fax: +1 650-964-4542, [email protected]. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: noon. 7 Super 8 Mountain View, 1665 El Camino Real, ☏ +1 650-969-9641.

Caltrain service connects Mountain View to San Francisco, San Jose, and Gilroy. Almost all Caltrains stop at the 1 Downtown Mountain View Station on Castro Street, including all local and limited-stop trains, and most Baby Bullet trains. All local trains and some limited-stop trains also service the 2 San Antonio Station, near the border of Mountain View and Palo Alto. To get to Amtrak trains from Mountain View, connect at the San Jose Diridon or Santa Clara stations via Caltrain. The VTA light rail service, also located in the downtown station, connects riders to several suburban locations within the South Bay as well as San Jose. There are three ways to get to Mountain View through the light rail: Take the orange line ("Mountain View - Alum Rock") straight to Mountain View. It's the final destination going westbound. Take the blue line ("Baypointe - Santa Teresa"), get off at Baypointe Station, and switch to the orange line. Take the green line ("Old Ironsides - Winchester"), get off at Old Ironsides Station, and switch to the orange line. The light rail can also be used to connect to the Amtrak Capitol Corridor train (to Sacramento) in Santa Clara. The rates for fares vary by intention, but a standard single ride is $2.50 and can be paid with cash or Clipper card. Mountain View is reachable from all three Bay Area airports: San Francisco International Airport (SFO IATA): The BART train has a stop directly at the airport, which you can ride to the Millbrae transit center. From Millbrae, leave BART and take Caltrain southbound service.

For travel within Mountain View itself and the neighboring area, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) operates bus and light rail service. The Caltrain, which runs all the way from San Francisco to Gilroy stops in Mountain View as well. Caltrain also provides relatively easy access to both San Francisco and San Jose Airport, via BART or bus connections. There are also free shuttles operated by Mountain View Community Shuttle that operate during the daytime connecting residential areas to downtown. While major points of interest may be accessible by bus from downtown, coverage in other areas is limited and service is infrequent. It is recommended to travel around by car or by bike. Mountain View is good for cycling: many streets have bike lanes or are wide enough to comfortably support bike traffic. The downtown area is walkable. The downtown blocks of Castro street nearest to the train station are closed off to vehicle traffic.