Alice’s Woodside Restaurant – My All-Time Favorite Motorcycle Happy Place

Alice’s Woodside Restaurant is my hands-down, all-time favorite motorcycle place.  I consider it my own personal slice of heaven, right here on planet earth.

Anyone who has ever lived in or ridden motorcycles around the Silicon Valley region of California knows just how many amazing motorcycle roads and destinations this area has to offer (Monterey, Santa Cruz, La Honda, Half Moon Bay).

That said, if I had to pick just one for a return visit, it would be Alice’s Woodside Restaurant.

I discovered Alice’s in college.  I went to school in the valley, making Alice’s Woodside Restaurant just a short 15 minute ride up into the foothills from campus.  It was the perfect escape from the stress of school and after I graduated, the stress of work.

The restaurant is set at the intersection of Skyline Boulevard and Woodside Road amongst beautiful redwood trees and forest.  It is impossible to go there and not feel your anxieties simply float away.

I chose to move to La Honda (a neighboring township) after graduation in order to immerse myself daily in this “magical” environment.  I ate at least one meal a day at the restaurant, so the entire staff knew me by name.  It was my home away from home.

It was also the go-to meetup spot for me and my motorcycle buddies.  Alice’s location makes it either the perfect jumping off point or conclusion point for a day of riding.

The parking lot is basically a motorcycle show every Saturday and Sunday as riders from all over the region end up there for a quick bite.

Obviously, I am feeling a bit nostalgic today.  I simply could not have fonder memories of a place or time.

The history of the restaurant is pretty simple. The building itself dates back to the early 1900s and the booming logging industry.  It became a restaurant in the 1940s and was named after its owner Alice Taylor in the early 1960s.  It also shares its name with the famous Arlo Guthrie song.  The present owners are the Kerrs, a couple of locals who purchased it in 2002.

I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane with me.  Alice’s Woodside Restaurant is and will forever be one of my favorite all-time places.  If you are ever in the vicinity, I promise it is worth your time to make a detour and pit stop.

Please forgive any typos as I wrote this blog post from my cell phone.

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