Sky Londa is an
unincorporated mountain community in
San Mateo County, California located at the intersection of
State Route 84 (La Honda Road) and
State Route 35 (Skyline Boulevard). The community is inside
area code 650
Area code 650 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It was split from area code 415 on August 2, 1997, and includes most of San Mateo County (except t ...
and
ZIP code 94062.
Atop the coastal range west of
Woodside
Woodside may refer to:
Places and buildings Australia
*Woodside, South Australia, a town
*Woodside, Victoria, a town
Canada
*Woodside National Historic Site, the boyhood home of William Lyon Mackenzie King
*Woodside, Nova Scotia, a neighborho ...
, the community's official elevation is 1,520 feet (463 m) above mean sea level (AMSL).
While ''Sky Londa'' is the spelling approved by the U.S. Board of Geographic Names, a frequently used state government variant spelling is Skylonda. The variant spelling is used on a Caltrans sign for southbound SR35 north of SR84 and on the name of a
CDF Fire station in the community. This variant name is also shown as a variant in the
National Geographic Names Database. The 1994
USGS 7.5-minute quadrangle, Woodside, California shows it spelled ''Sky Londa''. Maps recorded as early as 1909 show it as ''Sky L'onda'' apparently derived from the crossroad names Skyline Boulevard and Woodside-La Honda Road.
The 7.5-minute quadrangle, Woodside, California, (1994), shows Woodside
VOR north of the settlement. The aircraft navigation facility is shown as being outfitted with distance measuring equipment. It lies one mile (1.6 km) at 285 degrees off true north from the intersection of SR35 and SR84. Its identifier is "OSI" and publicly available FAA documents show the VOR signal is on 113.9 MHz.
Many of the area's characteristic redwood-log homes were first built in the early 1930s by a developer who subdivided a few tracts and established a water supply and reservoirs dedicated to the new community. The redwood "logs" came from unused railroad-tie stock sawn by a mill located at the intersection until the Depression. The local water is still pumped from wells and La Honda Creek, and delivered to 154 homes by the Sky L'onda Mutual Water Company.
There are a few commercial establishments at the intersection of SR35 and SR84, including two service stations, a convenience store, a real estate office, a small events center, and Alice's Restaurant. Once a general store, and the first commercial building in Sky Londa, during the 1960’s the restaurant was bought by one Alice Taylor, who renamed the restaurant after herself. The relationship to the restaurant of
Arlo Guthrie's Vietnam War protest
song is only in hindsight.
Already a renowned stop for motorcyclists, hikers and tourists, Alice’s Restaurant (and the adjacent buildings) was bought in the 1970’s and has been family owned & operated ever since.
The area is a popular destination for motorcycle and bicycle riders, especially during spring and summer weekends.
See also
*
La Honda, California
*
Portola Valley, California
*
Skeggs Point, California
Skeggs Point is a scenic turnout in San Mateo County along State Route 35 between Kings Mountain and State Route 84. The feature is marked with a guide sign along the road and is listed on the USGS 7.5 minute quadrangle, "Woodside, California" ...
References
Unincorporated communities in California
Unincorporated communities in San Mateo County, California
{{SanMateoCountyCA-geo-stub