Sky Londa is an unincorporated mountain community in

San Mateo County, California San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City, California, Redwood City is th ...

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 ...

and ZIP code 94062. Atop the coastal range west of Woodside, 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 The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an government agency, agency of the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geograp ...

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 1960s the restaurant was bought by one Alice Taylor, who renamed the restaurant after herself. The relationship to the restaurant of

Arlo Guthrie Arlo Davy Guthrie (born July 10, 1947) is an American folk music, folk singer-songwriter. He is known for singing protest song, songs of protest against social injustice, and storytelling while performing songs, following the tradition of his fa ...

's Vietnam War protest

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

is only in hindsight. Already a renowned stop for motorcyclists, hikers and tourists, Alice’s Restaurant (and the adjacent buildings) was bought in the 1970s 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.

References

Unincorporated communities in California Unincorporated communities in San Mateo County, California {{SanMateoCountyCA-geo-stub

See also

References