How to Get to Maker Faire Bay Area
EVENT LOCATION:
Places to Stay While Visiting Maker Faire
By Public Transit
BART + SamTrans
- Millbrae BART Station 200 Rollins Road, Millbrae, CA 94030
- Take a SamTrans El Camino Real (ECR) buses offered by SamTrans southbound to 25th Avenue and walk 2 blocks east to the West Gate entrance.
SamTrans
Within San Mateo:
- Take the El Camino Real (ECR) route. Find the route map and schedule here: SamTrans ECR Route and Schedule.
- Catch an ECR bus from anywhere on El Camino Real to the 25th Ave. stop in San Mateo.
- Walk east on 25th Avenue for two blocks.
From locations outside San Mateo, you can take one of two bus routes:
- The Route 292 bus will take you to the east side of the Faire. Find the route map and schedule here: Route 292 Schedules and Maps. (The route from Mission Street in downtown San Francisco is an 80-minute ride.)
- The Route 250 bus will take you to El Camino Real at Hillsdale. Find the route map and schedule here: Route 250 Schedules and Maps. From here, you can walk about 20 minutes to the Faire on the trail that parallels the tracks or transfer to the El Camino Real (ECR). (It’s about a 30-minute ride from the College of San Mateo to El Camino Real and Hillsdale. If you transfer to the El Camino Real bus in San Mateo, you will have to pay again.)
For SamTrans fares, check the website or call 1-800-660-4287.
For connections through other transit agencies like Amtrak, see Transit Unlimited.
Caltrain + Walk
- Take Caltrain to the Hillsdale station. (You must have a Caltrain ticket before you board the train.) For real-time schedule updates, call or find the realtime schedule here: Caltrain Realtime.
- Cross the platform and go down the steps to the parking lot, on the east side.
- Walk north along the fenced-off bike/pedestrian path, continuing north to the Event Center. It’s a 10-15 minute walk.
By Bicycle
Riding from San Francisco
Try out the San Mateo County North-South Bicycle Route. This is a flat route that closely follows the Caltrain route. It starts on Tunnel Avenue, then follows Bayshore Boulevard through Brisbane and a series of different streets through South San Francisco to Delaware Street in San Mateo. Follow Delaware Street south to the Expo Center.
It takes about 1.5 hours to ride this route at an easy pace. Use a good local street map if you’re not familiar with this area.
Rail + Bike
Use Caltrain and/or BART to cover most of the distance and then bike the final leg:
- Take your bike on board Caltrain and get off at the Hillsdale station; then bike this short route. (The route will be crowded with pedestrians, ride safely.)
- BART allows bikes on board except in the first car. Get off at the final Millbrae station; from there it’s a 30-40 minute ride to the San Mateo Event Center. Start on the west side of Millbrae station on California Ave. and bike south on California.
- Free bicycle parking. Please bring a lock for your bicycle. Maker Faire is not liable for any accidents, damages or loss.
- Bike parking is located opposite the Faire on South Delaware Street, about 500 ft. south of East 25th Avenue
By Rideshare
Look for the Passenger Loading signs
The rideshare drop off location is open Friday, Saturday & Sunday. Have your taxi, Lyft, Uber etc. use our Passenger Loading drop-off and pick-up zones. Look for the rideshare signs.
On-site rideshare drop-off and pick-up zones:
By Car
- From San Francisco: approx. 15 min (9.8 mi) via US-101 South
- From San Jose: approx. 30 min (26.7 mi) via US-101 North
- From Oakland: approx. 33 min (25.1 mi) via I-880 South and CA-92 West
If you are driving to the faire, subscribe to our traffic twitter feed: https://twitter.com/fairetraffic
On Site Parking
At San Mateo Event Center on Friday, Saturday + Sunday
Attendee $35.00
- Avoid the streets around the Event Center as the area gets heavily congested with delays.
- Please be courteous to the neighborhoods around the Event Center (Bay Meadows, Fiesta Gardens). There is NO STREET PARKING OR EVENT ACCESS in these neighborhoods.
- Our twitter feed will be updated on availability of parking spaces at the lots for Maker Faire.
Off Site Parking Lots
Available on Saturday + Sunday only.
FREE GREEN LOTS!
WALK TO AND FROM THE FAIRE & HELP US REDUCE OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT!!
- Crossroads/Rakuten, 1875 S. Grant St; 15 min walk (.7 mile) – MAP
- Franklin-Templeton, 1 Franklin Parkway; 8 min walk (.4 mile) – MAP
- Kaiser Permanente 1000 Franklin Parkway; 10 min walk (.5mile) – MAP
Free Shuttle Lot
Oracle Plaza (RED LINE)
Oracle Plaza, 10 Twin Dolphin Drive, Redwood City
Free Shuttle buses will pick up at the central roundabout.
Download Parking Map
By Air
There are three major airports near the San Mateo Convention Center:
- San Francisco International (SFO); the closest to the event center and recommended hotels
- Oakland International (OAK)
- San Jose International (SJC)
