Menlo Park station sits at the heart of the downtown on El Camino Real, a few steps from Kepler's Books and Cafe Barrone. Caltrain stops here regularly on its San Francisco–San Jose corridor, making it the most useful transit point for visitors arriving from either city without a car. The 1923 depot building is small and well-preserved, its Craftsman-era timber framing visible in the waiting area.
The area immediately around the station has evolved into the most active pedestrian zone in Menlo Park, with independent restaurants and shops on both sides of El Camino. The proximity of the station to the main commercial street, plus a short cycling distance to SRI International and the Allied Arts Guild, makes Menlo Park's downtown easily walkable from a single arrival point.