Things to Do in Palo Alto in March

March light makes the sandstone arches of the Main Quad glow honey-gold, and the morning fog lifts just enough to photograph Hoover Tower without glare. You'll hear the bells strike every 15 minutes while jacaranda petals stick to your shoes - no summer tour groups blocking the shot.

The Santa Cruz Mountains are lush green now, before the summer brown sets in. Tasting rooms along Skyline Boulevard pour 2023 pinots that won't reach restaurants until fall - drive the 35 km (22-mile) ridge between Page Mill and Highway 9 for redwood air and vineyard views above the marine layer.

March is migration peak - pintails and avocets land in the pickleweed while harrierss hawks cruise overhead. Slack tides in the afternoon mean glass-flat water for 2-hour paddles; you'll smell brine and hear the Stanford bells across the marsh.

The sidewalk patios are warm enough for al-fare ramen at 7 PM without heat lamps. March specials lean citrus - local mandarins appear in cocktails at the old-school bars that have survived three tech booms. Start at the train station and walk north. The smells shift from Ethiopian berbere to Cal-Italian wood smoke in four blocks.