[7] In 1769, led by Gaspar de Portolá, Spanish explorers searching for San Francisco Bay camped at a site near Woodside.

[8] By mid-century, the Woodside area had a dozen mills producing building materials for a booming San Francisco.

In 1912, the Family pooled funds to build Our Lady of the Wayside Church in Portola Valley, designed by 19-year-old Timothy L. Pflueger, his first commission.

[10] Woodside was incorporated in 1956 and it retains a rural residential character even though it is only a short commute to Silicon Valley and Stanford University.

In early 2022, the town initially declared itself a mountain lion habitat to circumvent state affordable housing requirements and then subsequently retracted that position.

[12] Bonta wrote, "There is no valid basis to claim that the entire town of Woodside is a habitat for mountain lions.

After meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping that day, Biden announced that they made progress on a common understanding to crack down on chemicals trafficked from China that are used to make fentanyl, improve military communications in the Indo-Pacific, and address risks associated with artificial intelligence.

Redwood City to the north with Atherton and Menlo Park to the east lie between Woodside and the San Francisco Bay.

Much of Woodside is wooded, with redwoods and Douglas fir dominating in the western hills and more oaks and eucalyptus in the lower areas.

Woodside has a variety of habitat types including California oak woodland and riparian zones.

Snowfall is extremely rare except in the nearby Santa Cruz Mountains, where several inches falls every several years.

Hills and mountains between Woodside and the Pacific coast make fog much less prevalent than in nearby San Francisco.

The Tour of California bicycle race includes several roads along and adjacent to CA-84 and Skyline Boulevard.

For mountain biking, the famous Skeggs Point is located in Woodside along Skyline Boulevard.

It is also home to Huddart County Park, which is accessible by authorized motor vehicles, pedestrians, and horses on Kings Mountain Road.

Dr. Carl Djerassi founded an artists' colony south of Woodside in memory of his late daughter Pamela.