Portola Valley is a very desirable bedroom community, located in the San Mateo County foothills, with close proximity to Sand Hill Road, (home to the Venture Capital Center of the World), and it also a quick drive to Stanford University.  It is mostly rural, consisting of larger lots and surrounded by tons of open space and endless hiking trails.  It was named for Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola, who led the first party of Europeans to explore the San Francisco Peninsula in 1769. The population was approximately 4400 at the 2010 census.  Portola Valley is one of the forty wealthiest towns in the United States, and within the State of California, Portola Valley is ranked as the sixth wealthiest place. The zip code 94028, which encompasses the whole of Portola Valley, has the 9th most expensive housing prices within the country according to Forbes Magazine 2013.