A group of Menlo-Atherton High School students protesting the election of Donald Trump marched through Atherton, Menlo Park and Palo Alto on Monday afternoon, creating traffic jams that carried over into the evening commute.

Police estimates on the size of the group ranged from around 500 to more than 1,000. The school has some 2,400 students.

Issac Gomez, a 17-year-old senior, said most of the Menlo-Atherton student body walked out of classes during fifth period.

“Obviously, we aren’t really that happy with the election,” he said. “We hope our message reaches the White House. Hopefully, (Trump) understands that the way he was speaking during the campaign, he should know that wasn’t right.”

Daisy DeMartini, 16, of Menlo Park, said she’s not old enough to vote, but she can protest the president-elect.

“We know it won’t necessarily make a difference, because he’ll be elected anyway, but it’s a way to come together as a community and show that we support each other,” DeMartini said.

DeMartini said the discourse during the campaign and Trump’s ideals affect her personally as a young woman of this generation, and that it goes against all the advances for women her own mom fought for years ago.

“I’m learning in history class about women’s rights,” DeMartini said, “and I’m more aware now of how the decisions people in power make affect women. It’s scary.”

The protesters first marched into downtown Menlo Park, then moved south along El Camino Real, blocking the southbound lanes between Menlo Park and Palo Alto, before turning into downtown Palo Alto. After crossing downtown Palo Alto on Lytton and University avenues, they moved north on Middlefield Road back toward Menlo-Atherton.

The group then split apart, with most stopping at the school and a smaller group of around 150 going down Willow Road and crossing Highway 101. They appeared to be turning onto the southbound side of the freeway before police warned them they could be arrested.

The teens then marched across the freeway overpass toward Facebook’s headquarters on the Bayfront Expressway. They moved past Facebook and blocked traffic on westbound Bayfront Expressway, chanting “Stop Trump’s hate!”

They then turned off Bayfront onto Chilco Street and headed back through the Belle Haven neighborhood, across the freeway and returned to Menlo-Atherton High. They covered a total of approximately 9 to 10 miles.

Gomez said the idea for the protest was sparked on social media and inspired by a student walkout at Woodside High School last week.

Interviewed while walking along Middlefield Road, where traffic had ground to a halt near the Willow Road intersection, Gomez said “faculty heard about it and they couldn’t really hold it down. They said, make it as peaceful as possible, that we should respect both parties … but you can see we still have strong opinions about it.”

DeMartini marched alongside her friends, Lena Reibstein and Sala Thanassi.

Reibstein, of San Francisco, said she protested as a way to stand by classmates who feel more in jeopardy after the election.

“It’s terrifying to know that some of my LGBTQ friends have reasons to fear for their own safety,” Reibstein said. “I fear for all my friends who aren’t white, basically, and I feel ashamed.”

Reibstein said the election was a “huge wake-up call” for her in understanding the experiences of others. Throughout his campaign, Trump and his supporters were criticized for hateful rhetoric against many groups including women, Muslims, blacks, Latinos and gay people.

The students held signs and chanted “Love trumps hate,” “Sí se puede (yes we can),” “My body, my choice,” and “Not my president.”

Thanassi, of Portola Valley, said the protesters got honks and high-fives of support from passersby. The protest was more about spreading positivity than being anti-Trump, she added.

“Our school’s motto is ‘Strength in Diversity,’” Thanassi said. “Our principal told us today she’d support us and provide a safe space for us to express ourselves. It felt really, really good to do something.”

Gomez said many drivers honked in support of the walkout.

“A lot of thumbs up,” he said.

“Keep up the enthusiasm and vote when you can,” said one Palo Alto resident as protesters walked by.

The students were chaperoned by adults on foot and in golf carts.

Police from Atherton, Menlo Park, Palo Alto and East Palo Alto responded, monitoring the protest and blocking off side streets. There were no arrests. Lt. Zach Perron of the Palo Alto Police Department called the march “uneventful.”

The last of the students returned to the high school around 4 p.m.

A separate protest occurred in Redwood City with students marching downtown between Sequoia High School and Courthouse Square.

Students in Palo Alto plan a peace walk on Tuesday. Palo Alto High School students will march from the school to Lytton Plaza on University Avenue, where they will hold a demonstration from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. along with students from Gunn and Castilleja high schools as well as Stanford University.

Staff writers Greg Frazier, Kevin Kelly, Jacqueline Lee and John Orr contributed to this report.