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los altos hills neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Arastradero Road & Manuella, Los Altos Hills Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
The north edge of Los Altos Hills between Arastradero and Fremont roads: Manuella and Miranda roads, Aric Lane and Weston Drive, and the lanes around Palo Alto's Esther Clark Park, split between two school districts.
Arastradero Road & Manuella by the numbers
arastradero road & manuella by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Arastradero Road & Manuella (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in arastradero road & manuella · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Arastradero Road & Manuella
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Arastradero Road & Manuella from the MLS, updated automatically, with a map of the neighborhood outline.
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Listings come from MLSListings and other MLSs through IDX and show their listing brokerage; confirm details with the listing agent. The map outline is the neighborhood boundary used by our listing search (Arastradero Road & Manuella (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Arastradero Road & Manuella came to be
Arastradero Road started as a cattle trail, according to the Town's 2016 history anthology, which says the name is a Spanish word for a road used for logging or for dragging a dead bull with a rope. The rancho that became a major part of Los Altos Hills, La Purísima Concepción, ran from Adobe Creek to Arastradero Creek, and the Town's history page says Juana Briones de Miranda bought it in 1844.
Her rancho home stood just over today's town line, at 4155 Old Adobe Road in Palo Alto. A 1996 Barron Park Association history describes the original one-and-a-half-story section, built in 1846 or 1847, as tamped adobe set between redwood boards around big redwood corner posts, badly damaged in the 1989 earthquake. A state appeals court upheld Palo Alto's demolition permit in 2010, and the owners took the house down in 2011 after years of preservation efforts.
The streets on this side came in pieces. The anthology says Aric Lane and Alexander Place take their names from people tied to the early subdivisions. The Town's street list shows Alexander Place, Catherine Court, Donelson Place and Sholes Court on one tract map (6112); Miranda Court, Miranda Way, De Bell Road, Estacada Drive and Way, and Saltamontes Way accepted together by a 1961 resolution; and Wild Plum Lane renamed from Koch Lane.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
Fremont Road's north leg runs from Town Hall up to Arastradero Road. Off its west side, Palo Hills Drive and Shady Oaks Court reach toward La Cresta Drive, while Mandoli Drive and Thendara Lane open onto Arastradero Road and Carillo Lane hangs off La Cresta. Off its east side are Aric Lane, Weston Drive, Ohlone Lane and Old Trace Lane. East of Town Hall, Manuella Road and Miranda Road run north from Fremont Road toward Foothill Expressway, with Rancho Manuella Lane, De Bell Road, Altadena Drive, Estacada Drive, La Lanne Court, Carado Court and Wild Plum Lane off them, and Snell Lane, Alexander Place and Donelson Place off Fremont. The Town lists Eucalyptus Lane, Mulberry Lane, Old Trace Lane, Shady Oaks Court, Snell Court and Thendara Lane as private.
County parcel records show about 285 addressed parcels inside our outline, with a median of about 1.07 acres; about 25 are under three-quarters of an acre. Town-wide, the anthology says the early redwood ranch houses of about 3,000 square feet have given way to far larger homes, and the Town's floor-area formula, based on net acres and slope, decides how far a rebuild can go.
This strip splits two ways. By Census boundaries, the streets off Arastradero Road and Fremont Road's north leg (Mandoli, Thendara, Carillo, Palo Hills, Shady Oaks, Aric, Weston, Ohlone, Old Trace and Springhill) are Palo Alto Unified, while Alexander, Sholes, Snell, Rancho Manuella, De Bell, Miranda, La Lanne, Carado, Wild Plum, Alicante, Torello and Seven Acres are Los Altos School District and Mountain View-Los Altos. Manuella Road manages to be in two school districts at once, which makes the parcel number more useful than the street name. Water splits too: the county map puts the Arastradero side inside the Purissima Hills Water District, but Miranda Road, De Bell Road, Estacada, Saltamontes, Springhill, Seven Acres, Wild Plum and much of Manuella Road outside it.
streets in arastradero road & manuella
- Arastradero Road
- Fremont Road
- Manuella Road
- Rancho Manuella Lane
- Miranda Road
- Miranda Court
- Miranda Way
- De Bell Road
- Estacada Drive
- Estacada Way
- Saltamontes Way
- Scarff Way
- Springhill Road
- Kingsley Avenue
- Altadena Drive
- Snell Lane
- Snell Court
- Alexander Place
- Sholes Court
- Catherine Court
- Donelson Place
- Torello Lane
- Mulberry Lane
- Eucalyptus Lane
- Alicante Lane
- Wild Plum Lane
- La Lanne Court
- Carado Court
- Seven Acres Lane
- Aric Lane
- Weston Drive
- Ohlone Lane
- Old Trace Lane
- Palo Hills Drive
- Shady Oaks Court
- Mandoli Drive
- Thendara Lane
- Carillo Lane
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Arastradero Road & Manuella
- open space
Esther Clark Park (Palo Alto)
About a quarter mile from the middle of the area (straight-line), at the end of Old Adobe Road off Arastradero Road: a small, undeveloped City of Palo Alto preserve of grassland and oaks, named for Dr. Esther Clark, a founding member of the Palo Alto Medical Clinic, who sold the land to the city on condition it stay open space. Open 8 a.m. to sunset; dogs on leash.
- civic
Town Hall
At 26379 Fremont Road, on the area's southwest corner.
- school
Gardner Bullis Elementary
A Los Altos School District school at 25890 Fremont Road, just south across Fremont Road.
- school
Gunn High School and Ellen Fletcher Middle School (Palo Alto)
Palo Alto Unified campuses about a mile north on Arastradero Road (straight-line); Gunn is at 780 Arastradero Road. Nearness is not an assignment.
- shopping
Downtown Los Altos and El Camino Real
There are no shops in Los Altos Hills. Main and State streets in Los Altos are about 1.2 miles away, and El Camino Real at San Antonio Road about 1.6 miles (straight-line).
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
This is a split area. By Census boundaries about a third of the addressed parcels, on the Arastradero Road side, are in Palo Alto Unified School District, and about two-thirds, on the Manuella and Miranda side, are in Los Altos School District and Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District; Manuella Road has parcels in both. Public schools nearby include Gardner Bullis Elementary (Los Altos School District) across Fremont Road, and Gunn High School and Ellen Fletcher Middle School (Palo Alto Unified) about a mile north in Palo Alto (straight-line). Check the exact address with the districts.
Palo Alto Unified guide · Los Altos School District guide · Mountain View-Los Altos high schools · Silicon Valley school districts
Getting around
- Foothill Expressway at Arastradero Road is about 0.7 mile from the middle of the area (straight-line); Arastradero continues into Palo Alto toward El Camino Real.
- Caltrain: San Antonio station is about 2 miles and California Avenue about 2.9 miles away (straight-line).
- I-280: the Page Mill Road exit (20) is about 1.6 miles west (straight-line), reached by Arastradero or Purissima Road.
- Downtown Los Altos (Main and State streets) is about 1.2 miles southeast (straight-line).
- On foot: Town roadside and off-road pathways link the lanes, and a footpath connects to Esther Clark Park from the Los Altos Hills side.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Arastradero Road & Manuella: what we check
Buying here
- Check the school district by parcel number. The Census line cuts through Manuella Road and runs near Estacada Drive and Saltamontes Way.
- Check the city. Old Adobe Road, Old Trace Road, Manuela Avenue and Esther Clark Park are Palo Alto, and the far end of Old Trace Lane crosses into Palo Alto too; a Palo Alto address can sit a few hundred feet from a Los Altos Hills one.
- Ask which water company serves the house (Purissima Hills Water District or California Water Service) and whether it is on sewer or septic; get the records.
- Private roads here include Eucalyptus Lane, Mulberry Lane, Old Trace Lane, Shady Oaks Court, Snell Court and Thendara Lane. Ask for the maintenance agreement.
- About ten addressed parcels along Barron Creek and Dry Creek have centroids in the county's 100-year flood layer; check the FEMA map and any drainage history.
Selling here
- Put the school district in writing from each district's address lookup; on this strip it changes from street to street.
- Note the water provider and the sewer or septic status, with records.
- Measure the walk to Esther Clark Park and Town Hall on the pathways and include it.
- On a private lane, have the road agreement and recent repair history ready.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Arastradero Road & Manuella questions, answered
Is Esther Clark Park part of Los Altos Hills?
No. It is a City of Palo Alto preserve at the end of Old Adobe Road, and the land around it is Palo Alto too. The Los Altos Hills streets wrap around it on the south and east.
Which school district serves it?
Both. By Census boundaries the Arastradero Road side is Palo Alto Unified and the Manuella and Miranda side is Los Altos School District with Mountain View-Los Altos; Manuella Road is split. Check the address.
Where did the Juana Briones house stand?
At 4155 Old Adobe Road in Palo Alto, next to this area. The 1840s house was demolished in 2011 after a long preservation fight.
Is Arastradero Road the town line?
Between La Cresta Drive and Fremont Road, yes: Palo Alto is on the far side. East of Fremont Road the line turns south around the Palo Alto land at Old Adobe Road and Esther Clark Park.
How big are the lots?
The median addressed parcel is about 1.07 acres, and about 25 are under three-quarters of an acre (county parcel map). New lots need at least one acre.
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