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morgan hill neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
El Toro, Morgan Hill Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
Morgan Hill's west side under El Toro peak: the Civic Center and library, foothill tracts off Hale Ave and Llagas Rd, and big hillside lots in the state's Very High fire map.
El Toro by the numbers
el toro by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for El Toro (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in el toro · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in El Toro
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in El Toro 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 (El Toro (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How El Toro came to be
The neighborhood takes its name from the mountain that fills the view west of downtown: El Toro, about 393 m (roughly 1,290 feet) on public maps. The Morgan Hill Historical Society notes that Villa Mira Monte was built on former rancho land overlooking "the peak now known as El Toro." The summit sits on the city limit, and much of the eastern slope is open space. The Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority says the city owns roughly 310 acres on El Toro's eastern face, flanked by the Authority's 33-acre El Toro Preserve to the south and about six acres to the north at the western end of Main Ave, and that the Authority holds a conservation easement over 20 acres the city bought in 2011.
Public trail access is still being planned. On November 5, 2025, the City Council approved an agreement with the Open Space Authority to plan trail alignments, access points and long-term stewardship; the Authority says environmental review and property rights for a trailhead staging area come first. A public trail easement through a nearby development, approved September 3, 2025, would allow a future link to the preserve.
Below the peak, the west side filled in tract by tract. County record maps show Claremont Heights, Crestview Terrace, Vista Del Toro, El Toro Heights, Puerta Del Sol, Spring Hill Estates and El Toro Oaks on the lower slopes; Castle Hill (six units), Glen Ayre Estates and Sparhawk Estates in the Llagas Rd hills; and Preservation Park, Berkshire Chase, Murphy Springs Estates and the Campoli maps toward Cochrane Rd. The city's history page dates the dedication of the Civic Center on Peak Ave to November 3, 1973.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
Three street patterns share the area. On the flats between Del Monte Ave and Hale Ave, short grids and courts off W Main Ave, W Dunne Ave and Peak Ave (Claremont Dr, Crest Ave, Longview Dr, Marcia Dr, John Telfer Dr, Oak Park Dr) surround the Civic Center, the library, Galvan Park and P.A. Walsh STEAM Academy. In the Llagas Rd hills the streets climb and curl: Castle Hill Dr, Castle Ridge Dr, Glen Ayre Dr, Jasper Highland Dr and Shady Hollow Dr, with Woodland Ave and Rolling Hills Dr on a separate lobe of city land. North of Llagas Rd, toward Cochrane Rd, the tracts run in loops and courts: Berkshire Dr, Preservation Way, Murphy Springs Dr, Fox Hollow Circle and Campoli Dr.
County parcel shapes show the change in scale. Across the whole outline the median parcel is about 7,800 square feet; in the Llagas Rd hills it is closer to 40,000 square feet, and about four in ten parcels there are larger than an acre. Listing records are almost all single-family homes. South of W Dunne Ave, the outline also takes in the Spring Hill Estates and Spring Hill Patio Homes tracts off Spring Ave and De Witt Ave, the Kings Canyon Ct, Yellowstone Dr, Denali Dr, Olympic Dr and Bryce Dr streets between Spring Ave and W Edmundson Ave, and Community Park with the Centennial Recreation Center.
County land just west. Beyond the city limit, the foothills along Oak Glen Ave, Willow Springs Rd, De Witt Ave south of Spring Ave and W Edmundson Ave west of the city carry Morgan Hill addresses but are unincorporated Santa Clara County land, inside Morgan Hill's sphere of influence and outside its urban service area (county GIS). The MLS files many of these sales as Catherine Dunne Ranch. Expect county planning and building permits, and ask about wells, septic systems and private road maintenance. CAL FIRE maps nearly all of this land in State Responsibility Area fire hazard zones, mostly Very High. Chesbro Reservoir County Park, about 204 acres (county GIS), is off Oak Glen Ave.
streets in el toro
- Peak Ave
- W Main Ave
- W Dunne Ave
- Hale Ave
- Llagas Rd
- Del Monte Ave
- Wright Ave
- Spring Ave
- De Witt Ave
- Claremont Dr
- John Telfer Dr
- Oak Park Dr
- Crest Ave
- Castle Hill Dr
- Glen Ayre Dr
- Jasper Highland Dr
- Sparhawk Dr
- Woodland Ave
- Berkshire Dr
- Preservation Way
- Murphy Springs Dr
- Campoli Dr
- W Edmundson Ave
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near El Toro
- landmark
El Toro
The peak west of downtown (about 393 m on public maps). The city owns about 310 acres of its eastern face and the Open Space Authority a 33-acre preserve; public access is still in planning under a November 2025 agreement.
- landmark
Civic Center and Morgan Hill Library
City Hall is on Peak Ave, in the Civic Center the city dedicated in 1973; the Morgan Hill Library is at 660 W Main Ave (county GIS).
- park
Galvan Park
17666 Crest Ave. Open turf, outdoor fitness stations, a baseball/softball field, two handball courts, a playground and a paved walking loop, per the city.
- park
Community Park and Centennial Recreation Center
171 W Edmundson Ave. The city lists an all-abilities playground, four ball fields, eight tennis courts, four pickleball courts, a skate/BMX park and an off-leash dog park; the recreation center adds a gym, fitness rooms, aquatics and a teen center.
- park
Neighborhood parks
Fox Hollow, Murphy Springs and Sanchez parks serve the north part of the area (public maps).
- shopping
Monterey Rd and Cochrane Rd
Downtown's Monterey Rd is just east, a grocery store sits near W Main Ave and Del Monte Ave, and the Cochrane Rd shopping centers are just north (public maps).
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
El Toro is in the Morgan Hill Unified School District (TK-12). District schools in or next to the area include P.A. Walsh STEAM Academy, an elementary school at 353 W Main Ave, and Lewis H. Britton Middle School at 80 W Central Ave on the east edge; El Toro Health Science Academy (455 E Main Ave) is nearby in downtown. Attendance boundaries change, so check the exact address with the district's Find Your School tool before relying on any assignment.
Getting around
- Caltrain: Morgan Hill station on Depot St is about 1.2 miles straight-line east of the middle of the area. South County Connector trains run on weekdays only: four northbound in the morning and four southbound in the evening, with a transfer to electric trains at San Jose Diridon.
- VTA Route 68 runs daily between Gilroy and San Jose Diridon along Monterey Rd, with stops including Monterey & Main and Hale & Llagas.
- US 101 is about 2 miles straight-line east of the middle of the area, reached by Cochrane Rd to the north or Dunne Ave and Tennant Ave to the south. Hale Ave runs north along the west side and continues as Santa Teresa Blvd toward San Jose (public maps).
- Creek-project detours: Valley Water lists Hale Ave closed from Galvan Park to Llagas Rd (except at Wright Ave) and Spring Ave closed to through traffic at West Little Llagas Creek through October 2026.
- Trails: the city's West Little Llagas Creek Trail (nearly 4.7 miles) runs along the east and south sides of the area, with parts between Watsonville Rd and Spring Ave closed for project work through the end of 2026.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in El Toro: what we check
Buying here
- Fire zone: about 60% of this outline is in the 2025 state fire hazard severity zone map's Recommended LRA Very High class, covering the hillside and foothill streets (Llagas Rd, Castle Hill Dr, Glen Ayre Dr, Claremont Dr, John Telfer Dr, Oak Park Dr, Spring Hill Dr and many more); the Campoli, Berkshire and Preservation Way tracts near Monterey Rd are outside it. The city said in 2025 it expected to adopt the new maps by ordinance. Check the current map for the address, plus the defensible-space and Wildland-Urban Interface building rules the city says apply in these zones.
- Hillside rules: the city treats any property with a slope of 10% or more as a Hillside property; building there can need a design permit and requires a geotechnical survey, and the city won't support splitting off a lot that has only 20%+ slopes. The state also maps landslide hazard zones on Castle Hill Dr, Castle Lake Dr, Castle Ridge Dr, Crystal Dr, Glen Ayre Dr, Jasper Highland Dr, Scott Dr, Shady Hollow Dr, Woodland Ave, Rolling Hills Dr and parts of Llagas Rd; ask for the natural hazard disclosure and any geotechnical report.
- Flood: FEMA maps Zone AE strips along West Little Llagas Creek (parts of Wright Ave, Hale Ave, Llagas Creek Dr, Stoney Creek Way, Christine Lynn Dr, Lindo Ln, Old Monterey Rd and W Edmundson Ave among them), shallow-flooding AH and AO pockets near Fox Hollow Circle, Murphy Ct, Ransen Ct, Carriage Dr and Shadowbrook Way, and Zone D (undetermined) in the hills. A 2015 LOMR (case 15-09-1137P) changed the map near Del Monte Ave and Llagas Rd. Check the current FEMA map and any LOMR for the address.
- City or county: almost everything inside the outline is city land, but Enderson Ct (an unincorporated island inside the city's urban service area) and bits of Sabini Ct and Llagas Rd are county. On county parcels, permits go through the county; confirm sewer, water and road maintenance.
- Construction: Valley Water's Phase 2B work on West Little Llagas Creek runs along Hale Ave and Spring Ave into 2026, with the project due in spring 2027. Ask about any access or construction easements on creek-side lots.
Selling here
- In fire-zone areas, document defensible-space work and any ember-resistant vents, roofing or siding upgrades, with permits; buyers will see the zone on the disclosure.
- For hillside lots, gather the geotechnical report, any slope or drainage repairs and past Hillside Combining District approvals before listing.
- Describe El Toro views exactly as the lot sees them, and don't promise trail access; the peak is not open to the public yet.
- Show straight-line distances to the Civic Center, the library, Galvan Park and Community Park; on large lots, have a survey or lot-line documentation ready.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
El Toro questions, answered
Can you hike El Toro?
Not yet. The City Council approved an agreement with the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority on November 5, 2025 to plan trails, access points and a staging area, and the Authority says environmental review and more property rights are needed before it opens.
Is El Toro in a fire hazard zone?
Much of it. About 60% of this area falls in the Recommended LRA Very High class on the 2025 state fire hazard severity zone map, and the county land just west is in State Responsibility Area zones. Check the current map for the specific address.
Are El Toro homes in the city or the county?
Nearly all of the streets in this guide are inside city limits. Enderson Ct and a few parcels on Sabini Ct and Llagas Rd are county land, and the foothills west of the city limit (Oak Glen Ave, Willow Springs Rd, the Catherine Dunne Ranch area) are county land with Morgan Hill addresses.
How big are the lots?
County parcel shapes put the median near 7,800 square feet across the area, but in the Llagas Rd hills the median is about 40,000 square feet and many parcels are larger than an acre.
Which schools serve El Toro?
Morgan Hill Unified School District. P.A. Walsh STEAM Academy and Britton Middle School are in or next to the area. Boundaries change, so check the address with the district.
talk to a property nerd
Thinking about El Toro? Let's run your numbers.
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