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Santa Cruz Mountains, Los Gatos 95033 Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
Unincorporated Santa Clara County along Highway 17 south of town, from Lexington Reservoir to Summit Road: redwood-lot communities, county permits, septic and wells, private roads and serious wildfire planning.
Santa Cruz Mountains by the numbers
santa cruz mountains by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Santa Clara County side of ZIP 95033, Lexington Reservoir to Summit Rd (approximate). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in santa cruz mountains · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Santa Cruz Mountains
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Santa Cruz Mountains 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 (Santa Clara County side of ZIP 95033, Lexington Reservoir to Summit Rd (approximate)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Santa Cruz Mountains came to be
South of Los Gatos, Highway 17 climbs past Lexington Reservoir into the Santa Cruz Mountains, and the Town ends. Everything from the reservoir to Summit Road on this side of the ridge is unincorporated Santa Clara County, even though the mail says Los Gatos 95033. The Census Bureau groups the main cluster of communities as Lexington Hills: Redwood Estates, Chemeketa Park, Aldercroft Heights and the old Holy City site, with 1,017 housing units in 2020. Around them are homes along Bear Creek Road and Black Road west of the freeway and along Summit Road on the ridge. Summit Road is roughly the county line, and the 95033 ZIP keeps going into Santa Cruz County on the other side.
The reservoir covers the first towns. Lexington and Alma grew up in the mid-1800s with hotels, saloons, blacksmiths and redwood sawmills, and Lexington was the halfway stop where stagecoaches between San Jose and Santa Cruz switched from four horses to six. The railroad from Los Gatos to Santa Cruz bypassed Lexington after 1880, Highway 17 bypassed Alma in 1940, and in 1952 the county's water district built the earthen dam, now the James J. Lenihan Dam, whose reservoir covered both town sites.
The neighborhoods that exist today started as weekend escapes. Chemeketa Park was laid out in 1925 and 1926 on a 63-acre orchard, with lots advertised around the Bay Area as summer cabin sites. By the mid-1930s better roads and water systems let many owners live up here year-round, and small lots were combined into larger parcels. The land west of the highway around Bear Creek Road went another way: after its time as an estate and later a college campus that closed in 1969, it was bought by Midpen and the Peninsula Open Space Trust in 1999 and is now the Bear Creek Redwoods Preserve.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
Highway 17 is the spine, with local interchanges at Bear Creek Road, Madrone Drive in Redwood Estates and Summit Road. East of the freeway, Old Santa Cruz Highway winds through Chemeketa Park and past Holy City toward Summit Road, with Aldercroft Heights Road branching east. In Redwood Estates the main streets are Madrone Drive, Broadway Road and Redwood Drive; Chemeketa Park's lanes off Old Santa Cruz Highway are mostly Trails (Apache, Cherokee, Navajo and more); and Idylwild Road, Call of the Wild Road, Aldercroft Heights Road and Mountain Charlie Road climb into the canyons. West of the highway, Bear Creek Road and Black Road run up toward Skyline Boulevard.
In Redwood Estates the roads are paved but narrow and winding, with very few storm drains, curbs or sidewalks, and most front yards are redwood duff rather than lawn. Street addresses are usually five digits; Redwood Estates post office boxes use ZIP 95044, while street delivery is Los Gatos 95033. A number of lanes are private, including Panorama Heights Road, Old Gold Mine Road, Roaring Water Way and Oak Mount Drive on current maps.
Housing here doesn't follow a tract pattern, and home styles vary widely. In Chemeketa Park the 1920s cabin lots were sold small and many were later combined, so parcel sizes change street by street. Because this is county land, remodels, additions, ADUs, grading, septic systems and wells all go through Santa Clara County rather than the Town of Los Gatos, and in mapped fire hazard zones state wildfire building standards apply to new work.
streets in santa cruz mountains
- Santa Cruz Highway (Highway 17)
- Old Santa Cruz Highway
- Summit Road
- Bear Creek Road
- Black Road
- Alma Bridge Road
- Madrone Drive
- Broadway Road
- Redwood Drive
- Idylwild Road
- Call of the Wild Road
- Aldercroft Heights Road
- Mountain Charlie Road
- Hebard Road
- Stagecoach Road
- Old Summit Road
- Skyline Boulevard
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Santa Cruz Mountains
- park
Lexington Reservoir County Park
A 950-acre county park around the 338-acre reservoir, entered from Alma Bridge Road. The Los Gatos Creek Trail starts at the dam and runs downstream into town, and the park connects to St. Joseph's Hill Open Space Preserve.
- park
Bear Creek Redwoods Preserve
Midpen's roughly 1,430-acre preserve off Bear Creek Road, with second-growth redwoods, an Upper Lake loop, over 10 miles of hiking and equestrian trails, a 53-space lot and a boarding stable. No dogs or bikes.
- park
Sierra Azul Preserve, Limekiln and Priest Rock trails
On the reservoir's east side, Midpen's Miller Point parking area (33 spaces, on county park land) sits near gate SA21 to the Priest Rock Trail; leashed dogs are allowed on the Limekiln and Priest Rock trails.
- shopping
Redwood Estates village
The Redwood Estates Store and post office on Broadway Road, a restaurant and the county fire station on Madrone Drive make up the closest thing to a village center. Full groceries mean a drive to Los Gatos or Scotts Valley.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
The mountains are split among three elementary districts. Census Bureau boundaries put Redwood Estates, Chemeketa Park, Aldercroft Heights and the reservoir area in Los Gatos Union School District, the Black Road and western Bear Creek Road area in Lakeside Joint School District, and the Summit Road and Patchen area in Loma Prieta Joint Union School District, with Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District for high school throughout. Public schools in the area include Los Gatos Union's Lexington Elementary near the reservoir and Lakeside Elementary on Black Road, and the Loma Prieta district is based on Summit Road. Attendance boundaries change, so check the exact address with each district.
Los Gatos Union guide · Los Gatos-Saratoga high schools · Silicon Valley school districts
Getting around
- Highway 17 is the only fast route. Redwood Estates is about 8 miles from downtown Los Gatos and about 9 miles from Scotts Valley; expect heavy summer beach traffic on weekends.
- Local interchanges: Bear Creek Road (Lexington Reservoir and Bear Creek Redwoods), Madrone Drive (Redwood Estates) and Summit Road. Old Santa Cruz Highway is a slower local road east of the freeway.
- Santa Cruz Metro's Highway 17 Express runs between Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley and San Jose's Diridon Station but has no stops in these communities; the nearest stops are Scotts Valley's Cavallaro Transit Center and Diridon.
- The Los Gatos Creek Trail starts at Lenihan Dam and follows the creek north into Los Gatos, Campbell and San Jose.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Santa Cruz Mountains: what we check
Buying here
- Start with jurisdiction. A Los Gatos 95033 address here is unincorporated Santa Clara County (or, past Summit Road, Santa Cruz County), so zoning, building, grading and ADU rules come from the county, not the Town. Check permit history with the county for every structure, including old cabins, decks and additions.
- Confirm the water source and wastewater system. Water can come from San Jose Water, a small mutual water company or a private well; ask for the provider, any shares, and well yield and quality tests. Septic systems are the norm in unincorporated hillside areas around Los Gatos, per the Town's hillside plan findings, so get the county permit record, a recent inspection and pumping history.
- Wildfire is the main risk to plan around. CAL FIRE's records include the 1985 Lexington Fire (4,200 acres, 37 homes destroyed) and the 2008 Summit Fire (4,270 acres, 35 homes). Look up the fire hazard zone, budget for defensible space and home hardening, and get insurance quotes before you remove contingencies.
- Drive the access at night and in the rain. Roads are narrow and winding, and some are private, so ask for road association or maintenance agreements, easements and who plows, clears and repaves.
- Order a geotechnical review on sloped lots. The Butano Fault roughly follows Summit Road, and an abandoned oil field at Moody Gulch north of Redwood Estates has about 20 plugged wells; check state seismic hazard and oil and gas well maps for the parcel.
Selling here
- Gather county permits and finals for every structure, plus septic inspection and pumping records and well test results or water company documents.
- Document fire work: defensible-space clearing, roof and vent upgrades, generator or backup power, and your current insurance carrier and premium so buyers can plan.
- Have road and access paperwork ready: road maintenance agreements, easements and a survey if driveways cross neighbors' land.
- Spell out what makes the parcel work: usable flat area, sun exposure, water storage, internet options and drive time to Highway 17. Mountain buyers compare these more than square footage.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Santa Cruz Mountains questions, answered
Are Redwood Estates and Chemeketa Park part of the Town of Los Gatos?
No. They use Los Gatos 95033 mailing addresses but are unincorporated Santa Clara County. The Census Bureau groups them, with Aldercroft Heights and Holy City, as the Lexington Hills census-designated place, about five miles south of Los Gatos.
Where does 95033 end?
The ZIP code reaches past Summit Road into Santa Cruz County, including the Summit, Laurel, Burrell, Skyland and Las Cumbres areas. Summit Road roughly follows the county line, and which county a parcel is in decides who issues permits.
Who provides fire protection?
The Santa Clara County Fire Department serves the unincorporated communities around its member cities and has a station at 21452 Madrone Drive in Redwood Estates. CAL FIRE also has stations in the mountains. Check the fire hazard zone for the exact address.
Which school districts serve the mountains?
It depends on the address: Los Gatos Union, Lakeside Joint or Loma Prieta Joint Union for elementary and middle school, and Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District for high school, per Census Bureau district boundaries. Confirm with the districts.
How long is the drive to Los Gatos?
Redwood Estates is about 8 miles from downtown Los Gatos on Highway 17. Traffic varies a lot, especially on summer weekends.
Do mountain homes have city water and sewer?
Some areas have water from San Jose Water or a mutual water company, and others rely on private wells. Septic systems are common in unincorporated hillside areas. Confirm both for the specific parcel before you buy.
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