home / los gatos / vasona & oak meadow
los gatos neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Vasona and Oak Meadow, Los Gatos Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
The homes around Vasona Lake and Oak Meadow Park, between Winchester Boulevard and Highway 17 north of Blossom Hill Road: mostly 1950s ranch tracts, a few large-lot streets and the Los Gatos Creek Trail.
Vasona & Oak Meadow by the numbers
vasona & oak meadow by the numbers · live from the mls
- for sale now…
- median list price…
- homes sold, last 12 months…
- median sale price, 12 mo…
- median price per sq ft, sold…
- sale price vs. list…
Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Vasona area: Winchester Blvd to Hwy 17, Lark Ave to Blossom Hill Rd (approximate). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in vasona & oak meadow · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Vasona & Oak Meadow
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Vasona & Oak Meadow from the MLS, updated automatically, with a map of the neighborhood outline.
Loading listings…
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 (Vasona area: Winchester Blvd to Hwy 17, Lark Ave to Blossom Hill Rd (approximate)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Vasona & Oak Meadow came to be
Before the houses came the reservoir. Vasona Dam on Los Gatos Creek was finished in 1935, one of six original reservoirs Santa Clara County voters approved in 1934, according to Valley Water. The reservoir holds 495 acre-feet over a 57-acre surface, and new gates went in in 1997. Today the lake sits inside Vasona Lake County Park, which with the connecting Los Gatos Creek Parkway covers about 152 acres in the Town's park data and is run by Santa Clara County Parks.
Most of the homes arrived in a rush in the late 1950s. Recorded tract maps in the Town's GIS include Foothill Farms (Tract 1233, 1957), the courts off Garden Hill Drive named Kingston Hill, Nob Hill, Ivy Hill, Holly Hill, Green Hill and Farm Hill, plus neighboring 1957 tracts with Spanish street names: Las Astas, Las Miradas, Arroyo Grande, El Cajon, La Canada and La Cienega. County assessor records put about 60 percent of the area's single-family homes in the 1950s. Later maps filled the gaps: Crestvue Acres (1962), Vasona Terrace (1969), University Oaks (1979), Vineland Condominiums (1984) and, in 2007-2008, the detached homes on Bersano Lane.
Oak Meadow Park, the Town's 12-acre park at 233 Blossom Hill Road, gave the area its other name. It is home to the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad. Billy Jones, a career railroad engineer, bought a rusting one-third-scale steam locomotive from a scrap yard in 1939, restored it and ran it on his Los Gatos ranch from 1943 for donations. After his death in 1968 a nonprofit took it over, and it reopened at Oak Meadow on July 26, 1970. The line runs through both Oak Meadow and Vasona parks.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
Two different street patterns meet here. East of University Avenue, between Vasona Lake and Lark Avenue, the 1957 tracts are classic postwar curves and courts: Las Astas Drive, Las Miradas Drive and Arroyo Grande Way loop off Lark, and the short 'Hill' courts hang off Garden Hill Drive next to Highway 17. Between University Avenue and Winchester Boulevard the pattern is looser, with half-acre-zoned streets such as Wild Way, Summit Way, Oak Ridge Way and Buena Vista Avenue, small newer courts (Milani Court, Privada Luisita, Verdes Robles) and attached-home complexes.
The 1950s houses are almost all single story: county records list about 190 of the roughly 200 houses built that decade as one-story, with a typical recorded size of about 1,300 to 1,800 square feet. Lots in the R-1:8 tracts run mostly 6,400 to 9,200 square feet. Remodels here usually mean expanding the ranch footprint or replacing it with a two-story house, and Town records show about one in seven single-family parcels with a recorded second unit (ADU).
Attached homes cluster on the west side. Town parcel data counts about 75 units along Winchester Boulevard, most built around 1972, plus 17 attached homes on Vasona Oaks Drive (1977) and the Vineland Condominiums off East Vineland Avenue. Bersano Lane, a 2007-2008 planned development of 35 detached homes on lots of about 4,900 square feet, is the newest addition. Zoning follows the same split: R-1:8 in the tracts, R-1:20 on the large-lot streets and R-M:5-12 multifamily along Winchester.
streets in vasona & oak meadow
- Las Astas Drive
- Las Miradas Drive
- Arroyo Grande Way
- El Cajon Way
- La Canada Court
- La Cienega Court
- Garden Hill Drive
- Kingston Hill Way
- Nob Hill Way
- Ivy Hill Way
- Holly Hill Way
- Green Hill Way
- Farm Hill Way
- Wild Way
- Summit Way
- Oak Ridge Way
- Buena Vista Avenue
- Vasona Oaks Drive
- Bersano Lane
- Milani Court
- Privada Luisita Avenue
- Verdes Robles
- East Vineland Avenue
- University Avenue
- Winchester Boulevard
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Vasona & Oak Meadow
- park
Vasona Lake County Park
Santa Clara County's park around Vasona Reservoir: about 152 acres with the connecting Los Gatos Creek Parkway, per Town park data. The 57-acre lake behind the 1935 Vasona Dam is the centerpiece, with picnic areas, a playground and a boat center listed in the Town's facility inventory.
- park
Oak Meadow Park
The Town's 12-acre park at 233 Blossom Hill Road has a large lawn, nine reservable picnic sites, bocce courts and a playground built around a real, decommissioned U.S. Air Force T-33 jet.
- landmark
Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad and W.E. 'Bill' Mason Carousel
The one-third-scale steam railroad, running at Oak Meadow since July 26, 1970, loops through Oak Meadow and Vasona parks; the carousel sits beside it in Oak Meadow Park.
- park
Los Gatos Creek Trail
The Town describes it as an 11-mile trail along Los Gatos Creek from Lexington Reservoir to Meridian Avenue in San Jose, with parking and restrooms at Oak Meadow Park and Vasona Lake County Park.
- park
Creekside Sports Park
A 2.7-acre Town park at 930 University Avenue with a large artificial-turf field, a restroom, parking and an EV charger.
- shopping
Downtown Los Gatos
About a mile south of Oak Meadow Park along the creek trail or University Avenue (straight-line distance).
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
U.S. Census school district maps place the Vasona area in the Los Gatos Union School District (TK-8) and the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District (9-12). R.J. Fisher Middle School is just outside the southeast corner, across Blossom Hill Road and Highway 17, and Daves Avenue Elementary sits a few blocks west of the area in Monte Sereno; neither is a statement of assignment. Los Gatos Union routes each address to a neighborhood school at registration, and attendance boundaries change, so check the exact address with both districts.
Los Gatos Union guide · Los Gatos-Saratoga high schools · Silicon Valley school districts
Getting around
- Bus: VTA Route 27 runs along Winchester Boulevard (stops at Eaton, Valley Oak, Vineland and Daves) and Santa Cruz Avenue, linking Winchester light rail station in Campbell with downtown, Los Gatos Boulevard and Good Samaritan Hospital.
- Light rail: the Green Line ends at Winchester station in Campbell, about 2.8 miles north of the middle of the area in a straight line. VTA's Vasona extension, Phase II, would continue the tracks along Winchester Boulevard to Vasona Junction, but the Town's 2040 General Plan (2022) calls it uncertain and on hold indefinitely until VTA funding is available.
- Driving: Highway 17 has an interchange at Lark Avenue on the northeast corner, and Highway 85 crosses just north of Lark. Downtown is about a mile south via University Avenue or North Santa Cruz Avenue.
- Biking: the Town's Winchester Boulevard Class IV project describes protected bike lanes between Blossom Hill Road and Albright Way, and the Los Gatos Creek Trail runs through Oak Meadow and Vasona parks toward downtown and Campbell.
- Walking: Oak Meadow Park fronts Blossom Hill Road and University Avenue at the south end, and most streets east of University Avenue are within about a third of a mile of Vasona Lake County Park's north edge (straight line, approximate).
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Vasona & Oak Meadow: what we check
Buying here
- Confirm the city. El Rancho Avenue, Pleasant View Avenue, Eaton Lane, Valley Oak Drive, Sereno Court and Grosvenor Court have Los Gatos-area addresses but are in Monte Sereno, which has its own planning rules and permit office.
- Check the hazard layers by address. Town parcel data flags a state liquefaction zone over about half the parcels (including the 1957 tracts east of University Avenue), the mapped Monte Vista-Shannon fault zone on parts of Las Miradas Drive, Nob Hill Way, Kingston Hill Way, Winchester Boulevard and East Vineland Avenue, and a FEMA Zone AE flood strip on some lots on Las Astas and Las Miradas drives.
- Valley Water publishes dam-failure inundation maps for Vasona Dam. Read the natural hazard disclosure report closely for dam-inundation and flood items, and get an insurance quote early.
- For a 1950s ranch house, budget inspections for the foundation, original plumbing and electrical, the sewer lateral and any unpermitted additions. Pre-1978 homes come with the federal lead-paint disclosure.
- Rebuild math depends on the zone: R-1:8 in the tracts, R-1:20 on the large-lot streets, and planned-development (PD) rules or HOA documents for Bersano Lane, Vasona Oaks Drive and the condominium complexes. Ask the Town about floor-area limits and ADU/SB 9 options before you buy for a project.
- Homes near the park entrances on Blossom Hill Road and Garden Hill Drive see park-visitor traffic; drive by on a weekend afternoon before you decide.
Selling here
- Pull permit history for additions, garage conversions and ADUs before listing; about one in seven single-family parcels here already shows a recorded second unit, and buyers will compare.
- Pre-inspections (home, pest, roof, sewer lateral) help on 1950s houses and keep negotiations short.
- If your lot is in a flood, liquefaction or fault layer, order the natural hazard disclosure report early and gather any geotechnical reports or elevation certificates you have.
- Lead with location facts buyers can verify: walking distance to Oak Meadow, the creek trail and Vasona Lake, the Lark Avenue freeway access, and the city (Los Gatos, not Monte Sereno) on the tax bill.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Vasona & Oak Meadow questions, answered
Where is the Vasona and Oak Meadow area of Los Gatos?
North of downtown, between Winchester Boulevard and Highway 17 and between Blossom Hill Road and Lark Avenue. The Town maps it as the Vasona Area. Vasona Lake County Park and Oak Meadow Park take up the middle.
When were the homes built?
Mostly in the late 1950s. Tract maps such as Foothill Farms date to 1957, and county records put about 60 percent of single-family homes in the 1950s, nearly all single story. Attached homes along Winchester Boulevard date mainly from the 1970s and 1980s, and Bersano Lane from 2007-2008.
Is light rail coming to Vasona?
Not on any schedule we could find. The Green Line ends at Winchester station in Campbell. Phase II of VTA's Vasona extension would run down Winchester Boulevard to Vasona Junction, but the Town's 2040 General Plan describes it as on hold indefinitely pending VTA funding.
What is at Oak Meadow Park?
On 12 acres: a large lawn, picnic areas with nine reservable sites, bocce courts, a playground with a decommissioned Air Force T-33 jet, the W.E. 'Bill' Mason Carousel and the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad, plus a link to the Los Gatos Creek Trail.
Which school districts serve the Vasona area?
Los Gatos Union School District for TK-8 and Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District for 9-12, per Census district maps. Boundaries change, so confirm the exact address with the districts.
Is every home here in Los Gatos?
No. A pocket east of Winchester Boulevard around El Rancho and Pleasant View avenues, and a few courts nearby, are in Monte Sereno. Check the city on the title report or tax bill.
next door
More Los Gatos neighborhood guides
talk to a property nerd
Thinking about Vasona & Oak Meadow? Let's run your numbers.
Eric, Janelle and the Boyenga Team have sold more than 2,520 Silicon Valley homes, $2.6+ billion in all, since 1996. Get a value, a plan, or a straight answer about a street.
Questions about Vasona & Oak Meadow? Send us a note.
