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belmont neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Western Hills & Carlmont, Belmont Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
South of Ralston Avenue between Davis Drive and the Alameda: Carlmont High, Ralston Middle and the library, condos and apartments near the Alameda, 1970s-1990s hillside houses, and Waterdog Lake's open space.
Western Hills & Carlmont by the numbers
western hills & carlmont by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Western Hills & Carlmont (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in western hills & carlmont · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Western Hills & Carlmont
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Western Hills & Carlmont 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 (Western Hills & Carlmont (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Western Hills & Carlmont came to be
The city's map calls this area Western Hills. Most people call at least the eastern half Carlmont, the name on the high school, on Carlmont Drive and on the Carlmont Village shopping center across the Alameda. It is unlike Belmont's other hill neighborhoods: two public schools, the library, a band of apartments and condominiums along the Alameda side, planned-development houses on the slopes, and roughly 290 acres zoned open space, most of it the Waterdog Lake and Hidden Canyon lands.
County assessor records show it filling in by type rather than by tract. Multi-unit buildings came first, from 1957 to 1965, on Carlmont Drive, Village Drive, Lake Road, Garden Court and Mulberry Court. Condominiums on Continentals Way followed from 1967 into the 1980s and 1990s. In 1977 and 1978 a planned development of detached houses climbed Hastings Drive and its courts (Cliffside, Bridge, Ridgewood and Parkridge), which listing records call Carlmont Woods.
The last pieces are recent. Arroyo View Circle, a private street off Continentals Way, and the upper end of Carlmont Drive were built out from 1995 to 1999, and the Live Oak Way condominiums, about 168 units that listing records file as Cambridge, date from 2005. The two oldest houses in the area are a pair from the late 1920s on Lyall Way.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
Carlmont Drive is the spine: it leaves the Alameda just south of Ralston Avenue by the library, passes Village Drive, Mulberry Court, Lake Road and Live Oak Way, then climbs south into the hills toward Hidden Canyon. Hastings Drive branches off near the Alameda end and runs south past its courts to Witheridge Road at the San Carlos line. Closer to Ralston Avenue, Lyall Way, Continentals Way, Arroyo View Circle and Davis Drive sit just south of the avenue, and Lake Road heads west from Lyall Way into the Waterdog Lake open space. Arroyo View Circle and Live Oak Way are private streets in the city's data.
Expect shared walls and shared rules. About 370 parcels are condominiums and about 70 are apartment or other multi-unit buildings; the roughly 270 detached houses sit on small planned-development lots (median parcel about 3,900 sq ft), almost all two-story, with a median size of about 2,150 sq ft. Most homes here come with an HOA or a planned-development permit, so the documents matter as much as the floor plan.
The terrain splits in two. The Alameda side is gentle: the multi-family parcels have a median slope of about 6 percent in the city's estimates. The upper Carlmont Drive and Club Drive lots in the HRO-3 zone average about 38 percent. One more map to read: FEMA's flood map (panel 06081C0168F, effective July 16, 2015) shows a Zone A special flood hazard strip along part of Carlmont Drive and Mulberry Court, and a wider shaded 0.2 percent annual chance area around it.
streets in western hills & carlmont
- Carlmont Drive
- Hastings Drive
- Cliffside Court
- Bridge Court
- Ridgewood Court
- Parkridge Court
- Village Drive
- Village Court
- Mulberry Court
- Garden Court
- Valerga Drive
- Geraldine Way
- Live Oak Way
- Lyall Way
- Continentals Way
- Arroyo View Circle
- Davis Drive
- Lake Road
- Witheridge Road
- Alameda de las Pulgas
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Western Hills & Carlmont
- park
Waterdog Lake Open Space
City open space around the lake, with more than a dozen named trails mapped inside this area, including the John Brooks Trail, Lake Road, the Chaparral, Rambler, Finch and Elevator trails and the Water Dog Lake Loop Trail (city trail data). Lake Road starts from Lyall Way.
- park
Hidden Canyon Park
City of Belmont open space at 2642 Carlmont Drive, open sunrise to sunset with dogs on leash, per its listing on public maps; about a quarter mile straight-line from the middle of the area.
- park
Belameda Park and Hastings Tot Lot
Belameda Park, with a playground, sits next to the library on the Alameda; the Hastings Tot Lot is a small playground on the Hastings Drive side (public maps).
- landmark
Belmont Library
A San Mateo County Libraries branch in a city-owned building at 1110 Alameda de las Pulgas (city facilities data, public maps).
- shopping
Carlmont Village
The shopping center at Ralston Avenue and the Alameda, just across the Alameda in the McDougal neighborhood, has groceries, a hardware store, cafes and restaurants; a supermarket sits across Ralston at 2100 Ralston Avenue.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Western Hills is in the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District for TK-8 and the Sequoia Union High School District for high school. Two public schools are inside the area: Ralston Middle School at 2675 Ralston Avenue and Carlmont High School at 1400 Alameda de las Pulgas, near the San Carlos line. The elementary district assigns students by walking distance to the closest school with room, and the high school district assigns by address, so living near a campus is not a guarantee. Check the exact address with each district.
Belmont-Redwood Shores guide · Sequoia Union guide · Silicon Valley school districts
Getting around
- SamTrans route 260 runs between San Carlos Caltrain and Carlmont Village at the area's northeast corner; route 295 (Hillsdale to Redwood City) also lists Belmont. Check current stops.
- Belmont Caltrain is about 1.6 miles and San Carlos Caltrain about 2.1 miles straight-line from the middle of the area.
- Ralston Avenue runs east to US 101 (about 2 miles straight-line) and west to Highway 92 and I-280.
- The city's Ralston Avenue bike route runs along the north edge for about a mile, and Lake Road links Lyall Way and Carlmont Drive to Hallmark Drive through the open space for walkers (city trail data, public maps).
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Western Hills & Carlmont: what we check
Buying here
- Condos and planned-development houses: read the HOA documents, CC&Rs, reserve study and recent minutes, and check current dues and any special assessments. Arroyo View Circle and Live Oak Way are private streets.
- Flood: part of Carlmont Drive and Mulberry Court is in FEMA Zone A, a special flood hazard area where lenders usually require flood insurance. Check the exact building against the FEMA map and ask for any elevation certificate.
- Fire: the state's February 2025 map puts about 70 percent of the area in a Moderate zone, including Hastings Drive, Arroyo View Circle, Continentals Way and Live Oak Way, and the city's own hazard layer shades most of the land as Very High. Check the parcel and the HOA's insurance and vegetation plan.
- The upper Carlmont Drive and Club Drive lots in the HRO-3 hillside zone average close to 40 percent slope; ask about drainage, retaining walls and geotechnical reports there.
- Confirm the city: just past the south and southeast edges, Club Drive and Cranfield Avenue are San Carlos, and a pocket around part of Cranfield Avenue is unincorporated county land, with county permits.
Selling here
- Order HOA documents early; buyers here compare dues, reserves and rules across complexes.
- Disclose flood and fire zone status clearly, and have any flood insurance history or elevation certificate ready if the building is near the Carlmont Drive drainage.
- For 1970s Hastings Drive houses, list upgrades with permit dates; buyers will compare against the 1990s houses up the hill.
- Point out the trail access: Waterdog Lake and Hidden Canyon are close to most addresses here.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Western Hills & Carlmont questions, answered
Is it called Western Hills or Carlmont?
Both. The city's neighborhood map calls it Western Hills; the high school, the main drive and the shopping center across the Alameda use the Carlmont name, and many people use it for the whole area.
Where does Belmont end and San Carlos begin?
Along the south edge near Witheridge Road and Club Drive, and at the Alameda near San Carlos Avenue. Club Drive and Cranfield Avenue are San Carlos, and a pocket around part of Cranfield Avenue is unincorporated county land.
What kinds of homes are here?
Mostly condominiums, townhouse-style units and apartments near the Alameda and Ralston Avenue, plus detached two-story houses on small lots on Hastings Drive (1977-1978), Arroyo View Circle and upper Carlmont Drive (late 1990s).
Which schools are here?
Ralston Middle School (Belmont-Redwood Shores School District) and Carlmont High School (Sequoia Union High School District) are both inside the area. Assignment depends on the address and on space, so check with each district.
Is any of it in a flood zone?
Yes, a strip along part of Carlmont Drive and Mulberry Court is FEMA Zone A on the 2015 county map. Most of the area is outside the special flood hazard area; check the specific building.
How do you get to Waterdog Lake?
Lake Road leaves Lyall Way near Ralston Avenue and runs west into the open space, where the city maps more than a dozen named trails; Hidden Canyon Park is off Carlmont Drive.
next door
More Belmont neighborhood guides
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