Get to Know Los Altos Hills

Located west of Foothill Expressway from Los Altos proper, Los Altos Hills is an entirely separate town composed almost exclusively of low-density residential neighborhoods. This small but coveted corner of Santa Clara County also holds some of its most desirable real estate, including the first home to ever sell in the United States for more than $100 million. Besides schools, clubs, and houses of worship, there’s nary a commercial activity to be found in Los Altos Hills, upholding its founders’ vision of an “agricultural-residential lifestyle.” Prior to postwar development, the area consisted largely of apricot groves, which thrived in the rich soil and gentle Mediterranean climate. While few remain, one 67-acre orchard, planted by HP founder David Packard, still thrives today. The town is additionally home to Foothill College, boasting its own observatory with public stargazing hours.

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Living in Silicon Valley

Twentieth-century innovation transformed the Santa Clara Valley, once a verdant Eden of blossoming plum and apricot orchards, from the rural “Valley of Heart’s Delight” to suburban Silicon Valley. Located at the south end of the San Francisco Bay Area, its borders are more or less congruent with Santa Clara County, though they're sometimes stretched by extension to cover tech-forward areas up the peninsula and the lower East Bay. Though roads are the default thoroughfare for local travel, there's a growing number of transit alternatives: Caltrain and now BART provides easy travel to San Francisco and Oakland, and the VTA light rail slinks streetcar-style through downtown San Jose on its way from Milpitas and Mountain View to Campbell and Santa Teresa. The Santa Cruz Mountains to the south and west, along with Mt. Hamilton and the Diablo Range to the east, keep nature in easy reach.