Welcome to Portola Valley
Incorporated in 1964, Portola Valley began as an affordable location for artists and progressive academics looking for close proximity to Stanford and Palo Alto. Today, Portola Valley maintains its simple charm despite being listed consistently among the wealthiest places to live in the U.S.
Portola Valley offers a town experience unique in Silicon Valley. Public libraries, parks, and recreational trails are numerous and well-supported. The outdoors plays a central role and residents fiercely protect their open space. The Portola Valley Town Center integrates seamlessly into its scenic surroundings and has won numerous awards for design and sustainability.
The town trail system lies at the very heart of the community, providing hiking, biking, and equestrian opportunities for the town’s citizens, but also serving as an important walking tie to neighbors, shopping and city schools. The Windy Hill Open Space Preserve offers additional backcountry access and incredible scenery. Horses and equestrian activity are present throughout town with multiple boarding and riding clubs, as well as horse trails that traverse the community and extend into portions of the Mid-Peninsula Open Space District.
The unobtrusive Valley Center is anchored by the locally-owned Robert’s Market. Here both residents and cycling visitors gather to “fuel up” on groceries and prepared gourmet meals and coffee. A gas station, hardware store, and professional services offices round out the center.
Portola Valley is a great combination of seclusion, outdoor living, a natural environment, and convenience. It’s a place that ought to be hundreds of miles away but lies only a couple of minutes from everything on the Peninsula. Its rural, outdoor lifestyle offers sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of Silicon Valley.
Neighborhoods
Los Trancos Woods
This off-the-beaten-path neighborhood is breathtakingly scenic. Properties vary widely from expansive secluded estates to newer custom homes to rustic cabins built decades ago as summer retreats. Surrounded by lush forests and grasslands, a unique sense of tranquility attracts a veritable Who’s Who from the realms of technology, real estate development and finance.
Portola Valley Ranch
The Ranch is a planned community of 200+ homes immersed in the natural environment. Surrounded by 350 acres of open space with 10 miles of trails for hiking, jogging or horseback riding, residents enjoy not only beautiful views but also a large recreation center with tennis courts, pools, a vineyard, community garden and club house for events.
Corte Madera
Portola Road, Alpine Road and Willowbrook Drive form a triangle defining this bucolic neighborhood, much of which was originally subdivided in the 1920s. It offers a mix of older homes and newer construction on lots averaging a half an acre and is adjacent to the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve with its over 12 miles of trails for hikers and equestrians.
Central Portola Valley
Central Portola Valley has a distinctly rural feel with oaks and chaparral covering the hillsides. The terrain creates a wide variety of lot shapes and sizes with many homes built with multiple levels to take advantage of the beautiful views. The Westridge neighborhood has 2.5 acre minimum lots and backs onto the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve.
Ladera
Initially founded as an experimental cooperative housing development in the 1940s, the supportive community spirit still prevails in Ladera today. The neighborhood recreation district and association connect residents with year-round activities. With over 500 moderately sized homes on quarter acre lots, this is an ideal entry point for Portola Valley buyers.
