Carmichael

Just upstream from Sacramento, Wilhaggin del Dayo is more than a 3-mile stretch along the American River. “We’re a community of 2,100 homes, so we’re pretty spread out,” says Kathleen Newton, a local since 2012. “But you know your closest neighbors, so when you’re out in the yard, you’ll wave and say hello. It’s multigenerational, and people who buy here usually live here for a very long time.” These longtime residents look out for each other: they volunteer dues to the Wilhagen Dayo Neighborhood Association, whose off-duty patrols have led to one the lowest crime rates in the county. Slow-paced streets don’t get much through traffic, and oak trees can shade pedestrians from California sun. “Everybody’s constantly out walking since we’re right next to the American River Parkway, one of the jewels of Sacramento County,” says Newton. “That’s why a lot of people want to live here.” Compared to 1950s homes in Arden Park and Marie-Gordon Heights, most houses in Wilhaggin del Dayo were built in the 1970s. These ranch-styles typically have wide lots close to neighbors, and most backyards have a pool. Three-bedrooms range from $690,000 to $1 million, while four-bedrooms can go up to $1.7 million. Higher-end properties tend to be farthest from the American River, and they usually have more square footage. Budget-friendly homes are closer to the river, and flood insurance is recommended for lower-elevation properties. “We don’t have many sales come up,” says Newton. “If you see something for sale, you better pounce on it because it’ll probably be gone in a week.” “We’re one of the biggest examples of the community here,” says Newton, Communications Director for the Wilhaggin Del Dayo Neighborhood Association. “We were founded in 2006 by neighbors who decided to get together because there was an uptick in burglaries. Now we have the most robust off-duty program in the county.” The Association contracts off-duty officers with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, and they run 10 patrols a week. In addition to these services, Association members receive a biweekly report in exchange for monthly dues. This voluntary membership costs $300 per month, and half of homeowners enroll. Accordingly, the CAP Index Crime Score is half of the national average and sits at a 2 out of 10 as of April 2024. Del Dayo Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in the northern portion of the neighborhood, and Niche gives it an A-minus rating. Students here can advance to Arden Middle, about 2 miles north, and it receives a B-plus. In the south, Sierra Oaks Elementary serves kindergarten through eighth grade, and it also receives a B-plus. Both pathways lead to Rio Americano High: it’s rated an A-minus by Niche and ranks in the top 20 best public high schools for Sacramento County. An alternative for grades six through 12, Choices Charter School receives an A-minus and has a student-teacher ratio of 12-to-1. Spanning across the neighborhood’s southern border, bikers can enjoy a stretch of the American River Parkway. “It's a beautiful trail with lots of trees and wildlife,” says Newton. “Some people even use it as a commuter corridor to go to work downtown.” This westbound trip is roughly 12 miles, or they might go 20 miles east to Folsom. Pedestrians can connect to parks along the northern riverbank, such as William B. Pond Recreation Area. Here, an expansive picnic area is suited for a waterside meal, and Arden Rapids caters to adventurous rafters. Across the Harold Richey Memorial Bridge, River Bend Park has 444 acres of hiking and equestrian trails. Ashton Park isn’t along the river, but it’s a short walk from most homes: this green space features basketball and tennis courts, plus a playground. Bella Bru Café is a local chain that prides itself on California-grown ingredients, and it’s walkable from east-side homes. “Everybody goes there for morning coffee, and it’s always busy with so many people doing business and talking in there,” says Newton. “That’s the closest place that everybody knows.” Mas Taco Bar, toward the west, folds the world into a taco: stuffing includes Korean fried chicken, fried oysters and everything in between. While these local spots are walkable from some homes, shoppers will likely drive 5 miles northwest to Howe Bout Arden. This outdoor mall features 29 restaurants and 12 specialty stores such as Burlington, Nordstrom Rack and ULTA Beauty; it also has a Century Theatre and the Punch Line Comedy Club. Residents are also across the river from the Folsom Boulevard Flea Market, a weekend market that’s been around since 1965. Heading west on Fair Oaks Boulevard, commuters can use the Watt Avenue bridge onto U.S. Route 50. This route leads 6 miles into downtown Sacramento, but it might take 20 minutes or longer during rush hour traffic. Sacramento Regional Transit also operates Bus Route 84 along Watt Avenue, and it connects to the Light Rail’s Gold Line. In this case, travel time is usually 45 minutes to an hour.

At Foothill Farms, sizable properties and a peaceful suburban lifestyle await homebuyers. However, with Interstate 80 right inside the neighborhood, residents can easily commute to Sacramento’s urban core. The Foothill Farms community was completed around the late 1960s and was initially a hotspot for locals who worked at McClellan Air Force Base. When the base closed in 2001, the neighborhood declined for a short time but has recently seen renewed interest from homebuyers. According to Susan Lawrence-Nunley, Realtor at Birdie Real Realty and a Sacramento native, homebuyers discovered that relocating to Foothill Farms would allow them to acquire more for their money. “You get a lot more for yard for your money,” Lawrence-Nunley says. Properties typically cost between $350,000 and $545,000 for at least 1,200 square feet and three to four bedrooms. Lawrence-Nunley also notes that many houses have unique styles, even if most are ranches from the late 1950s and mid-1960s. She says, “Foothill Farms doesn’t feel cookie-cutter at all.” Multi-car garages and wide driveways are common, and lawns are grassy and well-kept. Occasionally, yards are dominated by an expansive shade tree or towering palm. Students can attend Frontier Elementary School, which offers free youth sporting programs for which the California Department of Education awarded a Gold Ribbon. These programs include basketball, golf, soccer, and cheerleading. Students can move on to Foothill Ranch Middle School, followed by Foothill High School. Foothill High offers specialized courses in Career and Technical Education and Visual and Performing Arts alongside their core curriculum. All three schools receive a B-minus rating from Niche. Foothill Farms is patterned with green spaces. Rushmore-Jeanine Park is a small playground where neighborhood kids who live in the adjacent houses like to play. More east, Cabana Dog Park is the go-to spot for local pups and their owners to make friends. Pioneer Park is a larger park south of I-80 where most kids hang out after school. It features a playground, large open fields and two baseball diamonds for Little League games. Foothill Community Park, the area’s largest green space, is north of the neighborhood. It has the most amenities, including shaded picnic areas, barbeque pits, tennis courts, three playgrounds and a community center. Elkhorn Plaza at the neighborhood’s northern border provides locals with everyday essentials. For groceries and personal items, Safeway and CVS are next door to one another. Starbucks, McDonald’s and Carl’s Jr. are all quick and convenient for shoppers wanting a snack on the go, but the plaza also houses some sit-down dining options for lunch or dinner. El Forastero Mexican Food serves familiar Mexican favorites at fair prices, while Aji Sushi offers all-you-can-eat sushi made fresh to order. When locals are looking for entertainment, they head to Cinemark Century Theaters to catch the newest flicks gracing the silver screen. Visitors get luxury treatment with assigned seating and heated reclining chairs with attached food and drink trays. The theater also has a large arcade with a variety of games, from claw machines to air hockey. Commuters are well provided for in Foothill Farms. I-80 runs diagonally through the center of the neighborhood, making accessing the highway a breeze. While residents living closest to the freeway occasionally experience increased noise during rush hours, most locals are content trading some of their quiet time for the convenience of having the interstate at their doorstep. Public transit stops also run along the north and south of the neighborhood, and residential streets have wide roads and sidewalks to accommodate cyclists and joggers. Additionally, residents are 2 1/2 miles from Mercy San Juan Medical Center and almost 18 miles from Sacramento International Airport.

People choose Oakvale to get out of traffic and into a suburb. “There aren’t a lot of people driving through, so if you’re down there, you live around there,” says Ron Murphy, a local since 1970 and a Realtor with Century 21 Real Estate. “People like the big trees, mature landscaping and bigger lots.” With pines and maples that tower overhead, it’s clear that this Carmichael neighborhood has been around since the 1950s. Longstanding parks have that same, stuck-in-time feeling, and they’re walkable from most homes; residents greet each other on the street and during community-wide Fourth of July celebrations. But it’s not all retro: most homes have been renovated, and retail on Fair Oaks Boulevard is within driving distance. Along with high ratings, San Juan Unified Schools have gotten updates in recent years, and Barrett Middle received a $45 million facelift in 2022. Commuters are only 12 miles northeast of Sacramento, too. Housing prices are 30% less than the rest of Carmichael, and people have started to notice. “It’s a more established neighborhood, but the new generation is moving back in,” says Murphy. “That’s where they grew up and where their friends are moving.” Typically on a quarter acre, most ranch-styles were built between the 1950s and 1990s, but their interiors have been updated. Exteriors likely feature siding mixed with brick facades, and garages can fit two cars. Three-bedrooms around 1,500 square feet start at $400,000; three-bedrooms above 2,000 square feet are $765,000 at most. Traditional homes make up most of this market, but northernmost townhouses in Oak Knoll range from $320,000 to $360,000. Unlike other neighborhoods in Carmichael, no Mello-Roos tax is applied to Oakvale homeowners; they make up half of this market, while the other half rents. Right in the middle of the neighborhood, La Sierra Community Center is the headquarters for Carmichael Parks and Recreation. This 36-acre facility houses a banquet hall and performing arts theater, in addition to gymnasiums and sports fields. A lot of community groups use this space, such as Carmichael Little League and Capital Valley Youth Soccer League, and California Montessori Project has a campus here. Since La Sierra is so central, visitors can easily walk to surrounding parks. Gibbons Community Park is a mile west for tennis and basketball courts; Carmichael Park is a mile east for more baseball and softball fields. Additionally, the Carmichael Park Farmers Market is open every Sunday year-round, and vendors sell anything from hummus to pies. While it’s a 3-mile drive from the community center, Ancil Hoffman Golf Course is a public 9-holer with views of the American River. “People don’t realize it because that area is so residential,” says Murphy, “but you go down there and it’s beautiful. It’s my favorite course to play on. It’s not like other courses in Carmichael, because you’re not on any busy street. I love the peace and quiet, and you’ve got deer coming in around there.” Most students start at Pasadena Avenue Elementary, just west of the neighborhood and rated a B-minus by Niche. Winston Churchill Middle, on the south side, is probably their next step, and it gets an A-minus. About 2 miles west, Mira Loma High scores an A-plus and ranks as Niche’s No. 2 standout school for Sacramento. Its range of student clubs caters to any interest: topics include robotics, bioengineering, poetry, pickleball, ping pong and more. Northernmost students can attend Churchill and Mira Loma, but they’ll likely go to C-plus-rated Cameron Ranch Elementary. Southernmost students, though, have an entirely different progression: they start at Carmichael Elementary and advance to John Barrett Middle, both of which get B’s. They can finish it out at Del Campo High, rated a B-plus. Held in downtown Carmichael, the Carmichael Elks Lodge Fourth of July Parade has been popular for over 60 years. Classic cars and decorated truck beds ring in another year of America, and Grand Marshalls are often service men and women from the community. At night, La Sierra Community Center and Carmichael Park bring fireworks, food and live music to their lawns. On the neighborhood’s east side, Fair Oaks Boulevard is a hub for businesses, small and large. Area chains such as Jimboy’s Tacos and Noah’s NY Bagels are down the street from locally owned spots. Busy on the weekends, Shogun Sushi serves contemporary Japanese with traditional bar seating; Yerevan Bar and Restaurant brings a taste of Armenia, prepared by professional chefs. Nearby shops sell anything from rugs to flowers, while Bel Air and Safeway make for quick runs to the store. And while these are the closest businesses to Oakvale, this Fair Oaks district is about 4 miles long. Using the ramp on Auburn Boulevard, commuters have a 12-mile trip into Sacramento via the Capitol City Freeway. A lot of people use this route, but fast traffic makes for a 20-minute ride. The No. 25 bus operates along Fair Oaks Boulevard, so they could start at Carmichael Park and connect to the Light Rail’s Blue Line; this option likely takes an hour or more.

With community-focused schools, medical services around the corner and diverse dining and retail, Merrihill is more than just a place residents call home. The neighborhood provides residents with the amenities that serve their daily needs but also access to downtown Sacramento in less than 30 minutes with a drive down Interstate 80. Homebuyers can find quiet repose in Merrihill without feeling like any necessity is too far from reach. Homes in Merrihill are typically one-story ranches with two to four bedrooms, but occasionally contemporary-style two-story houses can be found. Houses list for anywhere between $345,000 to $645,000, and many homes were built in the late 1950s to early 1960s but have since been remodeled. Two-car garages and wide multi-car driveways are common features, and front lawns are generally kept simple and shapely, with mature shade trees or towering palms popping up on yards every few houses. According to Michael Gesner, broker at Realty Plus and former area local, a major focus of the neighborhood is good schooling. He says the schools’ “state ratings, the ones they get when the kids take their end-of-year tests, are always above average. The graduation rates are high, and the ability for those graduates to get into a good college is high too.” Students can begin their education at Coyle Avenue Elementary School, which has a C-plus rating on Niche. The school has a Coyle Elementary House System, and its purpose is to create a strong sense of belonging between the students and staff through tight-knit small groups that work and learn together. Students can move on to Will Rogers Middle School, which has a B rating on Niche, followed by Del Campo High School, depending on where residents live. Del Campo High earns a B-plus rating from Niche and is home to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization run entirely by students at Del Campo High School called Kids Helping Kids. The nonprofit was recognized as the top student-run nonprofit in the world after winning SAGE, a competition for students advancing global entrepreneurship. Merrihill residents are right by Eugene H. Ahner Park, a spacious green space with shaded playgrounds, basketball courts and tennis courts. The space also has picnic tables and water fountains at three different heights – the highest for adults, the middle for children and the lowest for pets. Locals have reported occasionally seeing a homeless population near the back of the park but nevertheless feel comfortable using the park’s amenities. Del Campo Park is a 12-acre community park about a mile from the neighborhood. Amenities include concrete walking paths, a playground, a soccer field and interspersed natural areas with shade trees. Dogs on leashes are allowed in the space, and off-street parking is available. Residents do most of their errands at Madison Square Shopping Center, where locals can buy groceries at the Walmart Neighborhood Market or retail shop at Home Depot or Ross. For a quick bite to eat, locals love Kiki’s Chicken Place, a small chain restaurant that serves crispy chicken tenders, wings and fries. Gesner says, “There’s tons of restaurants in the surrounding area too. I remember my family and I used to love going to Carmelita’s Mexican Restaurant in downtown Fair Oaks.” Carmelita’s is a family-run Mexican restaurant serving authentic flavors with fresh ingredients and is a favorite spot for a sit-down meal. Another staple of the area is Bottom’s Up Espresso, a local drive-through chain where bikini-wearing baristas serve coffee, tea, smoothies and energy drinks. Most residents in the area travel by car, but locals can access bus routes and rideshare services through Sacramento Regional Transit. For more extensive travel, Sacramento International Airport is 25 minutes away by car. However, the area is also around 4 miles from the Sacramento McClellan Airport and 10 miles from the Rio Linda Airport. While these are small domestic airports, such close proximity to occasional air traffic, as well as Interstate 80, can cause increased noise pollution in the neighborhood. Medical services are readily available to Merrihill residents, as the Manzanita Healthcare Center and several private practice doctor and dentist offices are in the area. Also, right across Coyle Avenue is Mercy San Juan Hospital, which offers emergency room services and a specialized cancer treatment center.

CLocated in the city of Carmichael, about 12 miles to the northeast of Sacramento, is Del Paso Vale. Home to American River College, which is a community college of over 40,000 on the western side of the neighborhood, Del Paso Vale combines the bustling energy of a college campus with the family-friendly quiet of an established suburb. “It’s a really great neighborhood for professors and staff being so close to the college,” says Marissa DeMartini of DeMartini Team and Century 21 Select Real Estate, who has over 15 years of experience in the area. “There are also plenty of city workers like firemen and policemen in the neighborhood, which makes people feel comfortable.” While the college sits on the western edge of the neighborhood, the east side of Del Paso Vale is made up of residential subdivisions. Del Paso is an established neighborhood, with many of the homes being built in the 1960s. “The older lots are larger, and most are at least a quarter of an acre,” says DeMartini. Single-family homes range from $450,000 to just over $720,000. Large, midcentury ranch-style homes are the most prevalent style, but there are also tri-level and Craftsman-style builds. There is a great deal of greenery in the neighborhood, as tall trees shade the swimming pools that many have in their backyards. Wide sidewalks make it easy to go for a jog or walk to a neighbor. Townhomes and condos are available near the college, starting at $350,000 that have community pools and tennis courts. The west side of the neighborhood is bordered by Manzanita Avenue and is home to plenty of different dining options. Locals can start the day off with a cup of Joe and a pastry from Dutch Brothers Coffee or settle in for lunch at Mark and Monica’s Family Pizza. Noroc is a restaurant with an Eastern European flair that has specials like rack of lamb and tabaka chicken. Li’s Mongolian BBQ is a popular place for residents to head for parties and special events. Shoppers can find grocery stores like Foodmaxx and Safeway further south on Manzanita Avenue, while Target and other retail shops are available in strip malls north of Myrtle Avenue. Arcade Creek Natural Area has a playground for kids, as well as tennis and basketball courts. Also nearby is Gibbons Community Park, a 17-acre greenspace just to the south of the neighborhood, which has community grills for picnics with friends and family. At BTH Equestrian Enterprises, locals can hop on a horse for riding lessons or take in a competition. Others can lace up at Foothill Skate Inn and roller skate to popular hits played by a DJ or join the artistic skating team. Kids in Del Paso Vale attend the San Juan Unified School District, beginning at Cameron Ranch Elementary, which holds a C-plus ranking on Niche. The next stop is Winston Churchill Middle School, which has an A-minus rating and was named a Niche Standout Middle School. Teens head to Mira Loma High, which has a perfect A-plus Niche rating. Mira Loma was named the second-best school in the Sacramento area and the fourth-most diverse student population in all of California. Sacramento Adventist Academy is a K-12 private option. Del Paso Vale is served by the Sacramento Regional Transit system, and there are frequent bus stops along Myrtle Avenue and Manzanita Avenue. The neighborhood is located just a couple miles from Interstate 80, which provides quick access to Sacramento and the rest of Northern California. Sacramento’s airport is just 20 miles for those who want to travel by air.