La Verne

Situated 30 miles east of Los Angeles in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, South La Verne offers residents extensive shopping and dining, excellent schools and beautiful outdoor opportunities. “There’s just a ton of stuff to do here; you’ve got the mountains and a very walkable downtown area with great restaurants,” says Jason Lorge of Mr. and Mrs. La Verne Realty. The town cultivates a close community vibe that isn’t easy to find in Southern California. Residents come together routinely for seasonal events — the holidays are a big deal. “This is one of the last cities around that has a small-town feel; you see somebody you know every time you go to the store or dinner,” says Century 21 Masters agent Robert Cofer, a lifelong resident of the San Gabriel Valley. The small-town feel is cultivated in La Verne through community events, which are particularly robust around the holidays. “The Fourth of July is massive; I’ll have 200 people at my house. The parade route serpentines around Old Town and police have to stop people from setting up on the street a week in advance,” Cofer says. Halloween is another big one, with people decorating their entire house and lines of cars outside with people seeking selfies. “On Bonita, one door will need 2,000 pieces of candy, and even with one piece per person, you’re still going to run out,” Cofer says. The Christmas celebration wraps up the year with a very sweet tradition. “On Christmas morning, the fire department takes out all the fire trucks and different Santas drive by every house in La Verne,” Cofer says. While some holidays bring in people from all over, Christmas tends to be just locals. According to Cofer, South La Verne starts below the 210 and has more attainably priced properties than the north, with some contemporary estate homes over $2 million. South of the 210, there is a range of properties, from manufactured homes priced between $100,000 and $300,000 to single-family offerings ranging from around $600,000 to $1 million. There is a condo community west of North White Avenue with units priced between $300,000 and $450,000. “North of the foothills used to be more desirable because of newer builds from the 1970s and ‘90s, but the character homes around Old Town are becoming much more popular,” Cofer says. “There are 1930s Craftmans, bungalows and Spanish-inspired homes with stucco and roof tiles.” And on just about any residential street in the city, you can expect to see a pleasant mix of palms and shade trees, plus gorgeous views of the nearby hills and mountains. Families with children are served by Bonita Unified, a highly rated public school district graded A by Niche. “This is a good school district that attracts residents, and there are great private options as well,” Cofer says. Kids can start their education at La Verne Heights Elementary, a walkable community school is graded A by Niche. Another A school, students then advance to Ramona Middle School. Graded A-minus by Niche, San Dimas High School has been named a California Distinguished School three times and has made Newsweek's list of America's Best High Schools. Damien High School is an all-boys Catholic school known as a sports and academic powerhouse. “The school is really prestigious with a premier hockey team; they have good everything,” Cofer says. A private institution founded in 1891, the University of La Verne is a centerpiece of the city. “The university is like a park in and of itself, and the school has a great reputation, especially its law school,” Cofer says. “If it wasn’t so small, it could feel like an Ivy League Campus with the brick buildings and the mature greenery.” There are many opportunities for South La Verne residents who prioritize outdoor recreation. Walkable to most neighborhoods, the city maintains several local parks like Emerald and Las Flores parks, perfect for enjoying a peaceful picnic, playground play date or a pleasant game of pick-up basketball. To really get out into nature, there is hiking and biking along the Marshall Canyon Trail, which winds through the north side of town and runs all the way into the San Gabriels. Marshall Canyon Equestrian Center is one of the more popular stables in the valley, offering horseback riding lessons and trail rides along the pasture roads that wind through the foothills. The town’s shopping and dining is split between two locations. Shopping centers line Route 66 in the center of town, including multiple grocery stores and big-box stores like Target, Marshalls and Big Lots. There are also various highly rated local restaurants like Fukuya Sushi and La Creperie Cafe. The downtown area, known locally as Old Town, is a more quaint and walkable experience. Located next to the University of La Verne’s stately 66-acre campus, Old Town features a selection of locally owned shops and boutiques like Heart of Haute, alongside popular eateries like Asian fusion restaurant Bowl House. It’s also home to most of the town’s nightlife, which centers around gastropubs like Lordsburg Taphouse & Grill. La Verne is a bedroom community about 30 miles west of Los Angeles via I-10, a reasonable drive by SoCal standards that takes under an hour at rush hour. The closest airport is Brackett Field Airport, which is under 2 miles away. The 210 runs through the city, connecting San Bernadino to the east and Pasadena to the west. “Traffic in town moves pretty well. People used to use Route 66 for through traffic, but not anymore,” Cofer says. “Foothill Boulevard, Arrow Highway and Bonita Avenue can get pretty busy when school is in, and White Avenue gets slammed during the LA County Fair.” Foothill Transit operates bus service for the San Gabriel and Pomona valleys, and the Metrolink line offers service to Union Station in downtown LA.

In the early 1900s, La Verne was an epicenter of the citrus industry. More than 1,000 cartloads of oranges, grapefruit and lemons were packed up by the local workforce and shipped out of town, year after year. Fruit trees started to get tainted in the 1940s, sending the city down a path locals referred to as “the quick decline.” But thanks to housing developments and the private University of La Verne, the city’s Old Town neighborhood has remained a booming and vibrant cultural center even after Big Citrus packed its bags. With its shady palm trees and gated condo communities, Old Town La Verne is an alluring, homey neighborhood. But it also has some urban touches, like a walkable downtown district with street parking and small businesses like breakfast restaurants, jewelry studios and real estate offices. It’s a small city, about 30 miles east of the much larger Los Angeles, with a more relaxed feel. “It’s a cute downtown area. I’ve been selling real estate for 45 years, and in every city people love to live close to downtown,” says Marty Rodriguez, owner and Realtor at Century 21 Marty Rodriguez in nearby Glendora. “It’s cute, quaint, and people can walk to the shops and restaurants.” The houses in Old Town La Verne are a mixture of single- and multifamily properties in various common west coast styles. You will see 4,300-square-foot quadruplexes for $1.4 million, Craftsman-style homes built in 2003 for $950,000, traditional houses from the 1960s for $868,000, partial brick condominiums for $444,000, multifamily houses from the early 1900s for $880,000 and manufactured homes in senior-only communities for $200,000. LA traffic is notoriously bad, but starting in late 2024, La Verne commuters will have a different way of reaching the big city. The Foothill Gold Line railway is extending itself to La Verne, meaning that commuters will be able to reach Pasadena via train in about 31 minutes, and Los Angeles in about 60 minutes. It will be a potential game changer for people who are sick of sitting in traffic everyday on I-10. Old Town also has a vibrant dining scene. Neighbors love the relaxed vibe at Warehouse Pizza, where they can get a cold mug of beer, a basket of garlic bread and a doughy pizza pie. They sit outside next to the bushes and flowers at Italian restaurant Allegro or enjoy linguine vongole and sip chardonnay in its rustic dining room. Further up the street at La Paloma Mexican Restaurant, people eat freshly made tortillas, taquitas and fajitas from the comfort of the restaurant’s big, cozy booths. And then there’s Chase’s restaurant, a gathering spot for the community. “It’s like Cheers here, everybody knows everybody,” says Rodriguez. La Verne is a close-knit, active community. In Old Town, you’ll see that firsthand at Las Flores Park, an open field and gazebo with an Olympic-sized swimming pool. At La Verne Sports Park, which is right next to Las Flores, you’ll see a 21-acre outdoor area with football and soccer fields, a basketball court, a track and a skateboard park. It’s everything you could ever want to do athletically, all in one place. The La Verne Heritage Foundation, which is responsible for preserving the city, is the driving force behind many of the community’s major events. Every summer there are concerts in La Verne Heritage Park, and throughout the year there are vendor fairs with tractor rides and local food purveyors. Orange picking season starts near the beginning of every year; people come and pay $6 per bag for oranges and grapefruits. There’s also an annual pumpkin patch, which is open throughout the fall for the community to enjoy. The city is part of the highly regarded Bonita Unified School District, which has an A from Niche. Depending on where they live, kids in Old Town will be assigned to either Roynon Elementary School, La Verne Heights Elementary School or Grace Miller Elementary School, and all children in the neighborhood will attend both Ramona Middle School and Bonita High School. The high school was named to a list of the most challenging high schools in America by the Washington Post in 2017. It has an A from Niche for its teachers, diversity, college preparation and academics. La Verne is close to the Foothill Freeway and Route 66. In addition to Los Angeles, cities like Anaheim (23 miles away) and Irvine (39 miles away) are also in commuting distance. Old Town La Verne is a charming neighborhood with great restaurants, tons of activities and cute houses. Come catch a breeze of its California cool.