Residential bordered by San Luis Obispo Creek and the Saint Lucia Mountains
Tucked next to the well-regarded San Luis Obispo High School, the San Luis Drive neighborhood has one entrance and exit with no throughways, allowing local kids to play freely in the wide, tree-lined streets without much concern for traffic. The sought-after residential enclave has a higher price tag than many other San Luis Obispo neighborhoods, mainly due to the diversity of housing styles, idyllic suburban streetscapes and pleasant weather. “It’s right up against the hills and mountains,” says Colleen Clarke, broker associate at Christie’s International Real Estate Group with over 25 years of experience. “The San Luis Obispo area can be windy in the spring, but this neighborhood is very protected from that, so the weather is just slightly better than anywhere else.” Locals can access High School Hill and the Saint Lucia Mountains on dirt hiking paths to the northeast. More commercial spaces, including casual eateries and hotels, are found just west, separated from San Luis Drive by San Luis Obispo Creek and tall pine trees that block the heavy rush hour traffic from view.
Midcentury homes in an eclectic range of styles
Residential streets, including the neighborhood's namesake roadway, are lined with homes from the 1950s, primarily built on uniform compact lots. A far cry from modern cookie-cutter developments, San Luis Drive, features a mix of ranch-style homes with bay windows and shingle-tile roofs, Contemporary properties with geometric compositions and flat rooflines, and Craftsman-style bungalows with raised foundations, covered front porches and steeply gabled roofs. Prices for Three-bedroom homes on 7,500-square-foot lots range from $1.5 million to $1.9 million, while four-bedroom homes on larger quarter-acre lots tend to sell for between $2 million and $2.4 million. Greenery envelopes the streetscapes with tall oak and sycamore trees; many homeowners maintain eclectic gardens with low-water plantings and other native flora.
Living next to San Luis Obispo High
Local kids can attend Bishop’s Peak Elementary, rated A-minus by Niche, before moving to the A-rated Laguna Middle. Both schools feature community gardens where students can learn about the natural world; students are allowed to have lunch in the garden weekly or biweekly through either school’s garden club. The A-rated San Luis Obispo High is located just south of the neighborhood, within walking distance for many. “Generally, most people like to live by the high school. It keeps the neighborhood vibrant,” says Erica Abbott, a San Luis Drive neighborhood resident and local real estate broker with Compass. “There's a real buzz, and often you can hear the football games from home.” The school offers various career-oriented programs, including agriculture, construction, engineering and welding pathways. The San Luis High Performing Arts Company is the county's oldest and longest-running drama program, mounting plays and musicals since the 1920s.
Hiking trails on High School Hill
While there aren’t any parks in the San Luis Drive neighborhood, locals are close to hiking trails to the east. The San Luis Drive Trail begins at the end of its namesake road before ascending High School Hill through dry brush, featuring panoramic city views at the hilltop. About a mile away, Cuesta Canyon Park has several picnic sites surrounded by sycamore, oak and pepper trees, sand volleyball courts and playgrounds.
Casual Eateries on Monterey Street
San Luis Drive Locals can venture outside the community to try restaurants on Monterey Street, such as the family-owned Gino’s Pizza, which serves Italian comfort food made from farm-fresh ingredients. Downtown San Luis Obispo, about a mile away, has more options, including Firestone Grill, a regional chain offering standard American Fare in a sports pub-style setting. Smart & Final Extra grocery store is also less than a mile away.
Transit options about a mile from Downtown San Luis Obispo
Locals can access U.S. Route 101 on the north end of San Luis Drive, about 190 miles south of Los Angeles. While there aren’t any public transit options within the neighborhood, the Old San Luis Obispo Trolley operates on Thursdays, stopping along Monterey Drive a few blocks northwest and taking passengers a mile to Downtown San Luis Obispo. The Dignity Health French Hospital Medical Center is about a mile south, and the San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport is about 4 miles away. The nearest major airport, Los Angeles International, is 206 miles away.
Annual neighborhood-wide yard sale and barbeque
Though there're no large formal gatherings, locals are close-knit and like to organize casual get-togethers among themselves or by word-of-mouth. “There's a local neighborhood barbeque and a garage sale every September,” Abbott says. “It’s been going for more than 50 years; when the time rolls around, everyone in town knows to go to San Luis Drive.”
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