San Mateo

Baywood Park is a quiet and peaceful residential neighborhood in southwest San Mateo, notable for its spacious housing landscape situated amongst softly winding, naturally lush streetscapes. “Baywood Park is one of the nicest areas in San Mateo and is a more established neighborhood with some really beautiful, well-manicured homes,” says Joan Wachter, a San Mateo resident and President’s International Elite realtor at Coldwell Banker for over 35 years. “It’s a very popular area, as it’s centrally located and right next door to the Highlands but closer to downtown for shopping and dining. The school district is really great too, which is another big attraction.” More than half of the community is covered by woodlands, where live oaks heavily mingle with California laurels and pockets of clearings make way for hilltop views of the vast open valley. With less than a mile of land area and low population density, Baywood Park’s neighborhood makeup creates a more secluded residential retreat that’s still minutes away from San Mateo’s many urban attractions. Wide tree-lined residential streets with well-paved sidewalks wind along the neighborhood’s forested ridges, rich with vibrant flora and overgrown shrubbery. Numerous residential streets are situated on soft hill slopes, and many properties sit atop hilly peaks that overlook the expansive valley. The properties are typically well separated for more space and privacy and feature well-landscaped exteriors abundant with colorful garden accents. “The homes here are older than those in the neighboring Highlands but are really nicely done and have good lot sizes, which is a big appeal,” Wachter says. The housing landscape is architecturally diverse, but the most common housing styles are mid-century modern, post-war California ranchers, split-levels and Eichlers. Single-family home prices start around $2 million and can go as high as $4.2 million for larger, more updated properties. Public school students can attend Highlands Elementary School followed by Borel Middle School, both of which get an A-minus score from Niche. The A-plus-rated Aragon High School is ranked the #1 best public high school in San Mateo County by Niche and offers a special AVID program. The program includes elective college-prep courses that aim to provide students with essential organizational and study skills that can help set them up for future college success. While no parks are located within the neighborhood, there are multiple outdoor recreation opportunities just minutes away. Two miles west is Crystal Springs Park, which runs along the Crystal Springs Reservoir. The park features multiple trails for hiking and biking, and residents can sit out on the site’s trail benches to take in the area’s scenic waterside and naturally sprawling hillside views. Just east of Baywood is Laurelwood Park, the largest park in San Mateo. Spanning 225 acres, it offers numerous trails that lead to Sugarloaf Mountain and is a common spot for deer and other wildlife sightings. Embellished with swarms of mature trees and wildflowers, the site also features a children’s playground and picnic tables with trellises where residents can enjoy an outdoor picnic. The College of San Mateo Athletic Center is less than a mile away, featuring an Olympic-sized pool and training pool. Residents who sign up for membership can enjoy the facilities, and children ages 5 to 18 can register to join the center’s Bulldog Swim Team. Baywood Park is near multiple dining and shopping offerings. The Crystal Springs Village Shopping Center is located nearby in the Highlands, housing a mix of service shops, chain stores and restaurants. Residents can stock up on grocery items at the Safeway or grab a bite at one of the Center’s local eateries, including the neighborhood favorite, Neal’s Coffee Shop. More than its name suggests, the shop features diner-style eats, from Swedish pancakes to chicken fried steak, in a laid-back, neighborly setting. Next door is Rainbow Pizza, which serves not only pizza varieties with all the toppings but also Mediterranean specialties like gyros and Greek salad. Just east of the neighborhood and across J. Arthur Younger Freeway is the family-owned Sal’s Burgers, one of the most popular area spots to grab a classic burger and fries. Crystal Springs Produce on Polhemus Road is another go-to spot for groceries, offering locally grown, organic produce plus other cheese and deli items. Baywood Park puts on a Bike Rodeo and Family Run Ride a few times a year right within the neighborhood. Geared towards school-aged children and families, the event features a kids’ bicycle skills clinic and helmet checks followed by a group bike ride, live DJ music and kids activities like face painting and balloon art. Residents can enjoy larger community events throughout the year in Downtown San Mateo, including the annual Fall Fest each September. Residents can walk along the downtown streets to listen to live music performers on multiple stages, sample regional craft beer and ciders and shop for unique artisan goods from local vendors. Downtown’s Central Park is where the holiday season kicks off each November with the opening of San Mateo on Ice. Professional ice skaters take to the rink to put on festive performances before the evening closes with a tree-lighting ceremony. When getting around the area by public transportation, Baywood Park has one main SamTrans bus stop on Parrot Drive. The neighborhood sits just east of Interstate 280, a major highway that travels both north and south along the entire Peninsula. Baywood Park also sits west of Route 92, a popular thoroughfare leading to the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge and over to the East Bay. For flying out of town, the San Francisco International Airport is directly 11 miles north of the neighborhood.

Centrally located on the San Francisco Peninsula is Beresford Park, a picturesque suburban neighborhood just 2 miles from downtown San Mateo. It's known for its eponymous park, custom homes and quiet sidewalk-lined streets. Kids in the area have access to highly-rated schools, including the No. 1 ranked high school in San Mateo County, according to Niche. While the neighborhood is largely residential, shopping, dining and entertainment are well within reach. "West-side San Mateo is sought after. The neighborhood's proximity to the freeways, shopping and the schools are great," says Nonnie Dinges, a Realtor with Real Experts Realty. She is a lifelong San Mateo resident and has been selling homes in the area for 40 years. Beresford Park offers a variety of architectural styles. Popular ones include ranch-style, bungalow, craftsman, Spanish Mission and custom contemporary homes. Homes here can begin just below the median sale price in San Mateo of $1.48 million. "It's not as established as some other neighborhoods, which has contributed to the slightly lower prices," Dinges says. Small two- to three-bedroom single-family dwellings begin at $1.35 million. Larger homes with four- to five-bedrooms can sell for over $3 million. Homebuyers can also find a handful of estates costing between $4 million and $4.5 million. Townhouses and condos offer a more affordable option. Two-bedroom condo units can sell for between $670,000 and $1.2 million, while three-bedroom townhouse units can sell for between $1.1 million and $1.27 million. Kids may begin their education in the San Mateo-Foster City District, including Beresford Elementary School and Abbot Middle School, both graded a B on Niche. They can continue their schooling in the San Mateo Union High School District at Aragon High School, which received an A-plus on Niche. Aragon High was ranked the No. 1 school in San Mateo County by Niche. It's known for its extensive academic catalog, including its biotechnology pathway. Beresford Park is named for the park in the center of the community. The recreation space offers lighted tennis and bocce ball courts, baseball fields, a skate park, an enclosed playground and several picnic areas. It includes the Beresford Recreation Center and the San Mateo Garden Center. Both can be rented for events. East Hillsdale Park is less than 1 mile away. It's substantially smaller than Beresford Park but still includes a large playground, tennis courts, a walking trail, and open lawn space. The Peninsula Golf and Country Club sits in the northwest quarter of the neighborhood. It was established in 1911 and features a golf course designed by Donald Ross, an early 20th-century course architect whom golf legend Jack Nicklaus once praised for emphasizing "naturalness" in his course designs. Just beyond the neighborhood to the east along El Camino Real is the Hillsdale Shopping Center. This shopping mall has been a major shopping destination since its opening in the 1950s. Today, it houses dozens of popular retailers, including Trader Joe's, Barnes & Noble and Macy's. Across town sits the Laurelwood Shopping Center, where there are several stores and eateries, including Pizza's Fine Foods, a gourmet grocery store, Bagel Box and Coffee shop and Sal's Burgers. The San Mateo Public Library has a robust events schedule. The main campus is just over 2 miles away and hosts an after-school movie club, bingo games, and weekly story times. The city also puts together seasonal activity guides, which include holiday festivals and movie nights in Beresford Park. California State Route 82 borders the neighborhood and leads to downtown San Mateo. California State Route 92 runs through the neighborhood and connects the San Francisco Peninsula to the East Bay via the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge. San Francisco International Airport sits just over 9 miles north of town, making international travel easily accessible. Public SamTrans buses serve this neighborhood. Stops can be found along Route 82 and Alameda de las Pulgas. The Hillsdale CalTrain station is also just outside the area. Commuter trains run through this station all day long.

Located within five square blocks, Downtown San Mateo offers residents a thriving city center scene in the heart of the San Francisco Peninsula. “Downtown San Mateo is pretty vibrant, from the stores to the restaurants and even the movie theaters,” says Joan Wachter, a resident and President’s International Elite realtor at Coldwell Banker for over 35 years. “There are tons of things to do, and it’s all very walkable.” As the centerpiece of downtown, the district’s bustling Central Park connects everything together – from contemporary mid-rise condos to colorful side residential streets and booming businesses, including tech start-ups and Michelin-star restaurants. It’s an area that mixes big urban appeal with a touch of suburbia. “There are very nice schools, good public transportation and you can walk around freely at any time at night and feel at ease,” Wachter says. “Downtown is its own enclave, and it’s close to everything.” The range of dining cuisine in Downtown San Mateo is incredibly diverse, with world-renowned restaurants like Sushi Yoshizumi. With just one 8-seater table, this Michelin-star restaurant lets residents enjoy an intimate dining experience with award-winning Chef Yoshizumi, tasting some of his most artfully crafted Japanese sushi dishes. Other favorite hotspots include Espetus San Mateo, a deep, dark wood-paneled Brazilian restaurant offering a tableside service of meat skewers cooked up on a mesquite open flame. Going another international route, Wursthall, owned by famous food writer Kenji Lopez, is another go-to downtown spot. The restaurant exudes a classic beer hall setting in an open industrial space, with long community-style tables set up for locals to enjoy a cold stout with German and New American food. When opting to eat at home, residents can grab grocery items from a variety of specialty stores. Drager’s Market on 4th Avenue is an upscale food market known for its meat, cheese and baked goods options. For other selections, locals can find Asian and Japanese grocery essentials at Takahashi Market or Suruki Supermarket. While downtown has many small pockets of retail, lifestyle and service stores, the Shops on the Court, located on Franklin Court, is one of the most packed shopping destinations. The housing landscape in downtown San Mateo blends urban and suburban flare, where residential properties typically don’t sell for under $1 million. “The starting price for a home is $1,000,000, but at that level, it usually needs a lot of fixing, although you can probably get a condo or a townhouse in that million-dollar price range if it’s smaller,” says Wachter. While the area is highly populated with condos and townhomes, subdivisions of single-family homes are lined along extra-wide residential streets that corner the main central district hub. These properties sit close together on small lots with paved sidewalks, surrounded by clusters of native trees like small California buckeyes and Bay trees. “The architecture is very mixed, you’ll have Eichler homes in one section, then there are a lot of your typical old Spanish California homes and some bungalows,” says Wachter. “A lot of homes were constructed in the 1950s and now people will buy them and make them what they want them to be, so the styles change.” Single-family home prices typically range from $1.3 million for fixer-uppers and up to $3 million for new custom homes. Most of the area’s condominiums are around downtown Central Park, offering beautiful forestry views. One-bedroom condos can start around 1 million and over $2 million for four-bedroom condos. Most condominiums offer amenities like a clubhouse, fitness center, pool and spa. The bulk of the downtown outdoor recreation can be found at San Mateo Central Park. This 16-acre park sits centrally at the heart of downtown, with paved walking trails winding along the site, shaded by lush, well-manicured rose gardens and stately mature California live oak trees. Central Park features numerous amenities like playgrounds, picnic areas, an ice-skating rink, tennis courts and green spaces for various recreational purposes. “You can participate in Thai Chi out in the park or other group activities,” says Wachter. “There’s a lot to participate in, and it’s usually put on by the recreation department.” The park is also home to the San Mateo Japanese Garden, a quiet, hidden oasis designed by Nagao Sakurai of the Imperial Palace of Tokyo. Locals can admire the garden’s intricate pagoda and teahouse or escape the hustle and bustle of the city to rest amongst the peaceful koi pond and bamboo grove. Downtown San Mateo residents benefit from multiple public transportation options and highly walkable and bikeable streets. Busgoers can utilize the area’s SamTrans public bus service, which runs throughout San Mateo County and stops at parts of San Francisco and Palo Alto. The San Mateo train station is less than a mile from downtown. The San Francisco International Airport is conveniently located just 7 miles north of San Mateo, and El Camino Real Road runs directly through the downtown, connecting locals to Highway 82, which travels into nearby San Francisco and San Jose. “You are close enough to drive to Bay Area sports from the San Jose Sharks to the Levi Stadium," Wachter says. Residents don’t have to travel far to take part in popular community gatherings. During the autumn season, locals enjoy the San Mateo Fall Fest. The event annually brings in over 5,000 patrons together for an outdoor block party on the Peninsula with local music, entertainment, family-friendly activities, specialty food and fall-inspired craft beer and cider. Another main event is SummerFest, taking over seven blocks of downtown with arts and crafts activities, food vendors, beer and wine gardens and live entertainment. For more summer fun, residents can sit out on the lawn for the Central Park Music Series, featuring a variety of musical acts from local artists and bands. Public students in Downtown San Mateo are zoned for Sunnybrae Elementary School, which gets a C-plus score and Abbott Middle School, which gets a B rating. Aragon High School, which receives an A-plus rating, is ranked as the #1 best public high school in San Mateo County. The school offers advanced dual enrollment classes and a unique Biotechnology program. Along with providing elective biotechnology classes, the program partners with local medical institutions and biotech companies, so far placing at least 1000 students in mentored lab internships.

What was once part of a grandiose 19th-century estate is now the site of an assortment of quaint classic homes at entry-level price points relative to the region. Hayward Park offers well-rounded, suburban Bay Area living in a tranquil package. The neighborhood is mostly residential, but it’s conveniently close to U.S. Route 101, one of the most popular parks in San Mateo, and a range of retail and dining. The crime score here ranks better than the national average, too. “They’re good-sized homes and lots for an introductory family who’s looking to get into the market,” says local Realtor Mario Andrighetto, leader of The Andrighetto Group. “Good pricing for that market compared to the rest of Bay Area — an under $2 million price point, which is good for a solid starter home in that area.” The land that makes up present-day Hayward Park once made up an 800-acre estate constructed in the late 19th century by Alvinza Hayward, who was considered to be California’s first millionaire. The estate featured everything from a racetrack to a lake. Today, the Hayward Park property is filled mainly with single-family homes built in the early to mid-20th century. Craftsman bungalow, Mediterranean and Tudor are the most common architectural styles around the neighborhood, and floor plans average 1,515 square feet. “It’s kind of more up and coming, so definitely homes where people can put in some sweat equity and get a good starter home and build up from there,” says Andrighetto, a Bay Area native. Most houses around Hayward Park come with yard space, part of lots that are often around one-tenth of an acre. A smattering of condos and townhomes, built in the latter half of the 20th century, supplement the single-family houses in the neighborhood. Some of the condos can be had for prices under $1 million, while the houses here come with price tags from about $1.1 million to roughly $3 million. that carries an A-minus overall grade on Niche. Students, depending on where in the neighborhood they live, may start at either the A-minus-rated Baywood Elementary or the C-plus-rated Sunnybrae Elementary. Both schools offer Lego Education, a method of hands-on STEAM learning. Students can then progress to the A-minus-rated Borel Middle, where they can participate in college and career exploration labs to find out what it would be like to work in various disciplines The A-plus-rated Aragon High is next, part of the San Mateo Union High School District. Aragon High’s extracurricular opportunities range from an esports club to an engineering club. Hayward Park abuts a well-liked outdoor attraction in San Mateo Central Park. This 16-acre space comes complete with multiple picnic areas and a playground. Central Park even has a Japanese Garden that’s considered one of the best gardens in the state. The garden includes a koi pond where people can view feedings in the spring and summer. There’s a recreation center here as well, where locals love the aerobic classes. Hayward Park balances its residential makeup with convenient proximity to retail and dining spots. For one, residents can head over to the Safeway on El Camino Real or the Trader Joe’s on Grant Street to grab groceries and other essentials — both are within walking distance for many. And those who don’t quite feel like cooking can sit down for a meal at neighborhood haunts like Jack's Restaurant & Bar, whose pasta is popular. Patrons enjoy stopping in at Jack’s in the morning for the breakfast, too. All Spice, just down the street, offers a fine dining experience with a menu full of “Modern California Cuisine” like prime beef tenderloin and king salmon. Andrighetto notes that the 1.3-million-square-foot Hillsdale Shopping Center isn’t too far away, either, where locals can get their shopping fix at the dozens of stores. “They have everything you can imagine there,” Andrighetto says. Among Hayward Park’s boons is its location in relation to transportation arteries. Nearby U.S. Route 101 can take travelers up to San Francisco in a trip of just about 20 miles, for instance. “People like it because of its location, close to the 101 and being able to commute,” Andrighetto says. There’s also a stop on the Caltrain commuter rail line here, an option for avoiding traffic, that can get riders up to San Francisco in just about 40 minutes. The neighborhood has multiple stops on the SamTrans bus system, too. Nearby Central Park isn’t just a good spot for a leisurely afternoon outside. It’s also a hub for area events. Central Park hosts programming such as a concert series in the summer, an Easter egg hunt and a Fourth of July celebration.

The West Bay Area neighborhood of Hillsdale was promoted as “The Heart of the Peninsula” when its namesake shopping mall opened in the 1950s. But access to shopping isn’t the only thing this San Mateo community offers its residents; it also provides serene suburban living, with many housing options, less than 30 miles from San Francisco. In the neighborhood’s northern section sits Bay Meadows, a new live-work development built to take advantage of the nearby Caltrain station that shuttles commuters to and from San Francisco and San Jose. The southern section of Hillsdale consists of a grid of residential streets lined with single-family homes. Architectural styles include ranch and Craftsman, with stucco facades and barrel tile roofs. They sit close on narrow lots, with small front lawns landscaped with grass and shrubbery. The streets are dotted with mature trees and are lined with sidewalks, giving residents room to navigate the neighborhood on foot. Prices range from $1.1 million for 1,100 square feet to $3 million for 3,000 square feet. Condos and townhouses are also available, most concentrated in Bay Meadows, ranging from $600,000 for 600 square feet to $2 million for 2,500 square feet. Hillsdale’s younger residents may start their education at George Hall Elementary School and then continue to Abbott Middle School and Hillsdale High School. George Hall Elementary has a B-plus rating on Niche; Abbot Middle has a B, and Hillsdale High has an A-plus. Hillsdale High serves about 1,600 students and has a student-teacher ratio of 18-to-1. It offers multiple clubs and organizations, including Chess Club, Math Club, and Dance Club. Families considering private schools for their kids can choose from Montessori, faith-based and preparatory academies in the area. Among the parks in Hillsdale, one of the largest is Bay Meadows Park, a sprawling 12-acre green space offering many amenities. There are two picnic areas, where locals celebrate birthdays and baby showers together or enjoy a meal outside, a pond to relax by and a paved path that circles the park, where residents jog and walk their dogs. Farther south, Laurie Meadows Park and Casanova Park, which sit side-by-side, separated by a pedestrian/bicycle bridge over Laurel Creek, offer open fields and playgrounds where kids can burn off energy after school. Residents pick up groceries at Whole Foods off Park Place or Trader Joe’s off West Hillsdale Boulevard. Near West Hillsdale Boulevard is Hillsdale Shopping Center, a large indoor mall offering popular retailers like Nordstrom, Macy’s, and Apple. For dining out, residents have many options inside and just outside the neighborhood. They enjoy craft beers and Detroit-style pizza off South Delaware Street at Fieldwork Brewing Company, and a few miles north of the neighborhood, they enjoy authentic Italian dishes at Pausa Bar & Cookery and nigiri at Sushi Yoshizumi. Major roadways surround Hillsdale: Route 101 to the east, North El Camino to the west and J. Arthur Younger Freeway to the north. These highways provide access to San Francisco, about 25 miles north, and San Jose, about 33 miles south. Those who’d rather travel by train can pick it up at the Caltrain Hillsdale Station off East 28th Avenue.