Sold33 La Noria
+/- 5267 Sq Ft., 5 beds, + office, 4.5 Bath | Plus 741 Sq ft 1 Bed, 1 Bath Pool House | .69 Acre, Pool, 2 Car Garage | $5,216,250
Home / Neighborhoods / Orinda Country Club
Orinda Country Club
Orinda
The Orinda Country Club area surrounds the club and Lake Cascade, north of downtown Orinda, along Camino Sobrante and the Spanish-named streets on both sides of Miner Road. This is where Orinda began: E.I. deLaveaga built Lake Cascade in 1921 for his Haciendas del Orinda subdivision, and the clubhouse opened in 1924. Today it is a neighborhood of mature oaks, winding hillside streets and generous lots.
WhereNorth of downtown Orinda, around the club and Lake Cascade
HomesTraditional, Colonial and mid-century homes on hillside lots
Typical home (Amy's sales)About 3,100 sq ft, 4 bedrooms
Elementary schoolWagner Ranch or Sleepy Hollow, depending on the street
The clubOrinda Country Club, founded 1924: golf, tennis, pool
Amy's Country Club area sales45 and counting
My take on the Country Club area
The Orinda Country Club area is my favorite part of Orinda. I grew up riding my bike to the club and spending entire days there, from the pool to the tennis courts to the pro shop and back to the pool, then riding home. Those summers are a big part of why I moved back to Orinda.
This is old-world Orinda: meandering streets, majestic oaks and homes with real history. The club was one of the first reasons people came to Orinda, and some of the best lots in town were laid out in that same era. No two houses look alike. Many started as three-bedroom, two-bath carriage houses, getaways for people coming through the tunnel from the city, and have been added onto over the decades. Others are custom homes from the 1930s and 1940s. Those older homes are some of my favorites, but they take work, maintenance and a lot of love.
Live near Lake Cascade and you’ll hear the tennis courts, the pickleball and the swim team. It’s lively, and you can walk to downtown Orinda, the library, the park, the theater and BART. Farther up the hills it gets more private, with views of rolling hills and sometimes the golf course. You’re not running next door to borrow a cup of sugar.
The Country Club area also climbs into those hills. Take Camino Sobrante the back way down to Miner Road and you reach some of the most sought-after streets in Orinda, like Camino Don Miguel and Oak Arbor, and above them Los Altos and the estate properties: up to three and a half acres, with pools, tennis courts and views of the fog rolling over the hills at sunset. One of my favorite sales up there was to my younger sister. She came along on broker tour just to see me, walked into a house she’d spent time in growing up, and came out saying she had to buy it. She did.
One house that stays with me is 33 La Noria. My parents admired it when they lived nearby 40 years ago, and people still slow down when they drive past. About ten years ago I helped buyers I grew up with purchase it. They updated its systems while keeping the charm and the architecture, which is stunning. When it sold again recently, it went to longtime Orinda residents, and my guess is they’ll be there for another 30 years.
Plenty of homes here sell off-market, too. Orinda is a small town where relationships matter, and a lot of sales happen through referrals and people who already know each other.
The homes
Homes here range from former carriage houses and 1930s and 1940s custom homes to traditional, Colonial and mid-century designs, many expanded or rebuilt over the years, on lots shaped by the hillsides and old oaks. You won’t find rows of matching houses.
Amy has been part of 45 Country Club area sales. Across those homes, the typical house was about 3,100 square feet with four bedrooms, ranging from roughly 1,200 to 5,800 square feet. Where lot size was listed, lots ran from about 0.19 acres to 1.5 acres.
The range is wide. Original three-bedroom, two-bath carriage houses sit a few streets from large historic estates like Casa Azul, one of Orinda’s oldest homes, on the first hole of the golf course. In the hills off Miner Road, estate properties run up to about three and a half acres. In recent years the smaller originals have sold for roughly $1.5 to $1.65 million, while the grandest estates have traded for around $10 million.
Schools
Elementary assignment varies by street in this part of Orinda. Wagner Ranch Elementary at 350 Camino Pablo and Sleepy Hollow Elementary at 20 Washington Lane are both close by. From there, students attend Orinda Intermediate School (6 to 8) and usually Miramonte High School in the Acalanes Union High School District. In kindergarten through third grade, Orinda classes run about 20 students, and the early-bird and late-bird schedule splits each class into reading groups of about 10 for part of the day.
Attendance areas can change and can vary near the edges, so confirm a specific address with the Orinda Union School District.
Getting around
Homes near Lake Cascade and the club are within walking or biking distance of downtown Orinda, with its shops and restaurants, the library, the park, the Orinda Theatre and the Orinda BART station, so you can skip parking at the station. Highway 24 is just past downtown. Farther up the hillsides and off Miner Road the streets get windier and quieter, and most errands mean a short drive.
The club and the outdoors
Orinda Country Club has the only golf course in Orinda, an 18-hole course laid out by Scottish architect William Watson, plus tennis, a pool, dining and a busy social calendar. Membership is private and separate from buying a home here: no house comes with a membership, and the neighborhood simply takes its name from the club.
Lake Cascade, built in 1921, sits at the center of the neighborhood, and the loop around it, roughly a mile, is a favorite walk. The EBMUD trails at Wagner Ranch are nearby.
Homes I've sold in the Country Club area
Sold
Sold16 Valley View Lane
4453 Sq Ft. 4 beds, 4 baths + office, 1.53 acres VIEWS! | $3,250,000
Sold14 Vista Del Mar
+/-3113 Sq Ft, 4 Bed, 3.5 Bath, .38 acre, Pool $3,100,000
Sold8 La Campana Rd
+/- 1547 square feet, 3 beds, 2 bath, .39 acre $3,250,000
Sold164 Camino Don Miguel
+/- 3080 Sq ft, 4 Bed, 3.5 Bath, .41 Acres $2,795,000
Sold25 Wood Acres Ct.
4112 Sq Ft, 4 Bed + Office, 3.5 Bath, 3 Car Garage, .55 Acres | $3,150,000
the Country Club area questions
Where is the Orinda Country Club neighborhood?
It surrounds the Orinda Country Club and Lake Cascade, north of downtown Orinda, along Camino Sobrante and the Spanish-named streets on both sides of Miner Road.
Do you have to join the club to live in the Country Club area?
No. Orinda Country Club is a private club with its own membership process, separate from buying a home in the neighborhood.
What schools serve the Orinda Country Club area?
Elementary assignment varies by street. Wagner Ranch Elementary and Sleepy Hollow Elementary are both nearby, followed by Orinda Intermediate School and usually Miramonte High School. Confirm a specific address with the Orinda Union School District.
What are homes like near the Orinda Country Club?
No two look alike. Many began as three-bedroom, two-bath carriage houses that have been added onto over the decades, alongside 1930s and 1940s custom homes, traditional and mid-century designs, and estate properties of up to about three and a half acres in the hills off Miner Road. Across the 45 sales Amy has been part of in the area, the typical home was about 3,100 square feet with four bedrooms.
Can you walk to downtown Orinda from the Country Club area?
Yes, from much of it. Homes near Lake Cascade and the club are within walking or biking distance of downtown Orinda, the library, the park, the Orinda Theatre and the Orinda BART station. Homes higher in the hills usually mean a short drive.
How much do homes cost in the Orinda Country Club area?
Prices span a wide range. In recent years smaller original homes, often three bedrooms and two baths, have sold for roughly $1.5 to $1.65 million, while the largest historic estates have traded for around $10 million.
Thinking about the Country Club area?
Whether you're buying or selling here, call or text 925.212.3897, or email amy@amyrosesmith.com.
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