Los Altos Hills is a rural town located near the City of Los Altos, 35 miles south of San Francisco and 5 miles south of Stanford University. With a population of approximately 8,000 residents and a land area of 8.8 square miles, Los Altos Hills is a purely residential community. Distinguished by its breathtaking hilly perspectives, the town's zoning regulations require a minimum lot size of one acre, significant setbacks from property boundaries, and easements for public pathways. Landowners are limited to one primary dwelling per lot, which effectively bans multifamily housing and ensures that the pastoral nature of the community is maintained.
The town's thoughtfully designed pathway system offers a unique recreational opportunity for school children, walkers, runners, horseback riders, and bicyclists to enjoy the natural beauty that is Los Altos Hills. The paths that travel away from the roadways provide a rare glimpse into the beauty of the hills. The system unites neighborhoods through a series of connecting paths that cross the town and provide a link to open space areas including Esther Clark Park, Rancho San Antonio, and Westwind Barn.
Los Altos Hills is served by both the Palo Alto Unified School District in the north of town and the Los Altos School District in the south. Public school students attend Gardner Bullis School (K-8). Private school options include St. Nicholas Catholic School (K-8), Ventana Episcopal School (Preschool-5), and Pinewood School (K-12). Foothill College is a local community college in town.
Fire and postal services are provided by the City of Los Altos. Located just down the hill, accessible Los Altos offers a lively downtown experience and a bounty of shopping and dining amenities to balance the quiet atmosphere of Los Altos Hills, resulting in a well-rounded Mid-Peninsula lifestyle.
Originally an agricultural town with many summer cottages and apricot orchards, Los Altos is now an affluent community in the center of Silicon Valley. A conveniently positioned commuter town, Los Altos offers easy access to the adjacent cities of Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, and Mountain View. With a minimum lot size of a one-quarter acre and commercial zones limited to downtown and small shopping parks along El Camino Real and Foothill Expressway, Los Altos has maintained a pleasant residential atmosphere and a strong sense of local community. Spanning an area of 6.5 square miles, Los Altos is home to approximately 29,000 residents.
Los Altos public schools are highly regarded. Primary and middle school students attend schools in the Los Altos School District, which boasts some of the highest average API scores in California. Schools include Almond Elementary, Covington Elementary, Gardner Bullis School, Loyola Elementary, Oak Avenue School, Santa Rita Elementary, and Springer Elementary, as well as Blach Intermediate School and Egan Junior High School. Students generally move on to high school in the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District or the Fremont Union High School District.
Los Altos is also served by private schools including St. Simon Catholic School (K-8), Miramonte Elementary School (JK-8), Canterbury Christian School (K–6), Pinewood School (K-12), the School for Independent Learners (8-12), and the Waldorf School of the Peninsula (Preschool-12).
Los Altos has a variety of youth-oriented sports organizations, programs, and after-school activities such as the Mountain View Los Altos Soccer Club (MVLASC), Los Altos-Mountain View Pony Baseball, West Valley Pop Warner cheerleading and football programs, and the El Camino YMCA Youth Basketball League.
Downtown Los Altos is a triangle of streets and offshoots bustling with diverse restaurants, charming shops, and practical amenities. Featuring a huge Safeway grocery store, Peet's, Starbucks, a toy store, running shop, and everything in between, Los Altos residents can easily accomplish an entire day's errands along with the blocks of their lively downtown.
Los Altos also prides itself in organizing a wide variety of community activities including an annual Pet Parade, Halloween Festival, Main Street Parade, Rotary Club Fine Arts Show, Arts & Wine Festival, Farmers' Market, Fall Festival, Festival of Arts, and Festival of Lights Parade. Other community highlights include an active Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis Club, summer concert series, and a Public Art Program featuring 30 sculptures either owned by the city or loaned by the artists.
The Los Altos Seniors Program provides many programs and volunteer opportunities for active adults 50 years and up, including classes, workshops, sports, trips, special events, in-home repair, and referral services. The Tiny Tots Preschool Program is a long-standing, treasured offering for the city's littlest residents.
The Parks and Recreation Department is equally dynamic, presenting a plethora of classes, camps, and activities in its carefully maintained pools, parks, and facilities. Los Altos also enjoys the presence of two open space preserves with miles of scenic hiking trails, Rancho San Antonio Park and the Redwood Grove Nature Preserve.
