Redwood City Neighborhoods

Redwood City is commonly divided into 17 neighborhoods, each with its own neighborhood association, most lying northwest of Woodside Road and southwest of Highway 101 and stepping inland from Centennial, Downtown and Stambaugh-Heller to hillside Farm Hill, with Bair Island and Redwood Shores east of the freeway. Adjacent unincorporated areas, including Emerald Lake Hills, North Fair Oaks, Kensington Square and Palomar Park, are closely associated with the city but governed by San Mateo County.

21 neighborhoods across 5 areas. For current market data, schools and buying strategy, see the Redwood City real estate guide. Browse other cities on the Silicon Valley neighborhoods page.

Downtown & Bayside

Downtown

The city's civic and commercial core around Courthouse Square and the 1910 San Mateo County courthouse, home since 1999 to the San Mateo County History Museum, with a Caltrain stop and a 20-screen theater complex. Arches over Broadway carry the city's "Climate Best by Government Test" slogan.

Schools: Redwood City School District; Sequoia Union High School District

Centennial

Northeast corner of the city (excluding Redwood Shores) from El Camino Real to Highway 101 between Cordilleras Creek and Brewster Avenue, partly within Simon Mezes's 1854 "Mezesville" plat and the city-designated Mezesville Historic District. Single-story ranch homes line the alphabet streets north of Whipple Avenue, and Mezes Park fills a full city block.

Schools: Redwood City School District (Orion School); Sequoia Union High School District

Stambaugh-Heller

Rectangular neighborhood between Highway 101, Woodside Road, El Camino Real and Maple Street, named for Stambaugh and Heller streets, opened in 1861. It retains some of the city's oldest houses, including Greek Revival homes from about 1865 and a 1910 Craftsman bungalow, alongside apartments.

Schools: Redwood City School District; Sequoia Union High School District

Friendly Acres

Neighborhood between Woodside Road and Marsh Road from Bay Road to the bay, crossed by Highway 101, with mostly single-family homes plus Habitat for Humanity townhomes and some subsidized housing. Taft Elementary, Andrew Spinas Park, the Marsh Manor shopping center and the Stanford Redwood City campus are here.

Schools: Redwood City School District (Taft Elementary); Sequoia Union High School District

Redwood Village

Small neighborhood south of Woodside Road to Douglas Avenue between the Caltrain tracks and Bay Road, with small single-story homes on lots averaging about 5,200 sq ft plus some apartments and duplexes. Ten-acre Hoover School Park and Hoover Community School (K-8) anchor it.

Schools: Redwood City School District (Hoover Community School); Sequoia Union High School District

Redwood Oaks

Area south of Woodside Road between Nimitz Avenue and the Caltrain tracks, mixing single-family homes with late-1980s townhome developments such as Kentfield Commons and Hampton Oaks, apartments and senior housing. Fleishman Park and Linden Park, built over the Hetch Hetchy right-of-way, serve it.

Schools: Redwood City School District (Selby Lane); Sequoia Union High School District

Central Neighborhoods

Mount Carmel

Roughly half-square-mile neighborhood between Whipple Avenue, Myrtle Street, Jefferson Avenue and El Camino Real, with wide, tree-lined streets of mostly older single-story homes with detached rear garages, many remodeled or replaced. Sequoia High School and 1.6-acre Stafford Park are here, and downtown is a short walk.

Schools: Redwood City School District (McKinley Institute of Technology, North Star Academy); Sequoia Union High School District (Sequoia High)

Central

Neighborhood between Jefferson Avenue, Redwood Avenue and El Camino Real, largely zoned for a mix of single-family homes, duplexes and apartments, with houses from around 1930 and alley-served lots in its northern corner. The Hawes Park sports field adjoins the former Hawes Elementary campus.

Schools: Redwood City School District; Sequoia Union High School District

Palm Park

Triangular area bounded by Woodside Road, Redwood Avenue and Valota Road that mixes single-family homes, duplexes, apartments and condominiums, often on the same block. It contains Palm Park, the Sequoia YMCA and Union Cemetery (1859), a California Historical Landmark.

Schools: Redwood City School District; Sequoia Union High School District

Roosevelt

Residential neighborhood south of Jefferson Avenue around Roosevelt Avenue and Alameda de las Pulgas, mostly single-family homes built from 1940 onward with some small apartment buildings. It includes Red Morton Park, the city's second-largest park at nearly 32 acres, plus Roosevelt School and the Schaberg Branch Library.

Schools: Redwood City School District (Roosevelt School, TK-8); Sequoia Union High School District

Eagle Hill

Hillside neighborhood bounded by Myrtle Street, Jefferson Avenue, Alameda de las Pulgas and Whipple Avenue, almost entirely houses of varied age and style, including Spanish-style homes from about 1919, on irregular lots that follow the terrain. John Gill Elementary, dedicated in 1932, is here.

Schools: Redwood City School District (John Gill Elementary); Sequoia Union High School District

Edgewood Park

Mostly single-family neighborhood of just over 200 acres along Cordilleras Creek at the San Carlos border, with large homes on parcels up to about 1.5 acres north of Edgewood Road, smaller lots to the south and apartments near Whipple Avenue. 90 Finger Avenue, built in 1855, may be the city's oldest house.

Schools: Redwood City School District; Sequoia Union High School District

Western Hills

Canyon

Hillside area roughly bounded by Alameda de las Pulgas, Edgewood Road, Cordilleras Road, Canyon Road and Harding Avenue, mostly single-family homes of varied sizes, with many older houses remodeled or replaced. Sequoia Hospital, the Emerald Hills Shopping Center, Dove Beeger Park and 6.9-acre Garrett Park are here.

Schools: Redwood City School District; Sequoia Union High School District · Includes a pocket of unincorporated county land (parts of Hillcrest Drive, Oak Knoll Drive and Upland Road)

Woodside Plaza

Neighborhood generally bounded by Woodside Road, Fernside Street, Goodwin Avenue and Valota Road, mostly single-family homes and duplexes with apartments along Woodside Road, centered on the Woodside Plaza shopping center. Maddux Park is its local park.

Schools: Redwood City School District (Henry Ford Elementary, Kennedy Middle); Sequoia Union High School District

Farm Hill

Almost entirely residential hillside neighborhood along the city's western border with Woodside, with single-family homes of similar age built to the slopes plus some apartments and condominiums. It includes 42-acre Stulsaft Park, Roy Cloud School (K-8) and the Easter Cross on the city's highest point.

Schools: Redwood City School District (Roy Cloud School, K-8); Sequoia Union High School District

East of Highway 101

Bair Island

Waterfront neighborhood east of Highway 101 between Whipple Avenue and Woodside Road, divided by Redwood Creek, with no single-family homes; housing is condominiums, townhouses and apartments oriented to marinas, such as One Marina, Villas at Bair Island and Blu Harbor. A segment of the Bay Trail passes through.

Schools: Redwood City School District; Sequoia Union High School District · Does not include Bair Island itself, which is a wildlife area

Redwood Shores

Waterfront community on reclaimed Leslie Salt Company land east of Highway 101, with homes first built in the mid-1960s and today a mix of single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and apartments alongside lagoons, offices and parks. It is separated from the rest of Redwood City by Bair Island and reached by road through San Carlos or Belmont.

Schools: Belmont-Redwood Shores School District (Sandpiper, Redwood Shores Elementary); Sequoia Union High School District (Carlmont High)

Unincorporated (Redwood City area)

Emerald Lake Hills

Unincorporated area of about 1.2 sq mi in the hills between Redwood City, Woodside and San Carlos, formed from two subdivisions of about 1920, Emerald Lake and Emerald Hills, with two developer-built lakes. Residents commonly use the name Emerald Hills.

Schools: Redwood City School District; Sequoia Union High School District (Woodside High) · Unincorporated San Mateo County; within the Town of Woodside's planning area

North Fair Oaks

Unincorporated area adjoining Redwood City, Atherton and Menlo Park, left out when Fair Oaks incorporated as Atherton in 1923, with about 4,200 housing units, a majority renter-occupied. A Hetch Hetchy utility corridor crosses it diagonally, with a neighborhood park built over it.

Schools: Redwood City School District; Sequoia Union High School District (Menlo-Atherton High) · Unincorporated San Mateo County

Kensington Square

Unincorporated enclave of roughly 72 properties surrounded by Redwood City, next to the Eagle Hill neighborhood.

Unincorporated San Mateo County

Palomar Park

Unincorporated hillside community just north of Emerald Hills and east of San Carlos's Crestview area.

Unincorporated San Mateo County

Neighborhood names follow city sources where they exist; informal names are noted. School assignments can change, so confirm by address with the district. Source: City of Redwood City.

Questions about a street or tract in Redwood City? Call 408.373.1660 or email homes@boyenga.com.