Montclair

Small town among parks and canyons

While Montclair is officially an Oakland district, it has its own small-town feel. The boundaries run approximately from the Warren Freeway east to Skyline Blvd. and north from Joaquin Miller Park to Highway 24.

The homes—large Craftsman bungalows, shingled cottages, Prairie, period revivals, ranch styles, and contemporary modern dating from the 1920’s through the ‘90s—are situated among the canyons and forested hillsides. Along the winding streets, many homes have large lots with lovely gardens and bay views.

The shopping district, Montclair Village, features quaint, one-of-a-kind family-owned shops (often in the family for generations) alongside two major chain grocery stores. A Sunday Farmers’ Market is held on one of the main streets. The village is central to the neighborhood; and it’s clear from the local cafes, which are always busy and which sport dogs tied to parking meters out front, that this is a place people come to meet with friends and neighbors. The local public schools are high performing and several regional parks just up the hill, where you’ll find the Chabot Science Center.

A lovely forested horticultural nursery lies on Thornhill Road (formerly a toll dirt road that went over the hill down to current Pinehurst Road into Moraga).

Freeway access is a breeze whether you are traveling east, west, north or south, making Montclair convenient to just about anywhere in the Bay Area.

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