The area

Watsonville, and
everything around it.

Hillcrest sits at the south end of Santa Cruz County, on the coast road between two bays. Santa Cruz is twenty minutes north, Monterey thirty-five south, and US 101 fourteen miles east — with the slough, the redwoods and the wine ridge all closer than that.

Everyday life

A working valley,
not a resort town.

The Santa Cruz coastline north of Watsonville

Everyday Watsonville

Local markets, neighborhood restaurants and essential services, in a community with deep agricultural roots and a historic downtown whose Strawberry Festival draws more than fifty thousand people each year.

The coast

Manresa and Sunset State Beach are minutes away. Pinto Lake sits just up the road for fishing, kayaking and trails. Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay are a short drive in either direction.

Who lives here

Local buyers, Bay Area commuters and hybrid households who want more space and a more livable day than the denser markets to the north.

Getting around

Three highways,
and the whole bay.

Highway 1 runs the coast past the door. Highway 129 and Highway 152 both reach US 101, which puts the Salinas Valley, Gilroy and the south bay within an easy run.

18 mi

Santa Cruz

About twenty minutes north on Highway 1, past Aptos and Capitola.

27 mi

Monterey

Roughly thirty-five minutes south around the bay, with Carmel and the peninsula just beyond it.

47 mi

San Jose

Around fifty-five minutes via Highway 17 in clear traffic — close enough for a hybrid week, far enough for the price difference to matter.

14 mi

To US 101

Highway 129 runs fourteen miles east from Watsonville through Aromas to meet US 101. Highway 152 climbs Hecker Pass to Gilroy and the same freeway north.

Outdoors

Wetlands, redwoods,
and the bay.

The slough at the back of the property is the small version. The full one runs from the wetlands at Elkhorn up into the redwoods on the ridge.

A redwood trail in Big Basin State Park, in the Santa Cruz Mountains

Elkhorn Slough

One of the largest wetlands in California, and one of the best places on the coast for birdwatching and kayaking — otters, harbor seals and several hundred bird species.

Forest of Nisene Marks

Second-growth redwood state park in the hills above Aptos, with quiet fire roads and single track running for miles up the canyon.

Mount Madonna County Park

Redwoods, tan oak and madrone along the ridge east of town, with camping and a trail network open to walkers and horses.

The beaches

Manresa and Sunset State Beach are minutes away down the dunes, with Pinto Lake just up the road for fishing, kayaking and a flat walk around the water.

Weekends

Golf on the bench,
wine on the ridge.

Two courses inside the valley, more within a short drive, and six family wineries on the hill behind Corralitos.

Vineyard rows on the hills of central California

Spring Hills Golf Course

Eighteen holes, par 71 over 5,883 yards, family-run and open to the public year round, in the foothills just north of town off Highway 1.

Pajaro Valley Golf Club

A century old this year and about three miles away at Royal Oaks — the valley's long-standing club.

Seascape and beyond

Seascape Golf Club sits roughly eight miles up the coast at Aptos, with the Gilroy courses about ten miles east and the Monterey Peninsula an easy morning's drive south.

The Corralitos Wine Trail

Six family-owned wineries about five miles east of Highway 1, at the southern, coastal end of the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation — close enough to be an afternoon rather than a trip.

Windy Oaks Estate

Estate pinot noir and chardonnay from a ridge a thousand feet above Monterey Bay, with picnic benches under the oaks the winery is named for.

Alfaro Family Vineyards

A Corralitos mainstay pouring estate wines at the tasting room, with the vineyards running up the hill behind it.

The county

Santa Cruz County.

Watsonville anchors the south end of a small coastal county — 441 square miles, four incorporated cities, and one of the most productive stretches of farmland in California.

The Monterey Peninsula coastline along 17-Mile Drive
276,603

Residents

Across 441 square miles and four incorporated cities, bounded by the Pacific on one side and the Santa Cruz Mountains on the other.

29 miles

Of coastline

From the north coast beaches down through Santa Cruz, Capitola and Aptos to the dunes at Sunset and Manresa, minutes from Hillcrest.

Half

Of California's strawberries

Almost half the state's strawberry crop is grown in the Watsonville-Salinas area. In Santa Cruz County alone the crop covers 2,640 acres and is worth $218.9 million, close to a third of all county agriculture.

Pajaro Valley

Among the most productive land in the state

A cool coastal climate and a long growing season allow multiple crop cycles a year, giving the valley one of the highest per-acre production values in California — strawberries, caneberries, apples, vegetables and wine grapes.

Schools

Pajaro Valley Unified.

Hillcrest sits within the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, which runs 34 schools for roughly 17,000 students across Watsonville, Aptos and the surrounding valley. The district office is at 294 Green Valley Road.

Elementary

Campuses serving the valley include Amesti, Ann Soldo, Calabasas, Freedom, Hall District, Landmark, MacQuiddy, Mar Vista, Mintie White, Ohlone, Radcliff, Starlight and Valencia.

Middle

Cesar Chavez, E. A. Hall, Lakeview, Pajaro, Rolling Hills and Aptos Junior High, plus Mar Vista as a TK-8 campus.

High

Watsonville High, Pajaro Valley High and Aptos High, alongside Renaissance and the Diamond Technology Institute.

Confirming your school

Attendance areas are set by the district and can change from year to year. Confirm the current boundary for any address with Pajaro Valley Unified directly at pvusd.net before you rely on it.