Walnut Creek, CA Real Estate:

Walnut Creek Restaurants: Right on Locust, is one of our favorite Walnut Creek restaurants, Lark Creek Walnut Creek  Head Chef Bradley Ogden is one of the best Bay Area chefs and presents seasonal farm fresh American Cuisine. Don't miss their Pot Roast, Crab Cakes, or fabulous desserts such as strawberry shortcake and bread pudding.  This is the restaurant for that special occasion, Sunday Brunch or anytime you'd just like to be sure of having an excellent meal!  You'll find this to be one of Walnut Creek's very best restaurants and you'll want to return often. Voted Best New Restaurant 1996, Best Old Restaurant 1998, Best Sunday Brunch, 1999 in Diablo Magazine's "Best of the East Bay." It has had additional awards in recent years.

More Restaurants: There are other very good restaurants also nearby:

The new Il Fornaio Restaurant right across from Nordstorm's has become very popular for its Italian style menu. 

Va de Vi Bistro opened in the spring of 2004 and has become one of Walnut Creek's most highly rated restaurants. It is a restaurant and wine-bar and features the "small plate" tapas concept.

Walnut Creek Yacht Club is a very popular award wining seafood restaurant.

P.F. Chang's China Bistro is a Chinese Restaurant and always seems to have a long waiting list. 

Prima Trattoria is a very popular Italian restaurant with an excellent wine list.  Also rated as one of Walnut Creek best restuarants.

More choices: Here's Walnut Creek's Starbucks. Just across the street is another of our favorites, Tomatina's Restaurant, shown below. Their pizza and pasta can't be beat. Their Caesar salad is the best! 

The Gardens at Heather Farms This is a lovely park area designated as demonstration gardens teaching gardens techniques in a Sunset Zone 14 climate. There are 43 gardens clubs that participate in the programs here. 

The 100 acre Heather Farms park also includes the Clarke Swim Center. The center includes a 50-meter pool and a diving pool. This was the training pool for the Walnut Creek Aquanauts prior to winning an Olympic Gold Medal for synchronized swimming in the 1996 Olympics. 

Also part of Heather Farms is the Walnut Creek Equestrian Center: This is a 6-acre riding and training facility owned by the City and operated by a private organization. The center has two rings: 150' by 300' and a 50' by 75' ring. The Olympic-size ring is open to Equestrian Center members and the other ring is open at no charge to the public. Horse people really enjoy this center.

Boundary Oak Golf Course: It is an 18-hole, 72 par municipal course and is a very popular 160-acre recreational facility. The is a full pro shop, driving range, restaurant, and 3 practice greens. 

Lindsay Wildlife Museum: this museum is located in Larkey Park and has live native California wildlife. The Museum operates a nationally recognized wildlife hospital and rehab center. There is a pet library and classes, trips and tours for children and adults. 

Shadelands Ranch Historical Museum: Redwood framed house build in 1902 contains many historical artifacts. This is a turn of the century home once owned by pioneer, Hiram Penniman. The house has all the original furnishings so a visit here is like a step back into history. There is more information at their web site.

Old Borges Ranch/Shell Ridge: This ranch was the home of Walnut Creek pioneer, Frank Borges. It is currently a ranger station and also house a visitor center with historical displays.  A living history program is offered at the ranch for children, college and civic groups. Everything here reflects the flavor of a turn-of-the-century farm. There are over 300 cattle, sheep, chickens, turkeys, geese, rabbits, a blacksmith shop, and a small lake. Call (925) 943-5860 for more details and information on the Ranch.  Old Borges Ranch hiking page.

Model Trains: If you have a love for antique and model trains, the Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society's Diablo Valley Lines is your dream come true. there is an 1,800 square foot, HO-scale model train layout which has more than 4,300 feet of track. This attraction is opened to the public several days a month and is well worth a visit.  Call (925) 937-1888 for more info or their web site at www.wcmrs.org.

Ruth Bancroft Gardens: Ruth Bancroft started the garden around 1970 and features many native California plants. There's a web site at www.ruthbancroftgarden.org. For more info call (925) 210-9663.

Open Space: Walnut Creek has designated 2,500 acres as undeveloped open space. Shell Ridge has more than 20 miles of trails.  Sugarloaf is a 177-acre open space area by Ygnacio Valley, east of Oak Grove.  There are nearly 3 miles of scenic trails and one of the few remaining walnut orchards in the area. 

In conclusion, Walnut Creek is really a wonderful small city. The downtown area is really a jewel. There's great shopping, wonderful restaurants, a nice park and beautiful views of Mt. Diablo. The city is well-maintained and attractive in its appearance reflecting lots of community pride.

***Community Stories from the Contra Costa Times-our local newspaper has a collection of articles on Walnut Creek on their website in a section they call, "Where We Live."  Click HERE to view them.

 Informative websites on Walnut Creek:

Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce

City of Walnut Creek

Jewish Community Center

Rossmoor Senior Citizens Community