Shady Canyon

Shady Canyon Real Estate

The most luxurious area in the City of Irvine is Shady Canyon.  This guard-gated 400 home community amidst the backdrop of Shady Canyon Golf Club and the spectacular Bommer and Shady Canyons, a 16,000 acre preserve featuring hiking and biking trails and a historic former cattle camp.

The actual Shady Canyon residences, all of which are custom estates, lie on about 1,200 acres and feature beautiful Mediterranean and Tuscany style architecture. The homes in Shady Canyon have architectures that are distinct enough that most real estate listings will tell you not only that it is a custom estate, but that will merit a mention of who the home was designed by.

Should you choose to live in Shady Canyon, your neighbors will include television and radio personalities, current and former all stars in various sports including baseball and hockey, politicians, and other influential folks.

Living in Shady Canyon

Shady Canyon is an exclusive community with some pretty spectacular community amenities in regards to the relatively small number of homes represented within its confines. 

You’ll live on or near Shady Canyon Golf Club, which when described by Southland Golf Magazine featured the blurb, “natural beauty is evident at every turn at Shady Canyon.” The course is an exclusive, members-only club (limited to 428 members) and considered to be one of the finest private golf memberships available in Southern California.

In addition to the golf course, Shady Canyon residents enjoy access to tennis courts, the swim center with a junior Olympic swimming pool and spa. Community members who do not wish to join the Golf Club can still apply for social memberships to take advantage of the extensive opportunities and facilities that the club has to offer.

Shady Canyon, known as by far the most affluent area of Irvine, is also the roomiest area of Irvine in terms of “population density” – with just over 900 residents spread over almost 2 square miles, the “people per square mile” in Shady Canyon is about 1/7th of that of Irvine as a whole.

Shady Canyon Home Prices

Shady Canyon is one of the most exclusive areas in all of Orange County and the prices reflect that, with homes starting at $3 million, but going as high as $15 million. Most of the home sites in Shady Canyon feature lots of around 1/2 acre in size, though the largest and most expensive residences available can reach a full acre.

Homes at the lower end of the Shady Canyon price range are typically 4-7 bedrooms and 4,000 to 7,000 square feet and usually lack the exquisite views of the very best properties in the area, while at the higher end of the range homes can often top 10,000 square feet and often feature fabulous views of the canyons. Some of the very finest homes in the enclave go up to 2 acres and 23,000 square feet – and fetch $20 million and higher.

Pros and Cons of Shady Canyon Real Estate

As Shady Canyon hosts some of the most expensive real estate in the country, price is certainly an obstacle for most buyers, though for any homebuyer that is seriously considering Shady Canyon real estate the price is not likely to represent a real obstacle.

Another consideration for some buyers is that of all the $10 million plus estate homes available in Orange County, homes in Shady Canyon are some of the only that don’t include views of the Pacific Ocean. In addition to not being able to see the ocean, Shady Canyon is in Irvine – which is not exactly party-central. Some folks that look into multimillion dollar Orange County estates prefer the beach vibes and walkabout opportunities that Monarch Beach, some parts of Newport and Huntington Beach, or Laguna Beach have to offer. In contrast, there is no beach or nightlife in any walk-able distance to Shady Canyon.

If, however, you prefer not to live at the beach, and you can withstand a 7 minute drive to the local Chevron, it is hard to come up with any justification not to live here – Shady Canyon boasts some of the finest homes, architecture, and neighbors the world has to offer – and for most that can afford it, this will be on the “short list” of neighborhoods to consider.

In addition to the exclusivity of the community and the club, if you have the choice of either sending them to the best public schools in the nation or the best private schools in the nation – as Irvine is renowned for its schools.

One thing that’s always surprising when looking into different ultra-wealthy enclaves – nobody seems to discuss how easy or hard it is to get to a freeway. As a resident of one of these areas, your time is likely worth an astronomical amount, so ease of access to major roads is a primary consideration – and putting one in the plus column for Shady Canyon is the fact that it is freeway close – just 5 minutes from the 405 Freeway.