Belmont, CA

Belmont's landscape changes quickly from east to west. El Camino Real, Caltrain, and the Old County Road corridor occupy lower ground near U.S. 101; Ralston Avenue climbs from that urban strip through established neighborhoods toward State Route 92 and the western hills. The city has only 4.63 square miles of land, yet it maintains 337 acres of open space. Topography shapes ordinary trips: a short map distance can involve a pronounced grade, and the rail station, shops, multifamily housing, wooded trails, and hillside homes occupy visibly different parts of town. Ralston Avenue is the principal route linking those settings across this middle stretch of the San Francisco Peninsula. A large piece of Belmont's history is concentrated along Ralston Avenue on former Rancho de las Pulgas land.

ATTRCreated by Kglavin / CC BY-SA 3.0

William Chapman Ralston acquired Leonetto Cipriani's estate in 1864 and developed the redwood mansion now called Ralston Hall. The house later became part of the Notre Dame de Namur University campus. That property entered a new chapter in September 2025, when the university completed the sale of 96.5 acres to UC Investments. NDNU may continue operating there under a lease for up to five years, and the agreement commits the new owner to renovate Ralston Hall and the Carriage House. The existing city lease for public access to 50.5 acres around Water Dog Lake also continues through the ownership change. Lower Belmont has changed just as visibly. Four projects completed in 2023 and 2024 added 508 homes near El Camino Real and Old County Road: Firehouse Square, Village Walk, the Hayden, and Artisan Crossing.

ATTRGeo. Thomas / Public domain

Firehouse Square is fully income-restricted, and the two larger 2024 projects include additional below-market homes. The Belmont Village plan concentrates this development around the Caltrain station while retaining the lower-scale pattern in the western hills. Trains and SamTrans buses serve the station at 995 El Camino Real. Its parking lots take on other roles outside commute hours: Off the Grid food trucks use part of the site on Monday afternoons and evenings, and a farmers market occupies designated spaces on Sundays. The western hills and lower civic center support different parts of civic and recreational life. Waterdog Lake Open Space covers roughly 293 acres and contains more than ten miles of trails reached from several neighborhood entrances.

ATTRConstantine Kulikovsky / CC BY-SA 2.0

The lake's name refers to a local salamander known as a waterdog. Closer to the rail corridor, 19-acre Twin Pines Park holds the Belmont Historical Society museum, the senior and community center, and the parks department. Belmont incorporated in 1926, and its 2026 centennial program adds public art, history projects, neighborhood gatherings, community hikes, the Water Dog Run, and a Diwali celebration. A separate “100 Celebrations” effort counts resident-hosted dinners, walks, coffee gatherings, and block events toward a citywide total. The schedule uses both sides of the terrain: civic programs gather below, while organized hikes and the Water Dog Run climb into the western open space.