A lot of people have a dream of having a rural retreat, whether that is to move from city or suburban living entirely or else have a place to escape to from the hurly burly of everyday life in San Francisco or the Bay Area. The first step is to decide whether or not rural living is for you (see my blog post on rural vs downtown Healdsburg living), but perhaps the harder part, is to find an area that gives you what you are looking for in living a rural life at a price point that makes sense. I was going along this well trodden road when I purchased a piece of property with the intention to knock the house down and build my dream home in rural Healdsburg. This didn't quite pan out as planned as I write about in this blog: five things to know before you build your own home.
But with over 184 square miles of rural living in and around Healdsburg, what are the different areas you should look at? And what areas should you avoid? Stretching over 15 miles from the city center, there are countless options. You may love the idea of a rural home in dry creek but maybe not the price or you may like the idea of Chalk Hill Road but are concerned about fire danger. Even once you find an area you think you like, now you have to consider whether there are likely to be neighboring vacation rentals, noise from light aircraft, fire risks and more. Hopefully, armed with this insiders guide to rural Healdsburg, you will be able to avoid the pitfalls of buying a rural property and identify areas that you might not otherwise think about.
As you start thinking about buying a rural property, there are a number of things to think about. Below are what I would consider to be the top 5 things you need to think about before even beginning to take a look at properties:
These are all important things to consider as you start to weigh up the pros and cons. It’s impossible to cover all the different areas in detail because every area has a wide range of property types but I have divided a map of the greater Healdsburg area (defined by Zip Code 95448) into six different areas in an attempt to characterize the common these for properties in these areas. The six areas are as follows:
Dry Creek Valley
This is probably the first area that people think of when talking about buying a rural place around Healdsburg. There are two broad options when thinking about Dry Creek Valley, either right down on the valley floor or else up the sides of the valley.
On the valley floor you will almost certainly have quicker access to amenities but it will likely be a little noisier as you will likely get noise from both cars on Dry Creek Road and sometimes the freeway as well as noise from the farming of vineyards. The noise from the farming of grapes is not to be underestimated because as well as the harvesting of grapes at night, you also need to take into account that the frost prevention fans can sound like mini-helicopters flying around in the early hours of the morning.
If you choose to live up the sides of the valley, you will get great views but there is also likely a greater risk of fire, combined with more difficult access to the property which will likely be up a winding and so it will definitely take longer to get into Healdsburg's bars and restaurants.
There is no question that on both the east side and west side of the valley there are spectacular properties. However for any given property, a similar distance from town, you will likely have quicker access if you are closer to Dry Creek Road because it is a faster road. However, if all you care about is going for a cycle from your house, I’d choose a home closer to West Dry Creek Road because it has to be one of the prettiest cycling roads in Sonoma County!
West of Healdsburg City
Just outside of the city limits is an area which includes Chiquita Road which runs from the north side of town to Lytton Springs Road. In addition to Chiquita Road there is a whole network of roads that run off Kinley Road immediately west of the freeway such as W North St and W Matheson St. The homes in this area tend to be on smaller lots and have more of a rural residential versus agricultural zoning. When I am asked where the best places are to find a home that it would be possible to vacation rent, this is the area I often direct people to.
Many of the homes are less than $2m and have the Rural Residential (RR) zoning which makes then eligible to apply for a vacation rental permit. The challenge with some of the homes on roads such as W North St and W Matheson St are that you can get quite a lot of freeway noise particular if you are on the east side. That being said, on the west end of these streets there are some amazing properties that are close to the creek. Also included in this area, is the very south end of Dry Creek Road and the roads off it such as Pozzan Road and Norton Road, which also has properties that are the right zoning to be eligible for a vacation rental permit and are just minutes to the City.
One of my favorite rural roads is Chiquita Road. For me, it has a great rural feel without feeling like you are in the middle of nowhere but it is a short drive to town. Again the properties here are not typically huge estate properties but many of them are very private and are on at least an acre. Some of them certainly fit the bill as the perfect $4m+ perfect wine country home with hobby vineyard and views.
Alexander Valley
Famous for its Cabernet Sauvignon and home to Silver Oak winery this is definitely a premium location. Unfortunately, very few homes ever come on the market in this area so when they do, they are definitely sought after.
As you head out of Healdsburg on Alexander Valley Road there are definitely some smaller homes but then as you head further out on Highway 128 you will see homes on the valley floor as well as some amazing homes up the sides of the valley and as you head up Pine Flat Road. One of my favorite roads is West Soda Rock Road right by Medlock Ames which has stunning vineyard property and yet is still very close to town.
Over the past few years, I can’t think of too many houses that have come up for sale here. One of my favorites was 6400 Red Winery Road which is a new build home which was just stunning in a really quiet area as you head towards Geyserville. This sold for $3.8m. Another one in a great area currently for sale is 2225 Wilson Road. This is actually Lindl prefab home being sold by a couple who live in Mill Valley. It checks a lot of boxes for many people, vineyard views, pool, bocce court and a modern aesthetic.
Chalk Hill Road
This is an area that is equally as stunning as Alexander Valley, but for some people this is too far from Healdsburg because it will be a 20+ minute drive to the Plaza. Unfortunately this area was badly impacted by fires in the 2017 Sonoma Complex Fire and also the 2019 Kincaid Fire. I often get asked if that means it is less vulnerable to the next fire. It is impossible to say. I think it depends on how you feel about it.
This is the area I purchased a property with a view to knocking down the existing house and then building our dream home. This was long before the first fires and before I became an agent and know what I now know. For us, the reason we decided against it was because we realized we didn’t want to be so far from town. It is only 25 minutes but it is just that bit too far for the lifestyle we wanted.
That being said, if you are happy to sacrifice proximity to Healdsburg, you can definitely get a lot more value for your money out in this area. Ironically the further down Chalk Hill Road you are, the quicker the journey to Healdsburg because you can get to Healdsburg via Windsor up the 101. However, it is the more northern end of Chalk Hill Road that is probably more prestigious and which also has the Healdsburg address.
South of Healdsburg City
As we move further round to the south, there are a number of rural neighborhoods around Limerick Lane, Milk Barn Road and Baillache Road which all have the advantage that you can get to town within an easy 10 minute drive. This area probably isn’t the area that everyone thinks about when they are considering rural areas around Healdsburg but there are some stunning rural properties here.
As with the rural areas west of the city, a lot of the properties here, have an eligible zoning to be able to apply for a vacation rental permit. Because properties near Healdsburg perform so well as a vacation rental (see here for Healdsburg vacation rental incomes) and yet are hard to find, there are a significant number of vacation rentals in this area. For example there was a home that sold recently for $1.6m on Dragonfly Road that is now a successful vacation rental.
However there are also a number of homes with vineyard views that are well over $3m that if they were in Dry Creek Valley would cost well over $4m with similar surroundings.
Mill Creek Road
Unfortunately a large part of this area was badly hit in the 2020 Walbridge Fire. If you are not familiar with Mill Creek Road it feels more like you are in the Russian River area than the heart of Zinfandel country. The road follows Mill Creek for eight or nine miles. The good thing with Mill Creek Road is that the numbers correspond with the distance you are down the road. For example 1 mile is approximately the 1000 block, 2 miles is the 2000 block and so on. Once you start getting past the 4000 and 5000 block you can start to see evidence of the fire and you definitely feel a long way from civilization. In my view, the first few miles are the nicest as it just feels a bit more like wine country with rolling vineyards.
One of the things to be aware of in this area is the performance of the well. There are definitely some properties out here that have had wells run dry and are having to truck in water. Also, because of the fires in 2020, there are a number of lots that are for sale which if you are looking to build a home are a great option because of the expedited permit process available for these properties. It is one of the few areas around Healdsburg where you can pick up a great 40+ acre lot for less than $1m
So Which Area Would Most Suit What You Are Looking For?
If you are looking for the iconic wine country rural property. your first thought is probably purchasing something in Dry Creek Valley. However, there are a number of considerations to take into account not just the price. If you want something that could generate income as a vacation rental property, you are much less likely to find what you want in Dry Creek Valley. There are many great areas that will have the same feel but have the added benefit of being closer to town, a bit more affordable and have income flexibility. If you are looking for the iconic, prestigious, rural Healdsburg property Dry Creek Valley and Alexander Valley are the two places you will likely settle on.
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