Suburban Neighborhood in Irvine, California
Orange County 92603
Shady Canyon's scenic, rolling landscape is a canvas for an eye-catching gallery of luxury homes. This gated, golf-centric community offers seclusion in the Irvine hills, within a 12-mile drive of the beachfront. "Buyers move here because they're close to the coast but get more land, more space and more privacy," says Jacqueline Thompson, founder and principal of the Jacqueline Thompson Group with Surterre Properties since 2008.
The private Shady Canyon Golf Club is the community's recreation focal point. Designed by renowned course architect Tom Fazio, this 300-acre course showcases the neighborhood's natural topography and offers five sets of tees. Within the 43,000-square-foot clubhouse, the 6,700-square-foot wellness center offers daily exercise classes and spa treatments. The rest of Shady Canyon's terrain provides a built-in playground for outdoor fun. The nearby Quail Trail invites hikers to a tranquil dirt path through open space, offering views of seasonal flora and the neighborhood below. The trailhead begins in the neighboring Quail Hill neighborhood at the Qual Hill Community Park. Youth and adult sports leagues use the park's fields and courts for practices and tournaments. The park also has a community center, and the center's fitness room, classroom and multipurpose room are available for drop-in when they're not reserved. The nearly 14-mile paved Shady Canyon Trail winds through the residential areas and is a popular route for biking to connecting trails through the canyons.
Residential streets are carved within the hills of Shady Canyon, and in spring, the air is often lightly scented by the native flowering sage. Backyards offer views of the 16,000 acres of protected grassy terrain enveloping the neighborhood. Its 400 houses were mostly custom-built between 2000 and 2010, with expansive floor plans from several thousand to more than 12,000 square feet. These homes are architectural eye candy, crafted in a range of styles with Mediterranean and Spanish elements, including terra cotta roofs and white stone facades. Depending on square footage and location, pricing ranges from $9 million to $14 million. Homes on hilltops or over 9,000 square feet can fetch between $19 million and $23 million. "Shady Canyon has always been appealing to captains of industry and high net-worth clients," Thompson says. Not only are these exclusive homes gated, but the community also gets a CAP Index Crime Score of 1 out of 10 — much lower than the national average of 4.
Public schools are within the highly regarded Irvine Unified School District, which earns an A-plus on Niche. All three schools in the public school pipeline also earn an A-plus. "The district is one of the best in the nation, so parents specifically move here to raise their kids," Thompson says. Kids start at Bonita Canyon and move on to Rancho San Joaquin Middle. University High, also known as "UNI," offers engineering courses as part of UNITE, the school's STEM program that equips students with technical workplace skills. Several private schools are in the vicinity, including Sage Hill School to the southwest and Pacific Academy, which is about a 5-mile drive southeast in morning traffic. Pacific also earns an A-plus and, in 2024, pioneered a Solar Car Club where students hand-built every component of a solar car and took it to the Solar Car Challenge competition in Texas. "We're a really small community by design, with a student-teacher ratio of around 12-to-1 and about 175 students, so individualized attention is exceptional," says Jasmine Hsu, director of student affairs for Pacific Academy. "We're also flexible with students pursuing passions outside of school. Our Model UN team competes at the national conference in New York every year, and our Mock Trial Club gets first-hand experience in the Santa Ana Court House." For higher education, the prestigious University of California, Irvine, or UCI — known for producing Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners — is less than 8 miles west.
At the community golf club, members can dine on casual fare at the Talon Bar and Patio after a round, or enjoy fine dining prepared by the club's executive chef in the Talon Dining Room. And although Shady Canyon is secluded, it's still easy to reach retail and restaurants. "Shady Canyon is understated; it's a countryside setting, but just beyond the gates is the city," Thompson says. Several Albertsons grocery stores are close to home, including one in the Quail Hill Shopping Center about 2.5 miles north of central Shady Canyon. Irvine Grill, in the same plaza, is well-liked for its Persian fare. For creative sushi and sashimi, there's O Fine Japanese Cuisine.
The neighborhood is car-dependent, and commuters can connect with Interstate 405 about 2 miles north of central Shady Canyon. It's less than a 9-mile, 20-minute trip to John Wayne/Orange County Airport.
The city of Irvine hosts a continuous calendar of events. In 2022, it kicked off its first annual Irvine Global Village Festival at the Great Park, just 7 miles northeast of Shady Canyon. This celebration of the city's cultural diversity includes martial arts workshops, a Scottish bagpipe band, Bollywood dancers and more.
Calvin Gong
Pinnacle Real Estate & Partner
(323) 745-8177
30 Total Sales
1 in Shady Canyon
$5,800,000 Price
Suzi Dailey
Realty ONE Group West
(949) 612-2123
62 Total Sales
1 in Shady Canyon
$11,180,000 Price
Chris Lee
Berkshire Hathaway HomeService
(949) 569-5767
19 Total Sales
1 in Shady Canyon
$6,470,000 Price
Paul Daftarian
Luxe Real Estate
(657) 385-8384
241 Total Sales
7 in Shady Canyon
$5.1M - $15.5M Price Range
Michael Balliet
Luxe Real Estate
(949) 822-9097
34 Total Sales
1 in Shady Canyon
$15,500,000 Price
Jim Watson
Real Broker
(949) 930-0253
104 Total Sales
1 in Shady Canyon
$7,500,000 Price
Interested in learning more about homes in this area? Reach out to , an experienced agent in this neighborhood.
| 1 - Low Crime, 10 - High Crime | Shady Canyon | US |
|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 1 | 4 |
| Sexual Assault | 1 | 4 |
| Assault with Weapon | 1 | 4 |
| Robbery | 1 | 4 |
| Burglary | 1 | 4 |
| Motor Vehicle Theft | 1 | 4 |
| Larceny | 1 | 4 |
| Crime Score | 1 | 4 |
Source: WhatIsMyCrimeRisk.com
On average, homes in Shady Canyon, Irvine sell after 88 days on the market compared to the national average of 47 days. The average sale price for homes in Shady Canyon, Irvine over the last 12 months is $10,317,241, down 5% from the average home sale price over the previous 12 months.
Interested in learning more about homes in this area? Reach out to , an experienced agent in this neighborhood.
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