Unincorporated Town, San Mateo County
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Code: 94020
Village, unincorporated, located in valley southwest of Portola Valley. Used to
be logging camp and bootleggers’ hideout. www.mccormacks.com
Famous in
hippie legend for being the home of Ken Kesey (“One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest”)
when he and his Merry Pranksters, at the start of the LSD age, threw wild
parties at the Kesey cabin, then boarded a Day-Glo bus and took off on
miscellaneous adventures. Kesey, who died in 2001, sold the house in 1997,
asking price $239,000. Buyers supposedly were a mild couple from Stanford who
wanted a quiet place to write.
In the
Twenties, the well-to-do built summer homes that in the Sixties became all-year
homes. In the Seventies, others discovered the charms of La Honda and built
mansions, which inevitably sparked row over what kind of housing should be
allowed and how much.
Argument
has been resolved in favor of larger lots and fewer houses. Development would
have been limited in any event as the water supply — a stream feeding
into reservoirs — does not bubble to excess. The town council has the ear
of the board of supervisors and greatly influences matters.
Surrounded
by state parks. Protected by mountains from fog. PTA runs activities for the
kiddies, soccer, etc. Annual street fair.
La
Honda-Pescadero Unified School District. One elementary school in La Honda,
K-5, enrollment about 80. Older children attend schools in Pescadero. The high
school enrolls about 75. www.mccormacks.com
La Honda
Elementary scores in the 90th percentile, Pescadero High School in
the 70th and 80th percentile. These figures have to
viewed with caution. With classes small, a few smart or laggard students can
cause wide swings in the rankings. See Schools.
In 2005,
voters approved a parcel tax to retain teachers, increase salaries, improve
library services and through quality programs make the kids smarter.
Some homes
were damaged by landslides caused by the winter rains of 1997-1998. In 2005,
one slide moved again and tore up the main street to a subdivision. Efforts
being made to stabilize the slide.
Local
winery grows pinot noir grapes.
Long
commute. When you buy country, you really get, in this case, country. www.mccormacks.com
