El Toyonal, Orinda, CA

El Toyonal is a hillside ribbon on Orinda’s north edge where winding lanes climb through oak and bay laurel canyons toward the Berkeley ridgeline. Homes span mid-century ranch and post-and-beam to custom contemporaries, usually on terraced, view-catching lots with big decks, picture windows, and a sense of seclusion. Wildlife sightings are common; evenings are quiet and starry. Trail access is the calling card. From Lomas Cantadas you slip onto the East Bay ridgeline network-Seaview/De Laveaga-style routes into Tilden and the EBMUD watershed (permit trails)-while Orinda Park Pool, sports fields, and everyday errands in Orinda Village sit just down the hill. Commuters drop to Hwy-24 and Orinda BART in a few minutes; Lafayette and Berkeley broaden the dining and shopping bench. Hillside living brings a few practical considerations: narrow, curvy roads with limited sidewalks, driveway grades, and mindful vegetation management for wildfire defensible space. Drainage, retaining walls, and geotech due diligence matter on steeper parcels. Perimeter spots near Camino Pablo notice some rush-hour flow; one street in, it fades. Cell service and power resilience can vary by micro-pocket.