Mountain Shadows, San Jose, CA

Mountain Shadows is a wedge-shaped pocket at the base of the Almaden foothills, bordered by Almaden Expressway to the north and Almaden Road and McKean Road to the south. Inside the triangle, a handful of quiet loops (Mountain Shadows, Portswood, Martwood, Belder) hold single-story and split-level ranch homes from the late 1970s, most sitting on generous quarter-acre lots. Front yards feature mature oaks, neatly edged lawns, and wide driveways that hint at the neighborhood’s suburban comfort while still feeling semi-rural. The location is all about quick access. Almaden Expressway puts residents ten minutes from Almaden Plaza shopping and twenty from downtown San Jose, yet a three-minute drive south reaches trailheads for Almaden Quicksilver County Park and Calero Reservoir. Day-to-day errands are a short hop north to Safeway and local restaurants at Camden Avenue, but sidewalks stop at the expressway, so almost every outing requires a car. Road noise is noticeable on the northern streets, tapering off as you move deeper into the interior lanes. Evenings are quiet, broken mostly by distant traffic hum and the occasional coyote call from the hills. Neighbors tend to gather at Portswood Circle’s pocket lawn or along the levee path that traces Arroyo Calero Creek. Schools rank well—Simonds Elementary, Castillero Middle, and Leland High—but morning drop-off adds brief congestion at Almaden Road.