Neighborhoods in Corte Madera and Larkspur, California
Because this market spans two separately incorporated cities, its neighborhoods split first by city and second by the flatland-versus-hillside geography covered on the Waterfront vs. Non-Waterfront page. This guide covers the named areas within each city that come up most often in local real estate and civic conversation, sourced from local neighborhood guides and each city's own materials, with honest gaps disclosed where this research could not confirm specific current boundary or pricing detail.
Corte Madera: Christmas Tree Hill
Christmas Tree Hill is one of Corte Madera's oldest neighborhoods, dating to 1895 when developer Emma Catharine Pixley and her sons platted the "Merry Colonists Tract" on the hillside, dividing it into tiny 2,500-square-foot tent-cabin lots offered for as little as $50 each, using existing horse and cow paths and stairs as the earliest access routes. Today it's a winding, steep hillside neighborhood of narrow roads and stairways woven through redwood groves, gardens, and a real mix of home styles and eras, with genuine bay views from higher points and real Wildland-Urban Interface wildfire exposure covered on the Coastal Insurance and Waterfront vs. Non-Waterfront pages. It sits outside FEMA's mapped flood zones, the flood-risk trade-off for its hillside position and fire exposure.
Corte Madera: West Corte Madera -- Chapman Park, Meadowsweet, Old Corte Madera, Madera Gardens
The rest of West Corte Madera, generally described by local real estate guides as slightly warmer and more sheltered than the town's bayfront side, includes several named pockets alongside Christmas Tree Hill: Chapman Park and Meadowsweet, both residential areas on the hillside's lower slopes; Old Corte Madera, the town's original core; and Madera Gardens (sometimes called Lakeside), sitting between Highway 101 and Old Corte Madera and known for its mid-century ranch homes and proximity to schools, parks, and shopping. This page did not find confirmed, current price data broken out specifically for each of these named sub-areas individually, as opposed to Corte Madera's citywide figures -- a disclosed gap; ask a local agent for recent comparable sales in the specific pocket under consideration.
Corte Madera: The Baylands and Marsh-Adjacent Flats
Corte Madera's low-lying eastern side, near Highway 101, the Corte Madera Marsh Ecological Reserve, and Corte Madera Creek, sits within or near FEMA's mapped Special Flood Hazard Area and was directly affected by the January 2-3, 2026 flood event, covered in full on the Flood Zones page. This area offers real, practical proximity to The Village at Corte Madera, Town Center, and Book Passage, and to the restored tidal marsh and public trail adjacent to the Corte Madera Marsh Ecological Reserve -- a genuine amenity as well as a genuine flood-risk consideration, and a buyer should weigh both honestly for any specific parcel here.
Larkspur: Downtown and Magnolia Avenue
Larkspur's historic downtown centers on Magnolia Avenue, a tree-lined commercial strip carrying the town's real small-town character -- home to Left Bank Brasserie, operating since 1994 out of the historic Blue Rock Inn (built 1895 as a railroad-era dance hall), among other longtime local businesses. Residential streets near downtown offer walkable access to Magnolia Avenue's restaurants and shops, a genuine lifestyle draw distinct from either city's larger retail centers.
Larkspur: Larkspur Landing and the Ferry Terminal Area
The Larkspur Landing area, directly around the Larkspur Ferry Terminal, the Larkspur SMART station, and Marin Country Mart, is the area's real transit and commercial hub -- and also, per the January 2026 flooding event, a documented flood-exposed area along Corte Madera Creek. This is a genuinely practical location for a buyer prioritizing car-free access to San Francisco via the ferry or to Petaluma and Santa Rosa via SMART rail, weighed against the flood-risk factors covered on the Flood Zones and Coastal Insurance pages.
Larkspur: Southwest Larkspur, South Larkspur, and Baltimore Canyon
Larkspur's own most granular published price data splits between Southwest Larkspur (hillside, cited near $2.3 million for the three months ending June 2026 per Redfin, down 1.1% year-over-year) and South Larkspur (flatter, cited at $2,258,240 for May 2026 per Redfin, up 2.9% year-over-year) -- a real, sourced illustration that this city's own internal geography drives meaningfully different price data even within one small city. Baltimore Canyon, a wooded residential area on Larkspur's western edge toward Mt. Tamalpais, is commonly referenced in local real estate guides as a distinct, quieter hillside pocket; this page did not find separately confirmed current price data specific to Baltimore Canyon and discloses that as a gap rather than estimating one.
Greenbrae: A Split-Jurisdiction Community Worth Understanding Before Assuming Which City Applies
Greenbrae is a genuinely unusual case worth flagging explicitly: part of the Greenbrae area is an unincorporated community governed directly by Marin County, while the remainder sits inside Larkspur's own city limits -- meaning two properties with a "Greenbrae" address can fall under entirely different local governments, tax structures, and permit processes. Greenbrae is home to MarinHealth Medical Center, the main hospital and emergency treatment center for central and southern Marin County, a genuine practical asset for a buyer prioritizing healthcare proximity, covered further on the Retirement page. A buyer looking at any Greenbrae-addressed property should confirm directly with Marin County and the City of Larkspur which jurisdiction actually governs that specific parcel before assuming either one applies by default.
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Get a Free Agent Referral →Independent research. No ads. No sponsored listings. Facts used: Christmas Tree Hill's 1895 platting and "Merry Colonists Tract" history are drawn from local neighborhood-guide sourcing (livinginmarin.com, neighborhoods.com, jeffmarples.com). West Corte Madera's named sub-areas (Chapman Park, Meadowsweet, Old Corte Madera, Madera Gardens) are drawn from local real estate neighborhood guides. Left Bank Brasserie's history and the Blue Rock Inn's 1895 construction are drawn from the restaurant's own materials and Marin visitor-bureau coverage. Larkspur's Southwest/South neighborhood price data is drawn from Redfin's own neighborhood-level housing-market pages. Greenbrae's split unincorporated/Larkspur jurisdiction and MarinHealth Medical Center's location are drawn from Wikipedia's Greenbrae, California entry and general Marin healthcare-system coverage. Facts not independently confirmed and not invented here include: current price data broken out specifically for Chapman Park, Meadowsweet, Old Corte Madera, Madera Gardens, or Baltimore Canyon individually. Confirm current neighborhood boundaries, jurisdiction, and comparable sales with the Town of Corte Madera, the City of Larkspur, Marin County, and a local buyer's agent before making a purchase decision. Nothing on this page is legal or financial advice.