9.3 out of 10

Woodlake

38.6021104317974 -121.458709262452
Great for
  • Internet Access
  • Clean & Green
  • Cost of Living
  • Lack of Traffic
  • Parking
Not great for
  • No ratings yet
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
Who lives here?
  • Professionals
  • Retirees
  • LGBT+
  • Trendy & Stylish
  • Singles

Reviews

5/5 rating details
  • Neighborly Spirit 5/5
  • Safe & Sound 5/5
  • Clean & Green 5/5
  • Pest Free 5/5
  • Peace & Quiet 5/5
  • Eating Out 5/5
  • Nightlife 5/5
  • Parks & Recreation 5/5
  • Shopping Options 5/5
  • Gym & Fitness 5/5
  • Internet Access 5/5
  • Lack of Traffic 5/5
  • Parking 5/5
  • Cost of Living 5/5
  • Resale or Rental Value 5/5
  • Public Transport 5/5
  • Medical Facilities 5/5
  • Schools 5/5
  • Childcare 5/5
2yrs+

"Woodlake is one of Sacramento's Top-Tier Neighborhoods"

Woodlake is one of the best neighborhoods in Sacramento. It's right up there with East Sacramento, Land Park, and Curtis park as one of the residential neighborhoods that attracts a lot of people who make good incomes and can afford to be choosy. It's got a lot of older, stately homes, a lot of history and charm and popular amenities like an ice rink, swim club, and creek with trails.
Pros
  • Great investment
  • Safe neighborhood
  • Clean and tidy
  • Close to Ligth Rail
  • Leafy Streets
  • Nice Older Homes
  • Friendly Neighbors
  • LGBT Friendly
Recommended for
  • Professionals
  • Singles
  • Families with kids
  • Retirees
  • LGBT+
  • Hipsters
  • Trendy & Stylish
5/5 rating details
  • Neighborly Spirit 5/5
  • Safe & Sound 5/5
  • Clean & Green 5/5
  • Pest Free 5/5
  • Peace & Quiet 5/5
  • Eating Out 5/5
  • Nightlife 4/5
  • Parks & Recreation 5/5
  • Shopping Options 4/5
  • Gym & Fitness 5/5
  • Internet Access 5/5
  • Lack of Traffic 5/5
  • Parking 5/5
  • Cost of Living 5/5
  • Resale or Rental Value 5/5
  • Public Transport 5/5
  • Medical Facilities 5/5
  • Schools 4/5
  • Childcare 5/5
2yrs+

"Woodlake is Curtis Park meets Sierra Oaks, hiding in North Sac"

Woodlake is a low crime, high income neighborhood of historic homes and larger lots. It's a little bit Curtis Park meets a little bit Sierra Oaks. It's got the historic feel and progressive cultural bent of East Sac and Curtis Park, but the larger lots and more suburban tone of Sierra Oaks.

The average sale price of a 3/2+ over the past year was $475,000 and values are growing strong due to high demand and low inventory. Inventory is and will likely remain low because the neighborhood is small and is mostly long-term homeowners. Woodlake attracts mostly educated professionals, with a number of prominent business leaders, lawyers, doctors, and folks who work in and around the Capitol. There are a lot of LGBT couples and families. There's also a strong core of people who grew up in Woodlake.

The east/west distinction mentioned in the previous review is overstated. While most of the historic homes are east of the greenbelt, many of the homes on the west side have large lots and high values. On both sides of the greenbelt, you'll find some some well-maintained apartments and some homes over $1,000,000.

The neighborhood motto, "where neighbors are friends," is taken seriously and neighborhood parties and the Fourth of July parade give a nice small town feel to the neighborhood. Because of its reputation for being friendly, safe, and affluent, Woodlake is a magnet for trick-or-treaters and homeowners could easily be visited by hundreds on Halloween. A neighborhood contest names winners for best holiday lights.

The local public school meets the needs of some families in the area but Woodlake is especially attractive to families planning on public charters (Washington STEAM (10 min away), private schools (St. Ignatius (10 minutes), St. Michaels Episcopal (15 min), Country Day (15 min), St. Francis HS (15 min), Jesuit HS (18 min) and families without children at home. Woodlake has an affordable private swim club centered on a 1920s pool fed by frequently refreshed natural water and without most of the chemical treatment of most pools. There is also a popular seasonal ice rink.

Like any nice neighborhood in Sacramento, there are some quality of life issues around homelessness and folks from outside the neighborhood, but the voluntary (non-HOA) Woodlake Neighborhood Association has paid for private security patrols since 2016 and there much less of that now than even East Sacramento or Land Park.

One of the challenges for the neighborhood is much of the area immediately outside it is just beginning to see new development. The neighborhood immediately North of Woodlake, Old North Sacramento, is starting to see families come in from other areas and price increases, but remains very affordable and struggles with crime and quality of life problems. A steady stream of trendy and high quality businesses have moved in over the past two or three years and plans are in the works for some big projects bringing a lot of promise to the area, but it's not quite hit the turning point where momentum takes over.
Pros
  • Close to Ligth Rail
  • Leafy Streets
  • Nice Older Homes
  • Friendly Neighbors
  • LGBT Friendly
  • Close to Downtown
Recommended for
  • Professionals
  • Retirees
  • LGBT+
4/5 rating details
  • Neighborly Spirit 3/5
  • Safe & Sound 3/5
  • Clean & Green 4/5
  • Pest Free 2/5
  • Peace & Quiet 4/5
  • Eating Out 2/5
  • Nightlife 1/5
  • Parks & Recreation 4/5
  • Shopping Options 4/5
  • Gym & Fitness 3/5
  • Internet Access 5/5
  • Lack of Traffic 4/5
  • Parking 4/5
  • Cost of Living 4/5
  • Resale or Rental Value 3/5
  • Public Transport 4/5
  • Medical Facilities 3/5
  • Schools 2/5
  • Childcare 2/5
2yrs+

"A Tale of Two Neighborhoods"

Woodlake, Sacramento is a tale two neighborhoods. On the western end of Woodlake, you have a trailer park, North Sacramento Motor Home Park—scrunched right up where the light rail and North Sac Freeway fork. The older rickety homes in this western half of the neighborhood have a distinctly run down look to them, matched by the large 70’s style gas guzzlers parked in their driveways.

The flimsy 50’s style Ranch homes in this section of the neighborhood typically go for under $200K. As to rents, you can find apartments here for around $600/month.

Dividing the eastern and the western ends of the neighborhood however is a creek. On the eastern end of Woodlake, the neighborhood takes on a distinctly southern feel, somewhat resembling Savannah, Georgia perhaps. The leafy streets and irregular sized blocks give the area a certain small town feel I spots.

The homes in this area of Woodlake are much larger than their west end counterparts and the lawns are well kept. Dating from the 40’s and 50’s, the homes are fairly attractive in a classic sort of way.

On this end of the neighborhood home prices of non-foreclosed homes climb to $200K to $300K, though about half of the homes for sale are in foreclosure. They will typically go for half that amount.

Despite the nice homes on this end of the neighborhood, however, Woodlake Elementary consistently underperforms being below average in terms of test scores across the board.

Woodlake Sacramento is not just a residential neighborhood, however. Woodlake is also home to the Canterbury Inn and to KSTV, both nestled away on the southern edge of the neighborhood.

Overall, a neighborhood with definite potential if they improved the schools.
Pros
  • Nice Older Homes
  • Leafy Streets
  • Close to Ligth Rail
Cons
  • Bad School
  • Ugly Motor Home Park on Eastern End
  • No Nightlife
Recommended for
  • Professionals
  • Retirees
  • Trendy & Stylish
stang2
stang2 Question: Are you the reincarnation of Molly Ringwold?

I disagree with your assessment. The entire Woodlake neighborhood is quickly improving and gentrifying, despite being close to a trailer park. On that note, i recently lived on the western side of the neighborhood, and there are no 70s gas guzzlers. and any signs of rickety in the neighborhood is quickly being improved.

In closing, with the drivel you are pushing, I doubt that you are living in a very nice place yourself. just sayin.
2yrs+
stang2
stang2 In other words, you don't sound like you make enough money to have the experience to judge.
2yrs+
stang2
stang2 It appears that your qualifications to make such an assessment stem from you having spent time living in a Trailer Park yourself. On this note, I respect your assessment.
2yrs+
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