by Whitney Youngs

Tucked away in a deep pocket of rustic ambiance lies a quaint and charming neighborhood where nature’s landscape grows along every street and homesteads stretch beyond the 30-foot lots found elsewhere in Hermosa Beach.

It’s a neighborhood where the weather is different from other parts of the city and new condominium developments are virtually nonexistent. Known as the Hermosa Valley, it sits just west of Valley Drive from 18th Street to 25th Street.

The area, which sits in an area between Hermosa Valley Park and Hermosa Valley School, is a place that doesn’t seem to fit with the typical images of a dense and bustling coastal town like Hermosa Beach.

Most residents who live in the valley are either families, retirees or couples who have already raised their kids.

Earl Keegan, who is the father of three young children, has lived in Hermosa Valley for nearly seven years. Keegan, who once lived on Monterey Boulevard, said the move to the valley was a noticeable change.

“When I first moved here, I felt as though I had moved to Wisconsin,” said Keegan. “I can hear birds chirping in the morning and I often feel like I’ve left California. As a resident, you are still close enough to the action, but far enough removed.”

Most houses in the valley are single-family homes no taller than 25 feet, and usually come with front and back yards. The residents living in the valley don’t feel that salty ocean breeze characteristic of coastal cities. The winters are bit colder and the summers a bit hotter.

“You can walk up the path to Valley School near 16th Street and you can literally feel the temperatures change,” added Keegan. “We have more morning dew here and there are families living in every third house.”

Local architect Jerry Compton has lived in the same house for 12 years. Compton said that another positive aspect of Hermosa Valley is that it has less traffic and more parking.

Compton’s property abuts the bottom of a big hillside with trees and plants.

“The valley sits up against this giant hillside which is full of planted greenery which is pretty unusual in Hermosa Beach,” he said. “We have a lot of open space and the area is so quiet. I also think people living in Hermosa Beach are used to looking out their window and seeing their neighbor. We have a tree-lined neighborhood which is uncommon in a beach city.”