Turtle Rock, Irvine: Homes, Prices & Hillside Living

Q: How close is Turtle Rock to UC Irvine?

Very close, they are neighbors. UC Irvine's campus, medical center, and William R. Mason Regional Park sit just down the hill from the village, a few minutes away. The university shapes the south side of Irvine, from its cultural calendar to a steady pool of faculty and graduate tenants, which is part of why Turtle Rock's condos and townhomes stay in demand.

Q: Is Turtle Rock a gated community?

Turtle Rock itself is a standard open village of public streets, not a gated community. However, the guard-gated custom-estate community of Shady Canyon adjoins it over the ridge to the southwest, sharing the same hills and school boundaries. Within Turtle Rock there are individual association neighborhoods with pools and amenities, but the village as a whole is not gated.

Q: Does Turtle Rock have views?

Many homes do. Because the village is built on Irvine's southern ridges, its curving streets step up the hillsides, and a significant share of houses capture ridge, canyon, city-light, or filtered ocean views, especially on the higher streets. Views are a major price driver within the village, so two otherwise similar homes can differ substantially based on what they look out on.

Q: Is Turtle Rock good for families?

It is one of Irvine's classic family villages. The draw is the combination of top public schools, low-traffic hillside streets, Turtle Rock Community Park with its pool and fields, and Bommer Canyon's trails at the back gate, all inside a city consistently ranked among America's safest. Families are precisely the buyers who compete hardest for the village, which is reflected in its pricing.

Q: Do you work with Russian-speaking buyers in Irvine?

Yes, Slava Ploshkin works with buyers and sellers across Irvine, including Turtle Rock and the surrounding villages, in both English and Russian. That includes school-boundary guidance, virtual tours for families relocating from out of state or abroad, and honest help weighing an established village like Turtle Rock against Irvine's newer neighborhoods.

Turtle Rock by the numbers

3,141Population

87%Homeowner-occupiedoccupied homes

79%Bachelor's degree or higherage 25+

$5,625/moMedian asking rentCurrent MLS listings

$207,554Median household income

51.6Median age

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year 2019–2023; neighborhood facts compiled by The Slava House.

At a glance

Irvine's original hillside village

Turtle Rock is one of Irvine's original hillside villages, tucked into the low ridges of the city's southern edge between UC Irvine and the Bommer Canyon open space. It is prized for three things: schools, setting, and stability. Turtle Rock Elementary and University High are among the most sought-after public schools in California, the village backs directly onto miles of protected canyon trails, and its 1970s and 1980s homes on curving hillside streets have held their standing as some of Irvine's most established addresses. Housing runs from single-family view homes to well-kept condos and townhomes, and the guard-gated estates of Shady Canyon sit just over the ridge. Buyers pay a premium here for the combination of top schools, quiet elevation, and open space that no newer village can replicate.

Where top schools, canyon open space, and UC Irvine meet on the city's southern ridges.

Turtle Rock is one of the villages that defined early Irvine: laid out in the 1970s and 1980s on the low hills at the city's southern edge, it traded the flat grid of the newer villages for curving streets, elevation, and views. Decades on, that head start shows. The trees are mature, the streets are quiet, and the addresses have settled into a reputation as some of Irvine's most desirable.

Three things carry that reputation. First, schools: Turtle Rock Elementary and University High are among the most sought-after public schools in California, and families routinely organize a move around getting inside the boundary. Second, setting: the village backs directly onto Bommer Canyon, a city open-space preserve of oak canyons and trails, so the edge of town is a trailhead rather than another tract. Third, neighbors: UC Irvine and its regional park sit just down the hill, and the guard-gated estates of Shady Canyon rise just over the ridge.

The result is a village that feels both central and tucked away, minutes from the university, the freeways, and the airport, yet quiet enough that deer wander down from the canyon. For buyers, that blend of schools, nature, and establishment is exactly what commands the premium here.

Live market

Market snapshot

Homes for sale

16Live active MLS listings in the mapped area

Median list price

$2,389,000Current active inventory snapshot

Median DOM

46 daysDays on market for active listings

Active price range

$1.3M-$8MLowest to highest active list price

Updated September 1, 2026, 1:00 PM PT

On the market

More homes in Turtle Rock

16 active listings in the mapped area

Just listed

$1,600,000

Single-Family3 bd3 ba1,951 sqft

9 Teakwood

18 days on market

$2,280,000

Single-Family3 bd2 ba2,036 sqft

40 Morning View

24 days on market

$2,698,000

Single-Family4 bd2 ba2,367 sqft

17 Rippling Stream

24 days on market

$2,750,000

Townhouse3 bd3 ba2,357 sqft

8 Del Rey 17

40 days on market

$2,180,000

Single-Family4 bd2 ba1,774 sqft

18846 Saginaw

41 days on market

$1,564,000

Townhouse3 bd2 ba1,600 sqft

14 Highland

42 days on market

$7,998,000

Single-Family5 bd6 ba4,521 sqft

21 Chester

45 days on market

$2,498,000

Single-Family3 bd3 ba2,178 sqft

21 MIRADOR

46 days on market

$2,499,000

Single-Family4 bd3 ba2,423 sqft

17 Morning Dew

53 days on market

$2,190,000

Townhouse4 bd3 ba2,208 sqft

4981 Paseo Segovia

56 days on market

$1,568,000

Condo3 bd3 ba1,741 sqft

3 Moon Shadow 2

56 days on market

$1,298,000

Townhouse3 bd3 ba1,610 sqft

7 Sunup

Pool

$6,288,000

Single-Family5 bd5 ba4,294 sqft

5 Chester

Water view

$6,250,000

Single-Family6 bd5 ba5,956 sqft

111 hillcrest Drive

Pool

$1,999,999

Single-Family3 bd3 ba2,480 sqft

17802 Arbor

Pool

$3,980,000

Single-Family5 bd4 ba3,231 sqft

19281 Sierra Cadiz

See Turtle Rock homes on the live map

Area map

See the mapped Turtle Rock area

The live Explore map opens with this neighborhood search so you can compare active homes, zoom block by block, and keep the larger Long Beach context nearby.

Turtle Rock

Featured places

Swipe to explore the neighborhood

The homes

Hillside houses and canyon-view condos

An established village where location outranks square footage.

The heart of Turtle Rock is its 1970s and 1980s single-family homes, arranged along curving hillside streets so that many capture ridge, canyon, or filtered ocean views. These are established houses on established lots, and the market rewards the ones that have been thoughtfully updated behind their original footprints.

Alongside them, a substantial stock of condos and townhomes gives the village its entry point, favored by UC Irvine faculty, professionals, and downsizers who want the schools and the setting without a yard. These attached homes are some of the more reliable value in south Irvine.

Over the ridge to the southwest, the guard-gated custom estates of Shady Canyon represent the top of the local market, a separate world of large lots and private golf that shares Turtle Rock's hills and schools. Between the two extremes, Turtle Rock offers a genuine ladder, from first condo to view house, inside a single village and school boundary.

One practical note: this is a mature village, not a new-build one. Buyers trading up from newer Irvine tracts should expect original-era construction and price the value where it truly sits here, in the location, the schools, and the open space, rather than in the finishes.

1970s-80s hillside single-family homes, many with views
A deep pool of condos and townhomes as the entry point
Shady Canyon's gated estates share the ridge and the schools

Schools

The reason families compete for the boundary

Turtle Rock Elementary and University High.

Irvine's public schools are the engine of its housing market, and Turtle Rock sits at the top of that engine. Turtle Rock Elementary is one of the Irvine Unified School District's most sought-after campuses, and University High School is consistently ranked among the best public high schools in California, drawing families from across the region who want that address on the enrollment form.

Because the schools drive demand, they also drive price: two similar homes can trade differently based on which attendance boundary they fall in, and inventory inside the most desired boundaries moves quickly. Irvine's boundaries are also periodically adjusted, so the single most important step for a school-motivated buyer is to confirm the exact current assignment for a specific address with IUSD before writing an offer.

The university itself extends the education theme. UC Irvine's campus, medical center, and cultural programming sit minutes away, and the presence of a major research university shapes the whole south side of the city, from the tenant pool to the weekend calendar.

Turtle Rock Elementary and University High are top-tier IUSD schools
School boundaries move price; verify the exact assignment per address
UC Irvine next door anchors the area's academic character

Open space

Bommer Canyon at the back gate

The nature preserve that no newer village can match.

What separates Turtle Rock from Irvine's flatland villages is what lies past its edge. Bommer Canyon, a City of Irvine open-space preserve on a former cattle ranch, opens directly behind the village: oak-shaded canyon trails, the preserved Cattle Camp used for community events, and a gateway into the wider Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks system.

For residents that means the weekend can start at the back gate, on foot or by bike, without driving anywhere. The front trails and Cattle Camp programs are the everyday staple; some of the deeper backcountry runs on scheduled or docent-led access to protect the land, which is worth checking before a first long hike.

Closer to home, Turtle Rock Community Park and its Nature Center provide the village's fields, pool, and programs, and William R. Mason Regional Park spreads out just down the hill with a lake and lawns. Strawberry Farms Golf Club tucks a canyon course into the eastern hills. Few Irvine villages put this much green within a five-minute radius.

Bommer Canyon's trails and Cattle Camp open right behind the village
Turtle Rock Community Park + Nature Center anchor daily recreation
Mason Regional Park and Strawberry Farms round out the green minutes away

The market

How the hillside prices

A premium built on schools, setting, and scarcity.

Turtle Rock prices at a premium to much of Irvine, and the premium rests on things that cannot be rebuilt: the top-tier school boundaries, the hillside setting, the canyon open space, and the simple fact that an original village stops expanding. New inventory here means a resale, not a new phase, so supply stays tight and well-located homes move quickly.

Within the village, the ladder runs from condos and townhomes at the entry, through updated single-family homes, to view houses at the top, with Shady Canyon's gated estates as a separate luxury tier over the ridge. The best value tends to sit in the attached homes and in original-condition houses with view or lot upside.

Use the live MLS snapshot on this page for today's actual inventory and pricing, and underwrite the way the village trades: confirm the school assignment first, then weigh view and lot, then the finishes. In Turtle Rock, the address and its boundary are most of the price.

Premium over much of Irvine, anchored by schools and open space
Established village = tight resale supply; good homes move fast
Attached homes and view-upside houses hold the value

More local context

More Turtle Rock facts

1970s-80sVillage eraOne of Irvine's original villages

Top-rankedUniversity HighAmong California's best public high schools

TrailsBommer CanyonOpen-space preserve at the back gate

AdjacentUC IrvineThe research university next door

HillsideSettingLow ridges above south Irvine

92603ZIP codeIrvine

Market by the numbers

What’s for sale in Turtle Rock right now

Active listings by home type16 active

Single-family69%
Condo6%
Townhouse25%

Median size2,283 sqft

Size range1,600–5,956 sqft

Median price / sqft$1,085

For rent

Rentals in Turtle Rock

10 active rentals in the mapped area

Just listed

$6,500/mo

Single-Family5 bd3 ba2,500 sqft

5021 Corkwood Lane

Just listed

$4,300/mo

Condo2 bd3 ba1,447 sqft

3 Wellesley

9 days on market

$5,950/mo

Single-Family3 bd2 ba1,988 sqft

9 Hillgrass

16 days on market

$5,300/mo

Single-Family3 bd2 ba1,512 sqft

5022 Paseo Dali

18 days on market

$6,800/mo

Townhouse3 bd3 ba2,069 sqft

27 Sarena

19 days on market

$13,800/mo

Single-Family5 bd6 ba6,420 sqft

5 Sunpeak

33 days on market

$1,500/mo

Duplex1 bd1 ba1,512 sqft

18771 Paseo Picasso

46 days on market

$4,950/mo

Condo3 bd2 ba1,833 sqft

1 Moss Glen 1

47 days on market

$6,500/mo

Single-Family5 bd3 ba2,517 sqft

19301 Sierra Inez

Pool

$1,200/mo

Single-Family1 bd2 ba2,071 sqft

19192 Sierra Isabelle

See Turtle Rock rentals on the live map

FAQ

Questions & answers

Is Turtle Rock a good place to live in Irvine?

Turtle Rock is widely considered one of Irvine's most desirable villages. It combines top-tier public schools (Turtle Rock Elementary and University High), a quiet hillside setting on the city's southern ridges, and direct access to the Bommer Canyon open-space preserve, all minutes from UC Irvine and the freeways. The trade-off is that it is an established 1970s-80s village, so homes are older than in Irvine's newest tracts and buyers pay a premium for the location and schools rather than for new construction.

Which schools serve Turtle Rock?

Turtle Rock is served by the Irvine Unified School District, one of California's top-rated districts. The village is closely associated with Turtle Rock Elementary and University High School, both among the most sought-after public schools in the state. Because IUSD attendance boundaries are periodically adjusted, confirm the exact current school assignment for a specific address with the district before relying on it.

Why is Turtle Rock more expensive than other Irvine villages?

Three reasons that newer villages cannot replicate: its schools are top-tier, its hillside setting offers elevation, quiet, and views, and it backs directly onto the protected Bommer Canyon open space. Because it is an original, fully built-out village, supply is limited to resales, which keeps well-located homes scarce and competitive. Add UC Irvine next door and the adjoining Shady Canyon estates, and the premium reflects location and scarcity more than square footage.

What kinds of homes are in Turtle Rock?

Three tiers. Curving hillside streets of 1970s and 1980s single-family homes form the core, many with ridge, canyon, or filtered ocean views. A deep pool of condos and townhomes provides the entry point, popular with UC Irvine faculty, professionals, and downsizers. And over the ridge, the guard-gated custom estates of Shady Canyon represent the luxury tier that shares Turtle Rock's hills and schools.

What is Bommer Canyon?

Bommer Canyon is a City of Irvine open-space preserve on a former cattle ranch, opening directly behind Turtle Rock. It offers oak-shaded canyon trails, the preserved historic Cattle Camp used for community events, and a gateway into the wider Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks. Front-country trails and Cattle Camp programs are open regularly; some deeper trails use scheduled or docent-led access to protect the habitat, so check current access before a long hike.

How close is Turtle Rock to UC Irvine?

Is Turtle Rock a gated community?

Does Turtle Rock have views?

Is Turtle Rock good for families?

Do you work with Russian-speaking buyers in Irvine?

Sources

Where we check the facts

The claims in this guide — districts, zones, rules — come from the official records below. We re-check them before property tours.

City of Irvine — permits, villages and city planning
FEMA Flood Map Service Center — flood zones by address
California Legislative Information — Civil Code — tenant, HOA, and disclosure law
CRMLS — listing and market data

Turtle Rock

Turtle Rock by the numbers

Irvine's original hillside village

Market snapshot

More homes in Turtle Rock

See the mapped Turtle Rock area

More Turtle Rock facts

What’s for sale in Turtle Rock right now

Rentals in Turtle Rock

Questions & answers

Where we check the facts

Neighborhoods near Turtle Rock

Quail Hill

Woodbridge

Orchard Hills

Naples

The Peninsula

Belmont Shore