Valhalla, Pleasant Hill

Valhalla is in Pleasant Hill's north end, around Paso Nogal Road and Morello Avenue, toward the Martinez side of the city. Paso Nogal Park's hills rise along its edge, and the Contra Costa Country Club and Diablo Valley College are a few minutes east along Golf Club Road. Neighborhood edges vary from one source to the next, and Valhalla and College Park share some streets.

At a glance: In the 12 months through September 2026, the median sale price of a single-family home in Valhalla was $1,200,000, across 10 sales. Homes sold for about 99.9% of their list price, and the middle sale took 15 days on the market.

Mostly single-family homes built in the 1960s and 1970s, a little later than the postwar tracts farther south. There are single-story ranch houses and split-levels, which show up where the lots slope, and many homes have three or four bedrooms. Over the years some older homes have been expanded and a few replaced with larger new ones, so the neighborhood mixes original mid-century houses with newer, bigger homes.

What should you look for in a Valhalla home? Homes from the 1960s and 1970s are old enough that the basics deserve a close look. Check the electrical panel, the plumbing, the roof, and the heating and cooling system. On a split-level or a sloped lot, look at drainage, retaining walls, and the foundation. Ask about past additions and whether they had permits, and note that native oaks and other native trees of a certain size need a City permit to remove. There's no ordinance requiring a sewer lateral certificate in Pleasant Hill, however a sewer lateral inspection is recommended.

Paso Nogal Park is the neighborhood's backyard: a park district open space with about 63 acres of hiking trails and a 2.5-acre fenced dog park. The trails climb into open hills with views across the valley, and it is one of the larger open spaces in Pleasant Hill.

Several private swim clubs are close. Pleasant Hill Aquatics on Boyd Road has been member-owned since 1954 and is home of the Penguins swim team, and the Buena Vista Swim Club on Cortsen Road, founded in 1962, has a family-size pool and a baby pool. The park district's public Aquatic Park on Gregory Lane is home of the PH Dolfins summer swim team. Each club has its own membership and fee, and joining is optional.

Interstate 680 runs along Pleasant Hill's east side, a few minutes away, and Highway 4 toward Martinez and Concord is a short drive north. The Pleasant Hill/Contra Costa Centre BART station is just outside the city to the south.

Buyers who look at Valhalla are usually drawn to its 1960s and 1970s homes, larger than the city's earliest tracts, the trails of Paso Nogal Park close by, the golf course and open land around the neighborhood, and the easy drive to Interstate 680.

Tanja Odzak knows what to check in a home from the 1960s and 1970s, from the electrical panel and the roof to drainage on a sloped lot and the sewer line, and how a Pleasant Hill sale works. If you're weighing a move to Valhalla, that's worth a conversation.