Terra Linda

 

I’ve been a permanent resident of Terra Linda since 2007 and I’ve had a lot of great experiences here raising my family. For seven seasons I coached my daughters in what is now the Miller Creek Soccer Association until they got into high school. They’ve been active swimmers with the Terra Linda Orcas since 2008, and both my daughters are and were Terra Linda High School swimmers. My younger daughter also plays water polo for the Trojans. The Orca and Trojan head Coach Tim Baker is a tremendous asset to the community, probably because he was an Orca and Trojan swimmer himself.

The education, going from Vallecito Elementary School to Miller Creek Middle School and finally Terra Linda High School has been a very positive experience. The elementary schools, Mary Silveira and Lucas Valley like Vallecito are all outstanding academically. The kids in the community naturally excel in this nurturing environment.

The energy in the community is an undeniable force. Politically the town is mixed and it seems like historically it may have been more conservative but the pendulum swung and it’s become more liberal like so much of California. Democrats and Republicans peacefully co-exist, however we did have a nationally publicized and contentious name change in the school district from Dixie to Miller Creek. There were a lot of people who were fond of the name Dixie. The Dixie School District had a very good academic reputation and attracted families like mine to the community. However the pressure on the school board was too great and they voted to change the name in 2019. The name Dixie became a political lightning rod with its roots in the South and the Confederacy. Writing this during the political protests of 2020 it’s a relief to have lost the Dixie name, regardless of how endearing it was to some people who grew up with the name.

By the fall of 2019 the Dixie School District didn’t exist, and in its place we now have the Miller Creek School District. Dixie Elementary School became Lucas Valley Elementary. Even the Dixie Youth Soccer Association changed their name to the Miller Creek Soccer League.

The weather in Terra Linda is beautiful. Terra Linda means Beautiful Land in Spanish. Summer high temperatures are typically in the mid to upper 80’s. Warmer days go into the 90’s, cooler high temps drop into the 70’s. We can get heat waves when the temperature soars everywhere in Northern California, when even the coastal fog can’t cool down our valley at night. Winter night temperatures are usually in the high 30’s but can drop into the high 20’s. Daytime temperatures are mostly in the 50’s. During the fall we often get our Indian summers days where the temperatures stay warm even as the days grow shorter. We played our soccer in the fall, and the artificial turf at Terra Linda High School and now Miller Creek Middle School can get pretty hot.

We are really close to China Camp State Park, with its nice bay side beach and great hiking and biking trails. The Terra Linda Sleepy Hollow Preserve, Lucas Valley and Big Rock all have nice, accessible trails. In the springtime we see a wild variety of wildflowers in the fields adjacent to the trails.

One of the reasons people like Terra Linda so much is its proximity to the City. It takes me about 20 minutes to get across the Golden Gate Bridge from my front door. I can be at Ocean Beach in 30 minutes, or downtown at the Giant’s stadium in about 45 minutes. Or you can drive to the Larkspur Ferry Terminal and hop on a ferry that lets you off downtown. There’s lots of commuters that take the ferry and it services ballgames too!