Mountains Lions and Red Envelopes: Los Gatos
Head to Northern California and on the outskirts of the Santa Clara Valley you’ll find the town of Los Gatos. Hemmed in by (do you know the way to) San Jose and the city of Campbell, Los Gatos has inherited the overflow of handsomely paid Silicon Valley executives and programmers. While Cupertino has Jobs, it’s the company with the red envelopes that has put this cozy town on the map.
The town enjoys the lion’s share of beautiful terrain in the Valley. It’s strategic location gives it nourishing water table and a series of lush parks, dense tree lines and generally more moist conditions, unlike its baked neighbors to the north. Comparisons to the verdant expanse of Marin County are not in short supply.
Settled in 1868, the town wasn’t officially incorporated until 1887. This makes it one of the oldest towns in the area. Curiously, it was named after the concentration of mountain lions in the region, referred to as La Rinconada de Los Gatos, which, in Spanish, translates to “The Cat’s Corner.”
Before 1900, the town could only boast approximately 1,500 residents. Today, the town has a population of approximately 35,000 residents. Furthermore, it is experiencing phenomenal growth thanks to the success of such entertainment and gaming giants as Netflix and Cryptic Studios. Moreover, it is absorbing a fair amount of people from the nearby Silicon Valley.
The area is not a stranger to commerce. During the early 1900′s, it was a hub for the wheat, milling, logging, and canning industries in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, it is an emerging high tech hub. Furthermore, the town is quickly becoming a popular tourist destination. It boasts one of the best-preserved, most picturesque downtown areas in all of California. The intersection of cafe culture and rural attractions has lured its fair share of tourists from San Francisco and San Jose.
When in Rome, make sure to book yourself into a sumptuous room in any one of the Los Gatos hotels on the market.