Are you thinking of moving to Santa Clarita, California, but don’t know which area to choose? In this video, I’m going to focus on one of the six areas of Santa Clarita: Saugus, California. We’ll explore the seven different communities that make up Saugus so you can see if this is the place that fits you best.

The six areas of Santa Clarita are Valencia, Newhall, Saugus, Canyon Country, and Stevenson's Ranch and Castaic—which are just outside the city limits but are still included. Today, we're going to focus on Saugus, which consists of seven different communities.

The 7 Areas Of Saugus

The main area—which was the original area of Saugus—is Bouquet Canyon. This area runs the entire stretch of Saugus and includes a lot of older homes off its main street. While you can find some newer properties, you’ll mostly find older houses in the Bouquet Canyon area.

In addition to that, we also have Plum Canyon, which is a little bit newer. They started building there in the mid-80s and continue to today. Currently, they're building a lot in the Plum Canyon area. The third area is Villa Metro, a fairly new gated community. It's a small community that was built between 2013 to 2016, and it’s already completely built out.

The next area is River Village, a really nice gated community that includes many higher-end homes and townhomes. While most of it is gated, there is a small section that is not gated. Saugus is also home to Five Knolls, another newer community that was just built in the last 5 to 10 years.

Another Saugus community is Copper Hill North, a great area that’s north of Copper Hill. Running the entire length of Saugus, Copper Hill is a little shorter than Bouquet Canyon’s distance but is still a big area of Saugus. Last is Circle J Ranch, which a lot of people don't think of as being part of Saugus. While it looks and feels more like Newhall, Circle J Ranch is actually part of Saugus as well.

Bouquet Canyon

Let’s dig in more to each of Saugus’ 7 areas, starting with Bouquet Canyon. As I mentioned earlier, Bouquet Canyon is the largest and oldest area of Saugus.

This area is also home to the only apartment complex within Saugus and the only mobile home park in Saugus—which you’ll find at the very far end of Bouquet Canyon, past all the houses. There are homes at pretty much every price point here, so you have a variety of options. Additionally, there are three different condo townhome complexes and many single-family residents in the area.

Parks And Recreation

Our largest park in Santa Clarita is located here in Bouquet Canyon, called Central Park. This is where we have all of our concerts in the park along with lighted baseball and basketball fields. It's a huge park spanning 106 acres with space for hiking and all kinds of activities.

There are a total of four city parks in the Bouquet Canyon area. Along with Central Park, locals have easy access to Bouquet Canyon Park, Santa Clarita Park, and Pamplico Park. In addition to that, there are quite a few small neighborhood parks that are not run by the city located within different neighborhoods of Bouquet Canyon.

Schools

If you are located in the Bouquet Canyon area, your kids are going to attend one of the five elementary schools in that area. Which one just depends on where you're at in the neighborhood. Schools include Emblem, Highlands, James Foster, Rosedell, and Santa Clarita Elementary.

All the kids in that area go to Arroyo Seco Junior High and on to Saugus High School. These are all great schools located in the Saugus area.

Copper Hill North

Now let's go to Copper Hill North. The homes here were built sometime between 1987 up to about 2016 or so, depending on where you're at in that area. Most of those homes do not have any Mello-roos tax, though there are a couple of neighborhoods that do. This is something you’ll want to be aware of when you're looking at homes in that Copper Hill North area.

Schools

The schools in this community are great. You either attend Mountain View or James Foster, which are both great elementary schools. Copper Hills North is a little bit smaller area than Bouquet Canyon, which is why there are only two elementary schools in this community.

The majority of students in the area attend Arroyo Seco Junior High and Saugus High School, just like those who live in Bouquet Canyon. However, there is a small pocket of the Copper Hill North area that goes to Rio Norte Junior High and Valencia High School. If you're going to buy a home in the area and you have school-aged kids, make sure you check on what schools they’ll attend.

Parks

Copper Hill North also has a couple of city parks, including Copper Hill Park and Pacific Crest Park. Both of those are really nice green spaces you can enjoy. There are also quite a few parks within the neighborhoods that are maintained by the neighborhood or the county.

Copper Hill Park and Pacific Crest Park are maintained by the city. These are beautiful parks, and you’ll find gorgeous views from Pacific Crest Park.

Plum Canyon

The next area we’ll explore is Plum Canyon. This is a great community a little further out and off the beaten path. While it’s a little bit farther from the freeway, residents have access to both the 5 and the 14 from that area. So if you hear the 5 is congested, you can get over on the 14 or vice versa. This is a big benefit to the area.

Housing Options

The homes in Plum Canyon were built starting in the mid-80s all the way up until today. In fact, there is building being done as we speak in that area. Some homes do have Mello-Roos tax and HOA fees, so you do want to make sure you're checking on that before you make any kind of decisions to ensure a house here will fit in your budget.

Parks And Schools

There is one beautiful city park in Plum Canyon called David March Park. In addition, there are quite a few parks in the area that are managed by the county.

If you’re living off of Plum Canyon, your kids are going to go to Plum Canyon Elementary School, Arroyo Seco Junior High, and Saugus High School. There is also a street coming off of Plum called Golden Valley. If you're in that area, your elementary school is going to be Skyblue Mesa Elementary—though the junior and high school will stay the same.

Amenities

One really nice thing in the Plum Canyon area is that in the last year and a half, they’ve opened up a great shopping center. It’s got a great Italian restaurant, an ice cream shop, a yoga studio, a grocery store, gas station, and more.

It used to be that if you were out in Plum Canyon, there was nothing really available to you. Now, there are many more conveniences. It’s a really nice feature, and the neighborhood is really enjoying it.

Five Knolls

The next area is Five Knolls, a newer community built from 2015 to 2020. It’s a great neighborhood and, while it doesn’t have a city park, it does feature a community park. This park also has a dog park along with great views. Every time I've been there, it's been super clean.

If you live in Five Knolls, your kids will go to Golden Valley High School, La Mesa Junior High, and Highlands Elementary School. This location provides residents with a central location. You can get to the 14 quickly from Five Knolls—as well as anywhere else in the Santa Clarita Valley. This is because it’s located right off of Golden Valley and Newhall Ranch Road, which is kind of a cut-through for the entire area.

Lastly, just so you know, every home in Five Knolls does have a Mello-Roos tax and an HOA fee. You’ll definitely want to find out what that is if it's an area you're looking at.

River Village

The next area we’ll move on to is River Village, a nice neighborhood with great access to plentiful bike paths. Most of River Village is gated and is the site of really beautiful large homes, all priced over a million dollars. I haven't seen under $1 million in a long time in that area.

Depending on the size of the home, prices can go up from $1.6 to $1.7 million. The community also has a section of townhomes in River Village that start at about 1,800 square feet and go up to about 2,500 square feet. It’s a really beautiful complex with a gated townhome complex as well.

In River Village, your kids are going to the Emblem Academy for elementary, Arroyo Seco for junior high, and Saugus High School. Additionally, there are no city parks. All the parks are community parks, but they're not open to the public because most of the area is gated.

Villa Metro

The next area of Saugus is Villa Metro. A lot of people think it's not part of Saugus because it's located off of Soledad Candidate right across the street from the Metrolink—which used to be the old Saugus Speedway. There is a bridge that goes over, so if you're a commuter and use the Metrolink, you can easily get there from Villa Metro.

Mixed-Use Units

Villa metro was all built between 2013 to 2015. It's a very small, close-knit small community that’s gated with just a handful of units. Those units are multi-use, so you can have commercial space on the bottom floor and living space on the top floor. To get to the front door, you have to go through the gated area. The commercial area, however, actually faces the entrance to the complex.

People here have different types of things they do, from yoga studios to hairdressing studios. The units are small spaces, perfect for those working from home or small businesses. We don't have anything else like it right now in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Bike Paths And Schools

A great aspect of Villa Metro is that you do have great access to the bike paths just out of the backside of the gate. It's located right across the wash from River Village, and the bike paths run all along that area.

Villa Metro does have Mello-Roos tax and association fees, so make sure you factor that in when you're looking at your monthly payments. Additionally, the schools are great. Your kids will be going to Emblem Academy for elementary, Arroyo Seco for junior high, and Saugus High School.

Circle J Ranch

Last but not least is Circle J Ranch, located off of Newhall Avenue. Most people think it’s part of Newhall, but it's actually part of Saugus.

There are two areas of Circle J Ranch: the gated area and the non-gated area. The gated area of Circle J Ranch has gorgeous views and beautiful homes, with nothing under a million dollars. Just outside the gate, you’ll find custom homes that are $2 to $3 million.

You can also find homes that are less expensive as well. There aren't very many apartment complexes in Saugus, with just one in Bouquet Canyon and the other in Circle J Ranch. The area does not have any condos or townhomes, and prices are going to range anywhere from $750,000 up into the multi-million dollar range.

Circle J Ranch offers close freeway access, and there's a bridge that takes you right over Newhall Avenue and straight out to the 5 Freeway. It’s a really nice location for schools, and your kids will go to Newhall Elementary School, Placerita Junior High, and Hart High School.

Make Saugus Your Home

Now that you've heard about Saugus and all the different areas within it, I hope you'll find an area that you think is going to be right for you. Make sure you subscribe to our channel because we're going to go over all the different areas within Santa Clarita. We’ll talk about the positives and negatives of each so you can figure out what areas might work best for you.

If you have any questions about the schools in the area—including the Saugus School District, Newhall School District, and the Junior and High Schools—feel free to reach out and give us a call at 661-212-3413. Stay tuned to see what area of the Santa Clarita Valley I feature in the next video!