Rancho Arroyo de Las Nueces y Bolbones

Shadelands Ranch was established by Hiram Penniman, an early American settler of California in 1856 as one of the first and largest farms in California's Ygnacio Valley.Penniman arrived in California in 1853 and three years later purchased 500 acres (2.0 km2) of land from Encarnación Pacheco, daughter of Juana Sanchez de Pacheco, then owner of Rancho Arroyo de Las Nueces y Bolbones from which the 500 acres (2.0 km2) were taken.Penniman planted a variety of fruit and nuts, including peaches, pears, apricots, grapes, almonds, and walnuts, as well as prunes, which served as Penniman's most important and most profitable crop. The original name of Penniman's ranch was "Shadelands Fruit Farm". Hiram Penniman fell ill in January 1897 and care and oversight of the ranch became largely the responsibility of Penniman's oldest daughter, Mary. The ranch fell on hard times with a drop in the price of crops and Mary had to depend on the charity of her sister Bessie's wealthy husband to take care of many of the ranch's financial concerns.When Hiram finally died, ownership of the ranch passed to Mary, then subsequently to Bessie after Mary's death in 1909. Bessie and her husband Albert Johnson mainly managed the ranch from afar, as Albert's business concerns lay mainly in distant Chicago. In 1921, Bessie hired Edmund Moyer to reside at the ranch with his family and supervise it. Bessie died in 1943 in a car accident, and not long after, Albert himself became severely ill. In 1947, with an eye to his own mortality, Albert Johnson formed the Gospel Foundation, an organization meant to oversee his extensive assets after his death. Johnson died in 1948 of cancer, and deeded all his property to the Gospel Foundation, including Shadelands.The Gospel Foundation continued to administer Shadelands until 1970, when they gave the remaining 1.5 acres (6,100 m2) of land and the ranch house to the city of Walnut Creek, California. Today it is managed by the Walnut Creek Historical Society, and has been open to the public since 1972 as a historical museum, the ranch house still furnished with much of the Pennimans' original furniture. The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Berean Christian High School is a private, Christian coeducational high school in Walnut Creek, California, United States, serving ninth through twelfth. Its name comes from the Bereans in Acts 17:11. The school has served the East Bay since 1969, having moved to its current Walnut Creek campus in 1985.

Rancho San Miguel is a neighborhood in Walnut Creek, California. It is named after the Alta California Rancho Rancho Arroyo de Las Nueces y Bolbones which was also referred to as Rancho San Miguel. Until the mid-1950s the area consisted largely of walnut orchards, until developer Joseph Eichler built a subdivision north of Shell Ridge and Ygnacio Valley Road.

Ygnacio Valley High School (YVHS) is a public secondary school located in Concord, California, United States. It draws students from Concord as well as from the neighboring communities of Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill. The school opened in 1962, and its first senior class graduated in 1964. Originally conceived as a temporary facility, the school currently carries an enrollment of over 1,500 total students for grades 9 through 12. When the nearby Northgate High School opened in 1974, YVHS lost approximately half its student body at the time. The school is part of the Mount Diablo Unified School District.

Northgate High School (NHS) is a public high school located in the suburban Northgate neighborhood of Walnut Creek, California, United States. The most recent of five high schools in the Mount Diablo Unified School District, the school was built in 1974, and is home to approximately 1,500 students from Walnut Creek and Concord, California, grades 9–12. Its name derives from its location at the north entrance of Mount Diablo State Park.

The Ruth Bancroft Garden is a 2.5-acre (1.0 ha) public dry garden established by Ruth Bancroft. It contains more than 2,000 cactus, succulents, trees, and shrubs native to California, Mexico, Chile, South Africa, and Australia. It is located at 1552 Bancroft Road in Walnut Creek, California, USA.

De La Salle High School is a private Roman Catholic school for boys run by the De La Salle Christian Brothers of the District of San Francisco in Concord, California, United States. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland. The school was founded in 1965 by the De La Salle Brothers. De La Salle currently enrolls 1,039 students, and roughly 99% of each graduating class goes on to attend a university or college. It is home to the Spartans, the athletic varsity teams of the school and its school colors are green and silver. The school motto is "Les Hommes De Foi", French for "Men Of Faith", which is based on the order's Latin motto "Signum Fidei".

Carondelet High School is an all-girls private Catholic high school in Concord, California, United States. Carondelet High School was founded in 1965 by the Sisters of Saint Joseph. The school enrolls about 800 students. It shares some resources with the all-boys De La Salle High School, which is across a side-street that separates them. De La Salle High School was founded by the Christian Brothers. Students in their junior and senior years are able to take classes at the other school for four of the school's six class periods, and also as lowerclassmen for language and art. The school is located within the Diocese of Oakland.

Shell Ridge is a census-designated place in Contra Costa County, California, United States. Shell Ridge sits at an elevation of 295 feet (90 m). The 2010 United States census reported Shell Ridge's population was 959.

The 6-acre (2.4 ha) Gardens at Heather Farm are a set of gardens located at Heather Farm Park in Walnut Creek, California, United States. The gardens have a view of Mount Diablo, and are open to the public 7 days a week during daylight hours.

Heather Farm Park is a 102-acre community park in Walnut Creek, California. It contains the Gardens at Heather Farm, a swimming pool, inclusive playground, sports fields, equestrian center, dog park, fishing pond, nature area, lake, and other amenities.

North Gate is a census-designated place in Contra Costa County, California. North Gate sits at an elevation of 253 feet (77 m). The 2010 United States census reported North Gate's population was 679.