Treetop cabin near Redwood City asks $945K

The truly young at heart who still yearn for the days of their childhood tree fort may be in luck with this listing in semi-rural Emerald Hills (population 4,400 or so) near Redwood City, which recaptures some of the spirit of those halcyon days.

The home at 535 Lake Boulevard is not actually a tree house, of course. Although the one bedroom, one bath cabin from 1926 certainly looks the part from the street thanks to its extreme hillside elevation and the leafy boughs from trees in the yard that almost seem to cradle it.

The illusion sticks around beyond the threshold too, thanks to the wide-open floor plan and dramatically sloping ceiling (which honestly looks a bit alarming at first glance).

Of course, very few actual tree houses boast a stained glass window, an antique fireplace, or a mortgage, so there’s no sense getting carried away with the sentiment.

Still, this little place hillside (only about 750 feet all told, although there’s a separate studio apartment downhill) maintains a hideaway atmosphere that can’t help but suggest the occasional moment of whimsy.

The latest listing sets the price at $945,000 and refers to the home as “one of the original cabins”—presumably a reference to its age relative to that of the community, which popped up as a collection of lakeside cabins in the ‘20s.

In 1926, the same year 535 Lake first appeared, cabin owners banded together and bought the entire nearby lake in a bid to drive up their property values.

• 535 Lake Boulevard [Estately]
• Emerald Hills [NextDoor]
• Emerald Hills History