This 21.48-acre property, though just 2.5 miles from St. Mary’s College, gives the owners and their guests the rural feel of Moraga a century ago, when the town was just canyons, hillsides, and ranches.

Enter the property across a bridge from Bollinger Canyon Road, past a barn built to hold four horses in comfort. A circular driveway, around a mature oak, welcomes guests through a portico to the front door. The spacious home commands 360-degree views of hillsides and the canyon and from the rear a pond (that can be stocked with bass, bluegill, and/or catfish) and a fenced tennis court.

Upon entry, visitors see the formal dining room, which in turn leads to a spacious living room and its large wood-burning fireplace surrounded by a marble mantle. The large kitchen is adjacent, and vaulted beamed ceilings soar up to twenty-feet above. Less-formal entertaining will occur down the hallway, which opens into a huge family room (with brick fireplace and wet bar), more vaulted, wood-beamed ceilings, an elevated recreation/billiards/playroom alongside, and a refrigerated wine cellar with racks for two hundred and forty bottles. A wide deck surrounds the home for outdoor entertaining, and a built-in Weber grill makes outdoor cooking easy.

One bedroom (which could be reconfigured as a spacious office) lies near the family room; the bedroom offers commanding views of the canyon and hillsides to the west. The other three bedrooms, including the principal suite, are found at the other side of the house. Each of the bathrooms is remodeled and elegantly appointed. The bathroom in the principal suite is particularly stunning, with an open-air shower for two and a separate bathtub, and a fireplace and sitting area immediately outside. Walk-in closets abound.

Some seventy-two solar panels capture the afternoon sun from the southwest, minimizing utility expense. The home is wired for Wi-Fi throughout, and a central vacuuming system makes home care easy. The Moraga-Orinda Fire District has placed a dedicated high-capacity water source just steps from the residence.

This unique ranch property offers proximity to modern San Francisco and the rest of the Bay Area, and yet gives the residents the privacy of ranch living from a different era.