Banner image above: The Grand Del Mar

Carmel Valley Gems
At Ranch & Coast we strive each issue to bring you the latest and greatest finds about San Diego. There are so many towns with long-running histories and also newly-emerging communities that we’re introducing a new series in 2008. Each month we’ll spotlight a different neighborhood and explore just what makes it a part of America’s Finest City.

Formed by the City of San Diego in 1975, families flock to this master-planned North County community, for its gated residential neighborhoods and top-ranked schools. The name comes from the Carmelite Sisters of Mercy, who ran a dairy farm and monastery in the area in the early 1900s. The nuns are still around, but they now share their peaceful valley with an ever-expanding cluster of homes and businesses. Here are a few of Carmel Valley’s hot spots.

The Grand Del Mar
The Grand Del Mar, one of the most exclusive new hotels in California, opened in October. Developer Douglas Manchester spent $300 million to purchase and overhaul what was once Carmel Valley’s Meadows Del Mar Golf Course. The resulting 249-room resort is a study in old-world glamour and luxury. The road to the Grand winds past a guardhouse through emerald-green grounds where nattily dressed golfers perfect their swings. At the hotel, guests are treated to impeccable service in the high-ceilinged, marble-floored lobby before they retire to opulent, cream-hued lodgings. The Grand Del Mar also wows with its 21,000-square-foot spa (try the hot-stone massage) and its buzzed-about restaurant Addison, named for Grand’s architect, Addison Mizner. San Diegans planning to tie the knot in high style should take a tour of the Grand’s Elizabeth Capella, a gorgeous nondenominational chapel. (858/314-2000, www.thegranddelmar.com)

Carmel Valley Ranch
Carmel Valley is horse country and this family-owned ranch offers an old-timey equestrian experience. For 40 years, Daniel and Dana Brumfield have overseen the century-old ranch, now with the help their two grown daughters, Dara Brumfield and Daina Ryckman. The family breeds show horses — some fifth generation — and trains hunter-jumpers. Dana says the ranch provides a great, family-friendly atmosphere with individual lessons starting at $55 and a summer camp for kids. "It’s just in our blood," she explains of her family’s business. "What can I say: A day without horses is no good." (www.carmelvalleyranch.net)

Cathedral Catholic High School
Students from as far as Temecula and Chula Vista receive a top-notch parochial education at this new incarnation of University of San Diego High School. But banish the thought of nuns snapping rulers on teenage wrists — Cathedral offers a thoroughly modern experience. "We have a state-of-the-art campus," says development director Eileen Clifton Benjamin. "We are also defined by a strong sense of faith-based community." Students are required to take one religion class per semester and must perform 60 hours of community service to graduate. The school offers a wide array of advanced placement and prep classes, and a whopping 98 percent of last year’s students went on to attend college, including UC and Ivy League schools. In addition, the majority of students are involved in athletics and after-school clubs. Tuition runs around $10,000 per year. (858/523-4000, www.cathedralcatholic.org)

San Dieguito River Park
This sprawling nature habitat, parts of which begin in Carmel Valley, was hit hard by last year’s wildfires; some 47,600 acres were burned in the Witch Creek Fire, depleting vegetation and destroying structures, including information kiosks and the historic Sikes Adobe Farmhouse near Lake Hodges. But supporters of the Coast to Crest trail project — a 55-mile, multi-use trail system for hikers, bikers, and horseback riders that runs from the ocean in Del Mar to the mountains near Julian — haven’t given up hope. For information on what’s currently open and how you can support preservation efforts, please visit the Web site. (www.sdrp.org)

Arterra
Featuring seasonal American cuisine, this restaurant, which first opened in 2002, continues to reign as a regional favorite. Jason Maitland, part of Arterra’s kitchen since the beginning, has taken over as chef de cuisine, and lends his talents to a menu devoted to farm-fresh ingredients and simple but exquisite flavors. Arterra has expanded its digs to include an outdoor lounge, complete with private cabanas, fire pits, and a bar menu. To encourage post-work mingling, Arterra recently launched Merge, a weekday happy hour from 4-7pm featuring specially priced appetizers and cocktails. (858/369-6032, www.arterrarestaurant.com)
— AnnaMaria Stephens