Thanks for recommending Quail Ridge. We are trying to avoid Herndon MS and HS (should have stated that in the original post, sorry). Would love to be persuaded otherwise, but I have heard nothing but bad things...

We saw the Farrier Ln house. It's pretty great inside but it backs to a busy road (Lawyers).

They sure do like wall to wall carpet in Reston

Whoops, this is the one that directly backs to the trail:

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Reston/1325-Quail-Ridge-Dr-20194/home/9137850

2513 Farrier Ln
Reston, VA 20191

If you are still considering north Reston, here is a house in a lovely neighborhood that backs to a trail, is wooded, and short walk to shopping and pools -- no extra HOA:

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Reston/11622-Quail-Ridge-Ct-20194/home/9137646

There are two others in that neighborhood right now too.

there is/was a place on Farrier Lane that was $725K. I love that street. but the house has a pool.

Thanks for the input. We can go up to $750, and do plan to see Clipstone this weekend at the open house. However, I believe Clipstone is on the other side of Lawyers Rd., meaning that it is essentially disconnected from the Reston pathways (we'd have to cross Lawyers and find a public access point to use them) which would not be my preference. We went to see Black Fir court yesterday and loved everything about it except the sloping backyard and the distance from the Reston pathways. Otherwise we'd be all over it.

So that house is not part of Reston Association. You are physically within Reston, but will not have access to the Reston Association pools (unless you pay the non-member pool fee), the early registration/discount on RA camps, etc.

Having looked at "SFH over 2500 sqft and not in Dogwood", I can say that this is a really good one. If you value a backyard with grass, you might want to jump on this one. If you'd rather a walk-out basement, expect a sloping backyard that is 100% forest (might not be, but more likely). Some homes (particularly contemporaries) have no basement at all, so at least this one has a finished rec room, etc.

Did you not like the house on Clipstone? It's a little higher price, but it does have the space + the walkout. Otherwise, 10710 Cross School would have been good, but it's gone now (went for $719K). But that gives you an idea on what else is there in that price range. I don't know what 10807 Cross School went for (pending).

Does your agent work with a large team and can give you access to "coming soon" properties?

Sorry, that should say "assuming it's the FORMER"...

This is awesome. Thank you all so much!

The south side is definitely more in line with our aesthetic preferences (woods and older contemporaries/colonials rather than big lawns and newer homes). There's a house in South Reston in Deepwood on Hunters Woods that meets almost all of our criteria (4BR colonial, big, wooded backyard with a trail directly behind it). The one thing it doesn't have is a walk out basement, which is big for us. Really torn about whether to put in an offer. The HOA fee seems outrageous ($135) but I think it's because Deepwood has a private pool. The pool is right behind the house, which could be great, or could be terrible depending on noise levels.

Any thoughts on whether we should hold off and wait for something with a lower level walkout that meets the other criteria or whether that's a unicorn and we should just settle for this one?

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Reston/11904-Triple-Crown-Rd-20191/home/9348010

Assuming it's the latter, any suggestions for family friendly, block party neighborhoods in South Reston with sidewalks and paths that we should be looking at? Open to all schools except Dogwood (i hate to exclude a school based on farms rates, but 85% is a bit much even for me).

Thanks!

spent six years in a single family home in south reston. twin branches and laywers road were near our back yard. not a whole lot of traffic noise

we had no cluster fees, but did have the RA fee.

all the pools to choose, lakes to use, paths to walk on. nice strong association that keeps the riff raff at bay.

I think there was a study once done that showed no one home was more than a mile from a pool, or 1/4 mile from a maintained path.

In Reston, you generally pay 1) HOA fees -- this covers your neighborhood cluster, ie snow removal, trash pick-up, lawncare, general pick-up of the neighborhood, and other items. This fee varies from cluster to cluster. it depends on how well your HOA manages money, but also if you have a deficit or surplus from the year/s prior. Then 2) you pay Reston Assn fees -- this is pool, tennis courts, trail.

There are different vibes between north and south. i live in north reston, but i really like south as well. north is newer and not as "forest-y." we use our paths ALL the time for walking, jogging and bike riding. we walk to giant, wine store, pizza place (north point). as for pools -- I've only been to 4 or 5 of them. they all seem kid friendly, but they have breaks for adults. i don't think there are any adult pools, but i'm not sure.

i was terrified to move so far out -- i lived in upper NW before, but i love reston. we've been here 10 years and plan to buy a home and plan to stay in the neighborhood.

The HOA fee for Reston is the same. Townhome clusters may have additional fees for maintaining common areas.

A good number of homes back to trails, but certainly not 50% or even 20%. So, sort of rare?

Depending on what you want in a neighborhood... some have block parties, some are quieter, some are full of kids and others have lots of original owners. It's less a north/south thing, and more specific to small groups of streets.

People definitely use the paths.

I can't help you with the last one. Some pools are used more than others though, so I'm sure noise levels vary.

I think I might love Reston. Considering two places, and wondering:

-why are the hoa fees so different (one is $100+ and the other is 50+)-- it seems like all of Reston pretty much uses the same amenities
-do homes that back to a trail come up fairly often or are they considered "rare"?
-are there any substantive pros or cons to North vs South Reston (other than schools) or one neighborhood over another?
-do the paths make Reston more walkable (to stores, schools, restaurants, etc) or do you really just end up driving everywhere?
-what's the noise level by the public pools?