Deephaven Realtor  ·  Carson’s Bay  ·  St. Louis Bay  ·  Cottagewood  ·  Lake Minnetonka

How This Town Started

The railway station borrowed a house name. In 1900 the village voted itself out of Excelsior Township.

Alice Burton suggested Deephaven for the railway station below the Burtons’ home Chimo on Carson’s Bay. The name stuck. Early land purchasers left bay namesakes, Albert Robinson for Robinson’s Bay, Elijah Carson for Carson’s Bay.

Resort years followed on those same bays. Hotel St. Louis opened on St. Louis Bay in 1879, and Gibson platted Deephaven Park lots around that boom. The hotel came down in 1907, so Walter Douglas built the Walden mansion on the old hotel grounds in 1910, then died on the Titanic in 1912, while Mahala Douglas kept living at Walden into the 1940s. The Burtons helped found the Minnetonka Yacht Club in that same era, which is why the club still sits in the town’s memory.

By 1900 the people here were ready to stand alone. A vote at Arthur Dyer’s Boat Works ran 39 to 7 to leave Excelsior Township and incorporate Cottagewood, Northome, and Summerville with Deephaven as the village, and Hazen Burton became the first mayor. What you’re buying now is that south-shore small city: three deep-cut bays, Cottagewood streets, and a school conversation that usually points to Minnetonka. Deephaven is its own city. It is not the City of Minnetonka and not Minnetonka Beach.

I tell south-shore buyers: if you want a denser Water Street night, Excelsior is the next town over. If you want quieter bay streets and a resident marina culture, Deephaven is often the fit.

Bays & Shoreline

Carson’s, St. Louis, and Robinson’s, three deep-cut bays, not one vague shore.

Deephaven sits on three deep-cut bays, and that’s how I walk it. Carson’s Bay is usually treated as all Deephaven water, city marina docks and buoys, and a public launch that stays open year-round. St. Louis Bay holds Deephaven Beach and the main marina; its public launch closes for swim season, roughly Memorial Day to Labor Day. Robinson’s Bay shares an edge with Woodland and carries Robinson’s Bay Beach.

The city sits around 2.3 square miles. I won’t invent shoreline miles. Excelsior, Greenwood, and Shorewood sit right on the daily map. If you say Deephaven, I want the bay or the Cottagewood block before we talk price. Same lake as Wayzata, quieter bay streets, different week-to-week feel.

St. Louis Bay is where the beach mood lives. Carson’s feels more marina and resident docks. Robinson’s is quieter and shares a line with Woodland. Same small city. Three different afternoons.

Neighborhoods & Housing

Cottagewood, Northome, Summerville, local names, not a formal catalog.

Locals still use Cottagewood, Northome, and Summerville. Deephaven Park shows up in the old plat story. There isn’t a formal HOA list I’ll recite. City Hall sits on Cottagewood Road. Population sits near 3,800 to 3,900 depending on the vintage.

Housing is largely residential on points and peninsulas. Owner-occupancy runs around nine in ten, denser owner stock than Wayzata. Expect older cottages updated over decades and rebuilds on tight lots. Survey median values for owner-occupied homes sit high; I treat them as shape.

Measure the walk or short drive to Excelsior for denser shopping before you decide the quiet is a feature or a friction.

Cottagewood still feels like cottage country even when the houses have been rebuilt. Northome and Summerville carry the same quiet. Walk a block before you decide from the listing photos alone.

Lake Access

Six beaches, two city marinas, and launches with a swim-season calendar.

Two city marinas sit on St. Louis Bay and Carson’s Bay. Together they hold about 312 craft across docks, buoys, slides, and racks. Buying a house still doesn’t automatically hand you a slip. There are term limits and fees, and we read the current marina sheet before anyone assumes.

Public launches: Carson’s Bay year-round; St. Louis Bay closes during swimming season because it sits by Deephaven Beach. Six beaches, three with lifeguards, Deephaven Beach on St. Louis Bay is the main one, with a swim dock, boardwalk, and parking. Robinson’s Bay Beach also has lifeguards. The park system runs about 76 acres, including Thorpe, Haralson near Village Hall, and Burton. The Lake Minnetonka Regional Trail passes through. We read the launch calendar before anyone banks on it.

People want to know if buying here gets them a slip. Short answer: not automatically. The marinas are resident programs with limits and fees. We read the sheet before anyone builds a summer plan on a hope.

Market Context

Three August sales. In a town this small, that can jump around.

Deephaven is a small city, so each month can look different from the last. In August 2026, three homes closed at a median sold price of $1,515,000. Over the prior twelve months, the median sold price was $1,265,000 across forty-three closings, a steadier read than a three-sale month. Figures from the Minneapolis Area REALTORS® monthly report, as of September 8, 2026.

I won’t dress up a short month as a trend. Your street and your bay get their own read. Wider lake reading: Lake Minnetonka weekly.

Sold Nov 2 to Nov 8, 2026

Deephaven this week

Two homes sold in my Deephaven search the week of Nov 2 to Nov 8, 2026, at a typical price of $2,549,750, from $1,204,500 to $3,895,000.

Updated November 8, 2026

From my weekly MLS update, the same week as the card above.

Deephaven listings this week

Changed this week (Nov 2 to Nov 8). These are the homes from my Deephaven MLS email of November 8 that were listed, relisted, changed price, went pending, sold, or came off the market. These are all 4 listings it sent. Some carry a neighboring town's mailing address.

• 3845 Northome Road, Deephaven, MINNESOTA, MN 55391$7,200,000 · 4 beds · 5 baths · 4,380 sq ft · $1644 per square foot · Off market
• 3350 Northome Road, Deephaven, MINNESOTA, MN 55391$3,895,000 · 4 beds · 4 baths · 4,370 sq ft · $891 per square foot · Sold
• 18930 Azure Road, Deephaven, MINNESOTA, MN 55391$1,250,000 · 5 beds · 4 baths · 3,840 sq ft · $326 per square foot · Went pending
• 3455 Montgomerie Avenue, Wayzata, MINNESOTA, MN 55391$1,204,500 · 5 beds · 4 baths · 2,595 sq ft · $464 per square foot · Sold

From my November 8 MLS email.

Schools & Daily Life

Minnetonka Schools are the usual path, Deephaven Elementary on Vine Hill.

Deephaven addresses typically track Minnetonka Public Schools, ISD 276. Deephaven Elementary sits at 4452 Vine Hill Road. That feed often goes to Minnetonka Middle School East, then Minnetonka High School on Highway 7. City name is not automatic; I check the parcel.

Daily life runs toward bay beaches, Cottagewood streets, the parks, the regional trail, and short drives into Excelsior. The Minnetonka Yacht Club sits in the historic narrative, place context, not a membership pitch. Deephaven Beach on an ordinary weekday, Haralson Park by Village Hall, the regional trail for a bike loop into Excelsior. That’s the daily texture. Parents care about Deephaven Elementary by name more than they care about the district number. Fair. We still match the address to the feed before anyone decides.

Next Step

If Deephaven is on your mind, call or text.

I answer 952-258-3100 myself. Tell me whether you mean Cottagewood, Carson’s Bay, or St. Louis Bay, and whether a city marina slip or a swim-season launch calendar is part of the plan. We’ll sort the map before we talk price. If you’re comparing Deephaven to Excelsior, say so. Same shore belt. Different daily texture.