Highlands Ranch

Highlands Ranch

Highlands Ranch is a 22,000-acre master-planned community that was founded in 1981 after the area was purchased by the Mission Viejo Company (which was later purchased by Shea Homes). It is located 12 miles south of Denver in Douglas County and is an unincorporated community governed by the Highlands Ranch Metro District Board of Directors. The community has a population of 105,500 residents and has just slightly more than 31,500 homes. 61% of the community is devoted to non-urban uses such as open space and recreation locations while business use is limited to just 8%. The community boasts more than 2,000 acres of open space, 70 miles of trails, 16 neighborhood parks, three community parks, one large regional park, four large recreations centers and two 18-hole golf courses. Highlands Ranch residents also get to enjoy exclusive access to the Highland Ranch background that includes an extensive trail system through the area’s 8,200 acres of conservation space. The area is conveniently located near I-25, C-470 and E-470 for quick commutes into Denver and the surrounding cities and convenient access to many of the metro area’s major attractions and business locations such as the Denver Tech Center, Park Meadows Mall, Cherry Creek Shopping Center, Chatfield Reservoir, downtown Denver, Coors Field and Empower Field at Mile High. The community resides within the boundaries of the Douglas County School District. Home values have been rising quickly. In 2021, the median price for homes that closed in the last quarter of the year was $639,000, up 19.4% year-over-year. Learn more about Highlands here.