Highlands Ranch

Highlands Ranch was first homes were built in the early 1980’s but was developed slow due to the lack of amenities. In 1985 the State finished C-470 and the area then started to expand rapidly. Masive growth began of the Next several years.

Properties in the area vary from modest home to high in homes. There are Parks, Golf Courses, and Community centers . Now Highlands Ranch contains four rec centers, and six high schools, and continues to grow.
Highlands Ranch has experienced growing pains. Traffic continues to be a major issue on the town's arteries as well as SH C-470. Developers have engaged in battles for water rights throughout Highlands Ranch.
Overall this a great community for raising a family. There are limited night life activities and the Shopping areas tend to be a commute.

Living in Highlands Ranch typically means several things: you're affluent, you've got kids, and you like to live with people who are just like yourself. While it may seem like I'm knocking it, I'm not. Highlands Ranch for several years running was one of the fastest growing areas in the nation. It's located just east of the foothills in a very beautiful area. The homes are mostly large and beautiful, although in many of the neighborhoods it's hard to tell one house from another. With the median income of over $120,000 and the median home price of over $300,000 it's not hard to see why the more affluent flock to this neck of the woods.

The area itself has over 8,000 acres of open space for hiking and outdoor use. Along the north side next to C-470 there is an incredible bike trail that goes from the foothills down into the somewhat distant town of Parker. There are four recreational facilities and 22 parks, some rather large with great playground equipment, ponds full of ducks, and baseball and soccer fields galore. Just a quick drive up C-470 will take you to the Rocky Mountains. Highlands Ranch is also located close to the Denver Tech Center which is home to many businesses and employment opportunities.

One significant drawback of the area is C-470. This highway gets so backed up at rush hour it can take 45 minutes to go 10 miles. As of now there is no plan to expand the highway so the traffic won't be changing anytime soon.

Located in this area are many restaurants and shopping places. One of Colorado's best malls, Park Meadows, lies just east of the Quebec border. While there are numerous restaurants in the area, the ones that tend to stand out are the chain ones, such as On the Border, Olive Garden, Tokyo Joe's, and the like. There are a few ethnic restaurants but they are not the majority.

The schools in the area are rated high both by independent surveys and those of community members. Most receive between 9 and 10 stars on a 1-10 star system. The majority of the schools are equipped with Macintosh computers, as these are seen as more 'high end.' One of the drawbacks are the number of kids in the classrooms so they rotate on a track system, but it seems to work.

If you don't mind living in a home that looks almost identical to your neighbor, you make pretty good bank, and you enjoy doing things outdoors, this may be the place for you. With the amount of growth seen here in the last ten years, can so many people be wrong?