Overview
About Serrano Highlands
Serrano Highlands covers 75.2 acres and holds 622 homes on 29 streets, sixth highest home count of the fifty Lake Forest communities on this site. All 636 addresses sit on 173 parcels, a mix of attached and detached ownership. The zoning layer inside the boundary runs 23 acres of high density residential II, 10.4 of high density residential I, six acres of A1 agricultural and 5.2 of medium density residential.
The association runs five community pools, four tennis courts, a basketball court and a volleyball court, which is the largest set of shared pools of any Lake Forest community on this site. Irvine Ranch Water District supplies the water, street sweeping runs Thursday morning, and children go to Rancho Canada Elementary, Serrano Intermediate and El Toro High.
View available homes in Serrano HighlandsHistory
How Serrano Highlands was built
Serrano is the founding name of this ground. Jose Antonio Serrano received Rancho Canada de los Alisos, 10,668 acres, from Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado in 1842, and Pio Pico enlarged the grant in 1846. He married Maria Petra Avila, ran cattle for hides and tallow, and built five adobes on the rancho. One of them, put up around 1863, is still standing at Heritage Hill Historical Park, where it is preserved alongside the El Toro Grammar School of 1890, St George's Episcopal Mission of 1891 and the Harvey Bennett Ranch House of 1908.
Serrano Highlands holds 622 homes on 75 acres and 29 streets, sixth highest home count of the fifty Lake Forest communities on this site, with the build year layer placing it in the 1980s. Children go to Rancho Canada Elementary, Serrano Intermediate and El Toro High, three school names that between them carry the rancho, the grantee and the old town.
By the Numbers
Serrano Highlands by the numbers
Lifestyle
The Serrano Highlands lifestyle
Lake Forest keeps 31 parks open from dawn to dusk. The Lake Forest Sports Park and Recreation Center opened in November 2014 on 86 acres, with 57 of them given over to sports fields, and the city runs the largest free skatepark in Orange County at Etnies Skatepark.
Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park holds 1,575 acres of county open space against the north edge of the city, and the city's trail map carries 49 named trails.
Across the whole city the general plan sets 3,756 acres to residential use and 3,065 acres to open space and parks, which is why so much of Lake Forest reads as green from the ridgelines.
Schools
Schools serving Serrano Highlands
The City of Lake Forest property record names Rancho Canada Elementary for all 636 addresses in Serrano Highlands, with Serrano Intermediate for middle school and El Toro High for high school. There is no split at any level. All three are Saddleback Valley Unified campuses.
9-12 · 1,902 students
7-8 · 868 students
K-6 · 633 students
FAQs
Common questions about Serrano Highlands
How big is Serrano Highlands?
The community covers 75.2 acres on the city's published boundary, thirteenth largest of the fifty Lake Forest communities on this site, and holds 622 homes on 173 parcels across 29 streets. That home count ranks sixth.
Are there shared amenities?
Yes, more than anywhere else in the city. The city's recreation layer records five community pools inside the boundary, the largest count of any Lake Forest community on this site, alongside four tennis courts, one basketball court and one volleyball court.
When was Serrano Highlands laid out?
Five subdivision maps were recorded between October 29, 1981 and August 30, 1985, all five signed by licensed surveyor Tom R. McGannon. Three of them were cut directly out of lots on the first map, tract 11439.
Which schools serve Serrano Highlands?
The city's property record names Rancho Canada Elementary, Serrano Intermediate and El Toro High for all 636 addresses inside the boundary, with no split at any level. All three are Saddleback Valley Unified campuses.
What kind of housing is here?
The 636 addresses sit on 173 parcels, so the community mixes attached ownership with detached lots. The city zones 33.4 acres of the boundary in its two high density residential categories and 5.2 acres medium density.