Overview
About Forster Highlands
Forster Highlands covers 215.1 acres and holds 619 addresses on 746 parcels, at a median parcel of 0.162 acres. That makes it the sixth largest of the fifty San Clemente communities mapped here by area and the fourth by address count. Thirty two streets run inside it, led by Camino Forestal with 59 addresses, then Costero Risco, Calle Polvorosa and Camino Marinero.
Residential Low Density land accounts for 94.8 acres inside the boundary, private open space for 74.3 and public right of way for 37.7. The whole boundary lies inside the Forster Ranch Specific Plan area. The state fire hazard severity map places 209.9 acres in its Moderate class and only 5.2 in High. Capistrano Unified's own school locator returned San Clemente High, Bernice Ayer Middle and Truman Benedict Elementary at all five interior points tested.
View available homes in Forster HighlandsHistory
How Forster Highlands was built
Forster Highlands is the high ground of Forster Ranch and one of the last parts of it to go up. The city's final large amendment to the ranch plan, in 1998, was written for Laing Forster Ranch LLC, the owner of what was still undeveloped, and it capped the homes still to come on the eastern side of the property at 1,617, moved all of that housing to the western slope of the ridgeline that runs north to south through the ranch, and set the far side of the ridge aside for commercial and open space use. The houses followed at once. The San Angelo neighborhood inside the Highlands was built by John Laing Homes between 2000 and 2002, the same Laing company the city plan names as the landowner. Writing in 2009, the Orange County Register recorded that Forster Ranch added the Highlands in the early 2000s and that local agents had called the area Marbrisa before the Forster name settled on it.
The streets say what people were buying. Where the older part of Forster Ranch took its names from cattle work, the Highlands took theirs from the ocean and the outlook: Aire De La Sal, Camino Marinero, Costa Espuma, Costa Maritima, Colina Pacifica, Camino Del Vistazo and Camino Cresta. The ground here sits high enough on the ridge to see the Pacific and to catch the onshore wind that the lower streets miss.
By the Numbers
Forster Highlands by the numbers
Lifestyle
The Forster Highlands lifestyle
San Clemente keeps ten beaches of its own along the shore, from North Beach past the pier to Riviera, and the city's Marine Safety division staffs them. The pier itself carries restrooms, metered parking, fire rings and the Amtrak and Metrolink platform at its foot.
The city publishes five trail networks that run from the sand up into the canyons and along the ridgelines. Bikes are welcome on all of them, electric bikes are not allowed on the Beach Trail, dogs are welcome on a leash, and horses are permitted on the Forster Ridgeline, Prima Deshecha and Cristianitos trails. City parks are open from 6 am to 10 pm without a reservation unless a group needs a permit.
Schools
Schools serving Forster Highlands
Capistrano Unified assigns Forster Highlands to San Clemente High, Bernice Ayer Middle and Truman Benedict Elementary. The district's own school locator returned the same assignment at every point tested inside the boundary, and enrollment comes from the federal count for 2024-25.
9-12 · 2,740 students
6-8 · 919 students
K-5 · 602 students
FAQs
Common questions about Forster Highlands
How big is Forster Highlands?
The boundary the city publishes covers 215.1 acres, with 619 addresses on 746 parcels at a median of 0.162 acres. It is the sixth largest of the fifty San Clemente communities mapped here by area and the fourth by address count.
Which schools serve Forster Highlands?
Capistrano Unified's school locator returned San Clemente High, Bernice Ayer Middle and Truman Benedict Elementary at all five points tested inside the boundary. Confirm the assignment for a specific address with the district before you rely on it.
When was Forster Highlands recorded?
Tract 15833 was recorded in 1999 and seven more, Tracts 15561, 15562, 15862, 15863, 15864, 15865 and 15866, in 2000. All eight were prepared by Hunsaker and Associates.
Who developed Forster Highlands?
The 1998 amendment to the Forster Ranch Specific Plan was written for Laing Forster Ranch LLC, which held the undeveloped parts of the ranch at the time, and the maps here were recorded in the two years that followed.
What is the fire hazard rating?
209.9 acres sit in the state's Moderate fire hazard severity class and 5.2 in High. Raise it with an insurer early.