Highlands, CA

Highlands is a small San Mateo County census-designated place in the hills near the Peninsula's open-space and reservoir country. It is known for scenic views and proximity to Sawyer Camp Trail, while the Cahill Ridge of Montara Mountain gives the wider area a rugged coastal-range backdrop. The Highlands Recreation District, formed in 1957, adds a local civic layer. This is a residential hillside community, close to larger Peninsula cities but defined more by landscape and trails than by a downtown.