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Discovery Hill
Discovery Hill is the newest of the larger Highlands filings and the one with the biggest homes on average. About 62 parcels, built from 2003 into the 2020s with a median year of 2010, which puts it roughly a decade newer than the Golf Course filing. Sold homes run from about 3,500 to 7,900 square feet, with the middle half between roughly 4,100 and 5,100 and a median near 4,700. Bedroom counts reach seven, the highest in the community, and 3-car garages dominate.
Written by Tucker Zimmerman, Associate Broker with Slifer Smith & Frampton, a Summit County Realtor since 2017 who focuses on luxury real estate in Breckenridge, including the Highlands at Breckenridge.
More about Tucker.
Quick Take
Discovery Hill is where the Highlands is newest and largest. If you want a big, relatively modern home with features like an elevator and dual primary suites, and you're comfortable driving everywhere, this is the filing.
It's also the one least likely to hand you deferred maintenance in the first few years of ownership. For a second home that sits empty part of the year, that's worth real money.
The Homes
Discovery Hill is the newest of the larger Highlands filings and the one with the biggest homes on average. About 62 parcels, built from 2003 into the 2020s with a median year of 2010, which puts it roughly a decade newer than the Golf Course filing. Sold homes run from about 3,500 to 7,900 square feet, with the middle half between roughly 4,100 and 5,100 and a median near 4,700. Bedroom counts reach seven, the highest in the community, and 3-car garages dominate.
Addresses concentrate on Discovery Hill Drive, with Gold Run Road and Hamilton Court making up most of the rest.
The newer build era is the real story. More current mechanical systems and building envelopes matter a lot for a home that sits empty through shoulder season, and it's the kind of advantage that shows up in inspection reports rather than photographs.
How These Homes Are Built
A few things recur across listings here that you don't see as often elsewhere in the Highlands: elevators, walk-out basements, dual primary suites, dual laundry, and oversized 3-car garages.
The elevators are the detail I'd pay attention to. These are multi-level homes built into a hillside, and an elevator is what keeps a vertical floor plan workable over time, especially at this elevation and especially if the plan is to keep the home for a while. It's also a mechanical system, so it gets inspected and maintained like one.
Dual primary suites and dual laundry tell you these homes were designed for extended family or two couples sharing, which is a common way second homes in Summit County actually get used. If that's your plan, this filing is built for it more than most.
What to Check
At a median build year of 2010, most of Discovery Hill hasn't hit its first major replacement cycle yet. That's a genuine advantage over the older filings and it should show up in the inspection.
The filing does run from 2003 into the 2020s, so the oldest homes here are now past twenty years and the newest are nearly new. Confirm the specific year rather than assuming the whole filing is new, because the spread is wide enough to matter.
The other thing to be clear-eyed about: this is firmly car-oriented. Nothing in the Highlands is walkable to Main Street, and Discovery Hill isn't the closest filing to town. If you want to walk to dinner, this isn't the neighborhood, and no amount of square footage fixes that.
Interested in Discovery Hill? This is the filing where newer construction genuinely changes the ownership math. I'm happy to walk you through what that's worth compared with buying older and updating. 303-907-9129 or TZimmerman@SliferSummit.com
Short-Term Rentals
The Highlands sits inside Town of Breckenridge limits, so the town's short-term rental licensing program and its zone-based caps govern nightly rentals rather than county rules. Covenants in the individual filings can restrict rentals further, and in a single-family golf community those rules are often stricter than buyers expect. Confirm current license availability for the specific parcel and read the filing's covenants before counting on rental income. Start with the Breckenridge short-term rental rules. The zone that applies to a specific parcel can be looked up on the Town of Breckenridge short-term rental zone map.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- The newest of the larger Highlands filings, with a median build year around 2010
- The largest homes on average, with bedroom counts up to seven
- Elevators, walk-out basements, dual primary suites and dual laundry are common
- Oversized 3-car garages dominate
- Less likely to carry near-term deferred maintenance than the older filings
- Single-family throughout on its own lots
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Things to Consider
- Firmly car-oriented, with nothing walkable from the neighborhood
- Not the closest filing to Breckenridge
- Large homes carry higher heating, upkeep and snow-management costs
- The build range spans 2003 into the 2020s, so verify the specific year
- An elevator is a mechanical system that needs inspection and maintenance
- Town STR rules and filing covenants may limit nightly rentals
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The Other Highlands Filings
The Highlands at Breckenridge is not one neighborhood. It is a golf community made up of separate filings, each with its own character, lot sizes and build era. All of them are single-family.
- Highlands at Breckenridge – the parent community and the largest single filing at about 311 parcels.
- Highlands at Breckenridge Golf Course – about 52 parcels, built 1996 to 2017, homes around 3,943 square feet.
- Highlands Park – about 108 parcels, built 2001 to 2022, homes around 4,702 square feet.
- Braddock Hill – about 34 parcels, built 2000 to 2018, homes around 4,538 square feet.
- Gold Run – about 26 parcels, built 2005 to 2021, homes around 3,991 square feet.
- Fox Crossing – about 11 parcels, built 1998 to 2008, homes around 4,168 square feet.
- Highlands Glen – about 7 parcels, built 2006 to 2014, homes around 5,498 square feet.
- Discovery Ridge – about 12 parcels, built 2006 to 2019, homes around 4,880 square feet.
- Willow Run – about 4 parcels, built 2002 to 2018, homes around 4,464 square feet.
- The Crescent – about 12 parcels, built 2004 to 2008, homes around 3,335 square feet.
FAQs
How many homes are in Discovery Hill?
County parcel records show about 62 parcels, all single-family.
How large are Discovery Hill homes?
Most fall between roughly 4,100 and 5,100 square feet with a median near 4,700, and the full range runs from about 3,500 to 7,900. Bedroom counts run four to seven, the highest in the Highlands.
Is Discovery Hill newer than the rest of the Highlands?
Yes. Sold homes date from 2003 into the 2020s with a median year of 2010, roughly a decade newer than the Golf Course filing.
Do homes here have elevators?
Several do. These are multi-level homes built into a hillside, and elevators show up repeatedly in the listing record along with walk-out basements, dual primary suites and dual laundry.
Where is it?
Addresses concentrate on Discovery Hill Drive, with Gold Run Road and Hamilton Court accounting for most of the rest.
About Tucker Zimmerman
Tucker Zimmerman is an Associate Broker with Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate and has been a licensed Realtor in Summit County, Colorado since 2017. His focus is luxury real estate in Breckenridge and Summit County, including the Highlands at Breckenridge and the other high-end neighborhoods where golf, ski and trail access drive value. He works with buyers and sellers across Breckenridge, Frisco, Silverthorne, Dillon, Keystone, and Copper Mountain. Read Tucker's full bio.
Related Resources
Local and Government Resources
This page is intended as a local real estate reference. Covenants, HOA rules, rental restrictions, golf club membership terms and pricing can change and vary by parcel. Confirm current details before making a purchase decision.
