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san bruno neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Pacific Heights & Portola Highlands, San Bruno Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
San Bruno west of Skyline Boulevard: Pacific Heights from 1959 to 1963, the 1960s Portola Highlands streets off Sneath Lane, newer tracts by Skyline College, and a trail up Sweeney Ridge.
Pacific Heights & Portola Highlands by the numbers
pacific heights & portola highlands by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Pacific Heights & Portola Highlands (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in pacific heights & portola highlands · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Pacific Heights & Portola Highlands
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Pacific Heights & Portola Highlands from the MLS, updated automatically, with a map of the neighborhood outline.
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Listings come from MLSListings and other MLSs through IDX and show their listing brokerage; confirm details with the listing agent. The map outline is the neighborhood boundary used by our listing search (Pacific Heights & Portola Highlands (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Pacific Heights & Portola Highlands came to be
Everything San Bruno has west of Skyline Boulevard sits on the lower slopes of Sweeney Ridge, and it filled in over about sixty years. Pacific Heights came first: eight recorded units whose houses carry years built from 1959 to 1963 in county records, on both sides of Sharp Park Road and south along College Drive. Portola Highlands followed farther down Skyline, off Sneath Lane, in six units dated 1963 to 1967. Its street signs double as a quiz on California counties: Lassen, Del Norte, Tulare, Merced, Tehama, Amador, Monterey, Yolo, Yuba, Colusa, Inyo, Plumas, Mendocino, Sonoma, Siskiyou, Stanislaus, Trinity.
Skyline College opened in fall 1969 on a 111-acre site west of Skyline Boulevard and south of Sharp Park Road; it is a public community college of the San Mateo County Community College District, at 3300 College Drive. The city's General Plan expected former Skyline College land to become single-family neighborhoods, and the newest tracts sit beside the campus: College Heights on Goodwin Drive (2000 to 2002), Marisol (2004), whose streets are named for seas (Adriatic, Aegean, Bering, Timor), and Skyline Ridge on Miraluna Drive and Miraluna Way (2019). Sea Cliff, on Sea Cliff Way and Spyglass Drive north of Sharp Park Road, dates from 1980.
The ridge above is federal parkland. The National Park Service's Sneath Lane trail starts at the end of Sneath Lane and climbs 1.8 miles and about 600 feet on asphalt to the crest of Sweeney Ridge, where you can head south to the Portola Discovery Site or north to the former radar control site of Nike missile site SF-51. The General Plan notes a second way up from Skyline College.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
Pacific Heights spreads across both sides of Sharp Park Road. Pacific Heights Boulevard, Coronado Way, Colby Way, Madera Way, Elston Drive and Summit Road climb from Skyline; Chilton Lane, Moulton Drive, Exeter Drive, Sunset Drive and Ysabel Drive run along the west side toward the Pacifica line; Geoffrey, Fasman and Susan Drives sit near Skyline and College Drive. South of College Drive, units 7 and 8 add Allen Drive, Ross Way, Castleton Way, Emaron Drive and Longview Drive, with College Heights on Goodwin Drive. County records put about 780 houses in the Pacific Heights units, median lot about 5,500 square feet.
Portola Highlands has about 510 houses, median lot about 5,900 square feet. South of Sneath Lane, Amador Avenue and Monterey Drive feed parallel Lake, Lassen, Del Norte, Tulare and Merced Drives and Tehama Court, with Portola Elementary in the middle at 300 Amador Avenue. North of Sneath Lane, the amended map for unit 4 lines up courts named for counties (Yolo, Yuba, Colusa, Inyo, Plumas, Mendocino, Sonoma, San Joaquin, Siskiyou, Stanislaus, Trinity), plus Santa Barbara Place, Alameda Place and Riverside Drive, up to Moreland Drive.
The houses are zoned R-1. Newer tracts use smaller lots: Marisol's 115 houses have a median lot of about 4,600 square feet and Skyline Ridge's 40 about 3,600; Sea Cliff's 65 houses sit on lots of about 9,700. Two apartment properties sit off Susan Drive near Skyline. Change is mostly lot by lot; the city's 2026 development list shows an SB 9 lot-split application on Goodwin Drive.
streets in pacific heights & portola highlands
- Pacific Heights Boulevard
- Sharp Park Road
- College Drive
- Coronado Way
- Colby Way
- Madera Way
- Elston Drive
- Summit Road
- Chilton Lane
- Moulton Drive
- Exeter Drive
- Sunset Drive
- Ysabel Drive
- Geoffrey Drive
- Fasman Drive
- Susan Drive
- Sea Cliff Way
- Spyglass Drive
- Allen Drive
- Ross Way
- Castleton Way
- Emaron Drive
- Longview Drive
- Goodwin Drive
- Adriatic Way
- Aegean Way
- Bering Drive
- Timor Court
- Miraluna Drive
- Miraluna Way
- Sneath Lane
- Amador Avenue
- Monterey Drive
- Lake Drive
- Lassen Drive
- Del Norte Drive
- Tulare Drive
- Merced Drive
- Tehama Court
- Moreland Drive
- Riverside Drive
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Pacific Heights & Portola Highlands
- park
Sweeney Ridge (Golden Gate National Recreation Area)
The Sneath Lane trailhead is about 0.1 to 1.5 miles straight-line from homes here; the trail allows hiking, biking and leashed dogs, and the ridge has a vault toilet but no running water (National Park Service).
- park
Pacific Heights Park
A 5-acre city park on Goodwin and Longview Drives (2025 city inventory and county parcel records).
- park
Ponderosa Tot Lot
A 0.7-acre city tot lot (2025 inventory) on a Sea Cliff tract parcel north of Sharp Park Road.
- landmark
Skyline College
Public community college at 3300 College Drive, open since 1969 on a 111-acre site; its parking areas also give access to the Sweeney Ridge trails (General Plan).
- shopping
Grocery at San Bruno Avenue and Skyline
The grocery store at 2801 San Bruno Avenue at Skyline Boulevard is about 0.4 to 2.1 miles straight-line; shops along Westborough Boulevard in South San Francisco are a similar distance north.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
On Census school-district maps, nearly every home here is in the San Bruno Park School District (K-8) and the San Mateo Union High School District. Portola Elementary (San Bruno Park SD, 300 Amador Avenue) sits in the middle of Portola Highlands. The 40 Skyline Ridge homes on Miraluna Drive and Miraluna Way, and the Skyline College campus, fall in the Pacifica School District and the Jefferson Union High School District on the same maps. Skyline College is a public community college. Attendance areas change, so check the exact address with the district.
San Bruno guide: school districts · San Mateo Union High guide
Getting around
- SamTrans route 141 runs between South San Francisco's Airport/Linden stop and Skyline College, with stops on Sneath Lane (including Sneath Lane at Colusa Court) and at San Bruno BART.
- San Bruno BART is about 2.0 to 3.1 miles straight-line, South San Francisco BART about 2.2 to 3.2 miles and San Bruno Caltrain about 2.1 to 3.3 miles straight-line.
- Skyline Boulevard (SR 35) is the east edge; Sharp Park Road crosses the north end toward Pacifica.
- I-280's Westborough Boulevard ramps are about 0.9 to 1.8 miles straight-line; the San Bruno Avenue and Sneath Lane ramps, with I-380 toward SFO, about 1.1 to 2.5 miles.
- Trailheads to Sweeney Ridge: the end of Sneath Lane, and Skyline College's parking areas.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Pacific Heights & Portola Highlands: what we check
Buying here
- Fire zones vary by street. On the State Fire Marshal's 2025 Local Responsibility Area maps, Portola Highlands' Lake, Lassen, Del Norte, Tulare, Merced, Monterey and Amador streets are largely Very High, Longview Drive and the county-name courts largely High, and the Pacific Heights core mostly non-wildland; about a quarter of all houses here map Very High. Check the parcel.
- Fault zone: the state's Alquist-Priolo zone for the San Andreas fault touches about 85 house lots here, mainly on Longview Drive, the county-name courts north of Sneath Lane, Moreland Drive and Susan Drive. Check the parcel on the state's EQ Zapp map.
- Landslides: about 200 house lots sit in state earthquake-induced landslide zones, notably along Longview, Lassen, Goodwin, Merced, Monterey and Del Norte and parts of Sea Cliff and Spyglass. The city's residential permit application asks for average slope when setting maximum floor area, so plan hillside additions with a geotechnical opinion.
- Flood maps: FEMA shows Zone D, possible but undetermined flood hazard, on about 200 parcels, mainly Spyglass, Sunset, Exeter, Chilton, Moulton, Ysabel and Highland. Ask your insurance agent how it affects a quote.
- Skyline Ridge (Miraluna Drive and Way): confirm the Pacifica School District and Jefferson Union assignment with the districts, and read the title report for any recorded restrictions.
Selling here
- Name the recorded unit (Pacific Heights No. 1 to 8, Portola Highlands No. 1 to 6, Sea Cliff, Marisol and so on), year built and lot size; lots here range from about 3,600 square feet at Skyline Ridge to about 9,700 at Sea Cliff.
- Order the natural hazard disclosure early: fire zone, fault zone, landslide zone and FEMA Zone D status change street by street west of Skyline.
- Show permits for additions; second-story projects go through the city's residential planning review, which asks how the upper floor meets daylight-plane or facade-articulation options in the city's residential design guidelines.
- In Portola Highlands' Very High fire zone, document vegetation clearance and any permitted roof, vent or siding upgrades.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Pacific Heights & Portola Highlands questions, answered
Are Pacific Heights and Portola Highlands the same neighborhood?
They are separate recorded tracts (Pacific Heights 1959 to 1963, Portola Highlands 1963 to 1967) and separate listing areas, side by side west of Skyline Boulevard and meeting around Longview and Moreland Drives. This guide covers both, plus the newer tracts near the college.
Which school district serves Pacific Heights?
Nearly all homes are in the San Bruno Park School District and the San Mateo Union High School District on Census maps, with Portola Elementary in Portola Highlands. Skyline Ridge on Miraluna Drive and Miraluna Way is in Pacifica SD and Jefferson Union HSD. Check the exact address with the district.
How do you get onto Sweeney Ridge from here?
Walk or drive to the end of Sneath Lane and take the Sneath Lane trail, 1.8 miles and about 600 feet up to the ridge crest (National Park Service), or start from Skyline College's parking areas.
What is the land west of Portola Highlands?
Federal parkland on Sweeney Ridge and the City and County of San Francisco's jail property, which the General Plan describes as reached by an access road from Moreland Drive; south of the city line is San Francisco watershed land.
What are the newest homes here?
Skyline Ridge on Miraluna Drive and Miraluna Way (40 houses, 2019), Marisol (115 houses, 2004) and College Heights on Goodwin Drive (30 houses, 2000 to 2002), per county records.
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