Hillsborough

Living in Hillsborough

Hillsborough is a town built on topography and tradition. Set across rolling hills between Burlingame and San Mateo, its winding roads climb through stands of eucalyptus and Monterey pine to reveal estates that range from 1920s English Tudors and Norman chateaux to contemporary glass pavilions with unobstructed views of the San Francisco Bay. There is no commercial district, no apartment building, no sidewalk. Every parcel is residential, and the minimum lot size of half an acre ensures that the landscape remains one of gardens, mature canopy, and architectural statement.

The town's most iconic landmark is Carolands Chateau, a 98-room Beaux-Arts mansion modeled after Vaux-le-Vicomte and completed in 1916. It speaks to the scale of ambition that has always defined Hillsborough, a place where San Francisco's founding families built country retreats and where subsequent generations of tech and finance leaders have continued the tradition. The Crystal Springs Reservoir, visible from many upper-elevation properties, provides a dramatic natural backdrop and miles of adjacent trail access along the watershed.

The Hillsborough City School District serves a small, tightly knit student population with consistently high academic outcomes, feeding into San Mateo Union High School District and its flagship, Burlingame High School. For families seeking a combination of architectural grandeur, genuine acreage, and proximity to both SFO and the Peninsula's commercial centers, Hillsborough delivers a standard of living that few communities on the West Coast can match.