Southern Highlands, NV
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What Southern Highlands is actually like
Southern Highlands traces to 1996, when the Bureau of Land Management began negotiating a land exchange with the Arizona-based Olympic Group; the first phase of that BLM swap closed in October 1996 and the second in April 1997, per Wikipedia's history of the development. Clark County commissioners gave tentative approval to the roughly 1,850-acre luxury master plan in May 1997. The project was originally marketed under an Olympic-themed name before the developer renamed it Southern Highlands after the U.S. Olympic Committee raised trademark concerns. By 2005 the community had grown to about 7,000 homes on its way to a county-approved cap of up to 10,400 homes and a developer-projected build-out population of roughly 17,500 -- figures from that era, not a current census count, since the Census Bureau doesn't tabulate Southern Highlands separately from the surrounding Enterprise, Nevada CDP (population 221,831 at the 2020 Census).
Today Southern Highlands is a gated, guard-patrolled master plan of custom and semi-custom homes, much of it built around the private Southern Highlands Golf Club and its Robert Trent Jones Sr./Jr.-designed course -- Jones Sr.'s final design, opened in 2000. The development sits entirely within unincorporated Clark County (in the Enterprise area), governed day to day by a homeowners' association rather than a city government. Over the years Las Vegas Review-Journal real estate coverage has logged home purchases and builds there by pro athletes and sports/casino figures, including Shaquille O'Neal, golfer Mark O'Meara, former Raiders head coach Jon Gruden, and casino executives Gavin Maloof and Bobby Baldwin -- part of why the community has a reputation as one of the valley's higher-end addresses. Public schools serving the community include Charles and Phyllis Frias, Dennis Ortwein, and Evelyn Stuckey elementary schools, all within Southern Highlands itself, plus Lois and Jerry Tarkanian Middle School and Desert Oasis High School nearby; the private Southern Highlands Preparatory School, on-site since August 2003, is also an option.
The master plan is built around its own internal infrastructure rather than a typical suburban grid: two retail centers (construction on the roughly $30 million Southern Highlands Marketplace began in 2003), a corporate office center, a fire station, a spa, multiple parks, and two on-site medical/urgent-care centers, per Wikipedia's summary of the community. Olympia Sports Park, a public county park with soccer fields and basketball courts, opened within the community in August 2018 after well-documented construction delays covered by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. A roughly $1 billion hotel-casino resort was proposed for the community's edge in 2005 by Olympic Gaming but was never built, leaving the M Resort -- just east on Las Vegas Boulevard at St. Rose Parkway -- as the nearest full resort.
Home values in Southern Highlands
Zillow doesn't maintain a distinct Home Value Index page for Southern Highlands by name -- its broader ZIP 89141 page, which mixes in other south-valley subdivisions, put the typical home value at $522,744 (down 3.9% year-over-year) as of July 31, 2026. Redfin does track "Southern Highlands, NV" by name: its median sale price for the three months ending July 2026 was $617,000, up 5.1% year-over-year -- a different methodology (sale price vs. Zillow's typical value estimate), so treat the two figures as not directly comparable.
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Explore Specialty Resources →Southern Highlands FAQ
Who developed Southern Highlands, and when did it start?
The Arizona-based Olympic Group began the project in 1996 with a Bureau of Land Management land exchange (completed in two phases, October 1996 and April 1997), and Clark County commissioners gave tentative approval to the roughly 1,850-acre master plan in May 1997. The community was renamed from an Olympic-themed working name to Southern Highlands after the U.S. Olympic Committee objected on trademark grounds.
Is Southern Highlands its own city?
No. It's unincorporated Clark County, within the Enterprise area south of the Las Vegas city line, so day-to-day governance runs through the county and the community's own homeowners' association rather than a city hall.
Can the public play the golf course?
No -- Southern Highlands Golf Club is a private, members-only 18-hole course. It opened in 2000 and was the final design credited to Robert Trent Jones Sr., co-designed with Robert Trent Jones Jr.; it's hosted PGA Tour events and annually hosts the Governor's Black Tie Invitational charity tournament, which raises more than $1 million a year for local causes.
What schools serve the neighborhood?
Clark County School District assigns Charles and Phyllis Frias, Dennis Ortwein, and Evelyn Stuckey elementary schools, all located inside Southern Highlands, with Lois and Jerry Tarkanian Middle School and Desert Oasis High School nearby. The private Southern Highlands Preparatory School has also operated on-site since August 2003.
How far is it to the Strip, and do you need a car?
Southern Highlands sits along I-15 at Cactus Avenue and St. Rose Parkway in the far south valley -- in the same stretch as the M Resort (8 miles south of the Strip on Las Vegas Boulevard) and neighboring Seven Hills (about 7 miles from the Strip), so figure roughly 8-12 miles and 20-30 minutes via I-15 depending on traffic. RTC Transit's Route 122 runs the St. Rose Parkway corridor at the community's edge, but there's no rail or dedicated transitway, so most residents drive.
Is there a casino or resort inside Southern Highlands?
Not currently. A roughly $1 billion hotel-casino was proposed for the community's edge in 2005 by Olympic Gaming but was never built. The closest resort is the M Resort Spa Casino, which opened in March 2009 just east of the community at Las Vegas Boulevard and St. Rose Parkway.