Highlands by the Lake is a gated single-residential community in the Lakeland Highlands area south of Lakeland, in Polk County, ZIP 33813, set around Clark Lake along Highlands By The Lake Way and Lake Clark Drive (neighborhoods.com and Lakeland-area real estate guides, 2026). Community guides describe it as an established neighborhood that dates back to about 2000 with construction largely completed in the early 2000s, so confirm the exact build year for any specific home.
Local guides describe the community as roughly one hundred or so traditional homes, generally larger floor plans, with reported sizes spanning around 2,300 to about 4,400 square feet and three to five bedrooms (neighborhoods.com, 2026). Confirm the exact size, bedroom count, and lot for any specific address, since an established community like this carries a real range of plans and updates.
Because this is one gated community rather than a master plan, the money is made or lost on the lot and the home, not the address. The drivers are whether the lot fronts Clark Lake, the size and condition of the home and its roof and systems, and the health of the HOA behind the shared pool and tennis courts. Read those, plus the dues and what they include, from the current HOA documents and the listing.
The pitch is a gated, lake-oriented address in the established Lakeland Highlands area: Lakeland Highlands Road, the Polk Parkway, and the shops and dining along South Florida Avenue are a reasonable drive, with downtown Lakeland and the I-4 corridor to Tampa and Orlando reachable from there. The work is the diligence: confirm the HOA, read the lake and flood picture per address, and price the home condition before you buy the gate and the view.
