Willowbrook is the residential area that climbs the wooded hillside above Silverthorne, off Willowbrook Road between town and the Arapaho National Forest. It isn't one subdivision but a cluster of pockets, Willowbrook Meadows, Bear Claw, Coyotes Den, and, at the top of the road, the luxury custom-home enclave of Willow Creek Highlands. The national forest is the back fence for the upper end of the area, and the Willow Creek Trailhead sits up in the highlands.
At the top of the road, the trailhead is in the neighborhood and the forest starts at the back fence.
Willow Creek Highlands, the enclave at the top
Willow Creek Highlands is the newer, higher neighborhood that sits above the larger Willowbrook Meadows, between Willowbrook and public land, with the Eagles Nest golf community to the north across Willow Creek. Its roughly eighty-six homes are larger and more custom than the ones below, on steeper and bigger lots reached by curving roads, and some sites sit right on Willow Creek. The draw is the combination of seclusion and access: the enclave backs to the Arapaho National Forest, the Willow Creek Trailhead is in its center, and from there a network of trails runs out to the Gore Range Trail, the Mesa Cortina Trail, and on toward Willow Lake and its falls. The views, south-facing and open, reach Buffalo Mountain, the Gore Range, and the Williams Fork range.
In town, with Silverthorne's rules
Willowbrook is inside the Town of Silverthorne, which shapes the closing and the rental picture. The town levies a real estate transfer tax, so confirm the rate at closing, and it caps short-term rentals by zone. As a residential area, Willowbrook falls in the town's Area 1, where STR licenses are held to roughly ten percent of the homes in each neighborhood, so a rental license is tightly limited and often waitlisted, the license doesn't transfer when a home sells, and the HOA may layer on its own rules. Confirm the neighborhood cap, the waitlist, and the covenants for the specific home.
The setting is forested wildland-urban interface, backing directly to national forest with the conifer and aspen fuel loading common to the Gore Range front, so wildfire is a real and manageable part of owning here, worth confirming with defensible space at the parcel. What you get for it's a quiet, view-rich hillside a few minutes from Silverthorne's shops, restaurants, and outlet stores. For a buyer who wants a custom home against the forest without leaving town behind, Willowbrook, and Willow Creek Highlands at its top, makes the case.
Common questions about Willowbrook real estate
What is Willowbrook?
Willowbrook is an established residential area on the wooded hillside above Silverthorne, off Willowbrook Road between town and the Arapaho National Forest. It isn't one subdivision but a cluster of pockets, running from Willowbrook Meadows up to the luxury custom-home enclave of Willow Creek Highlands at the top of the road.
What is Willow Creek Highlands?
Willow Creek Highlands is Willowbrook's scarce luxury tier: about eighty-six larger custom single-family homes on steeper, bigger, wooded lots than the neighborhoods below, many backing directly to the Arapaho National Forest, with the Willow Creek Trailhead at its center and long south-facing views to Buffalo Mountain and the Gore Range.
Can you short-term rent in Willowbrook?
Willowbrook sits inside the Town of Silverthorne Area 1, where short-term-rental licenses are capped at 10 percent of the units in each neighborhood. Licenses were still available in Area 1 as of early 2026, but the license is non-transferable on sale, so a new owner must apply fresh and may face a waitlist if the neighborhood cap is reached.
Does Willowbrook have trail access?
Yes. The Willow Creek Trailhead sits in the center of the Willow Creek Highlands enclave, with a trail network running out to the Gore Range Trail, the Mesa Cortina Trail, and on toward Willow Lake. Some homesites sit right on Willow Creek, and the forest-backing lots put national-forest trails at the door.