Forest Hill and Westover Hills are two adjacent residential neighborhoods on Richmond's south bank, tied together by 1920s-1940s housing stock, the James River park system, and a strong neighborhood identity that has drawn renovation-minded buyers over the past decade. Forest Hill sits west of Forest Hill Avenue and centers on the large urban park that gives it its name; Westover Hills sits just to its east, closer to the river bluffs and the 22nd Street Bridge. Most buyers shopping one end up touring the other, because the housing era, the lifestyle, and the park access are so closely shared. This guide walks through where each sits, the housing stock, the park system, schools, and how the two compare.
Where Forest Hill and Westover Hills Sit on the Map
Both neighborhoods sit on the south bank of the James River, in the section of Richmond commonly referred to as Southside. Forest Hill is generally west of Forest Hill Avenue, the corridor that doubles as the neighborhood's commercial spine and a primary north-south connector through the southwestern part of the city. Westover Hills sits immediately to the east, between Forest Hill and the river bluffs, with Westover Hills Boulevard as its central residential street.
The two neighborhoods are walking-distance neighbors. A resident on one of the eastern Forest Hill blocks can be on Westover Hills Boulevard in five or ten minutes on foot. From either, the commute into downtown Richmond runs across one of three bridges — the 22nd Street Bridge to the east, the Boulevard Bridge a bit further west, or the Manchester Bridge if you swing east first. On a typical morning the drive lands in the ten-to-fifteen-minute range, depending on bridge and route.
East of Westover Hills, you cross into Woodland Heights and eventually toward Manchester. West of Forest Hill, the neighborhood transitions into Stratford Hills. If you are exploring the best neighborhoods in Richmond, these two together represent one of the most established Southside residential offerings — a real alternative to the row-house density of the Fan and the Museum District.
Forest Hill
Forest Hill's defining amenity is its park, and the neighborhood is essentially organized around it. Forest Hill Park is a large urban park — roughly one hundred and five acres — that occupies the western portion of the neighborhood and serves as the daily backyard for thousands of households. It has a layered history: an amusement park in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with traces remaining in the Forest Hill Park Carousel (a restored historic carousel that still operates seasonally), the lake, the dam, and old pavilion ruins along the trails.
Today the park functions as a working neighborhood park with walking and running trails, a playground, picnic shelters, and connecting paths down toward the James River Park System lands at Reedy Creek. For residents, it is part of the daily rhythm — morning runs, dog walks, after-work loops, and seasonal events all happen here.
Forest Hill Avenue is the neighborhood's commercial spine. It is not a dense restaurant row the way Cary Street is in the Fan, but it carries a meaningful concentration of small shops, coffee houses, restaurants, and neighborhood services. The Stir Crazy Cafe area is a recognizable anchor, and the corridor has developed steadily over the past decade.
Lot sizes here are modest by suburban standards but generous by Fan or Museum District standards — many homes sit on lots with real front yards, real back yards, and mature street trees. Detached single-family homes are the norm, a meaningful structural difference from the row-house neighborhoods north of the river. Neighborhood identity is strong, with a seasonal farmers market in the park and community events tied back to it.
Westover Hills
Westover Hills sits immediately east of Forest Hill, occupying the section of Southside between Forest Hill Avenue and the river bluffs that drop down toward the James. The housing stock is similar in era — predominantly 1920s through 1940s — but the architectural mix is generally a step more varied. Larger Colonial Revivals, more substantial Tudors, and some genuinely impressive period homes appear on streets closer to the river. Lots tend to be a bit larger in places, and the topography is more dramatic.
That topography matters. Westover Hills sits on rolling terrain that rises and falls as you move toward the river, and some streets sit on elevated lots that catch glimpses of the James through the trees in winter. Westover Hills Boulevard, the neighborhood's primary residential street, is tree-lined and runs through some of the more architecturally distinctive sections. Patrick Henry Park, a smaller neighborhood park, anchors the residential grid. The eastern edge carries you down toward the 22nd Street Bridge, which crosses the James and connects directly into Manchester on the way to downtown.
Historically, Westover Hills has carried a slightly more upmarket reputation than Forest Hill — lots a bit larger, housing stock a bit more architecturally varied, renovations a bit further along. That gap has narrowed considerably, and the two now overlap meaningfully on price for comparable homes. The choice increasingly comes down to specific block, lot, and house rather than a clear pricing tier. The lifestyle is residential in a quieter, more settled way than even Forest Hill — there is no commercial spine running through the neighborhood, so residents head to Forest Hill Avenue, Carytown across the river, or Manchester for restaurants and retail.
The James River Park System
Both Forest Hill and Westover Hills sit directly above one of the most distinctive urban park systems in the country. The James River Park System is the city-managed network of parks, trails, and river access points along both banks of the James through Richmond, and the south bank section adjacent to these neighborhoods is one of its most heavily used stretches.
Reedy Creek is the primary access point for residents. The Reedy Creek Parkway entrance, just north of Forest Hill Park, drops you into the system at one of its most popular trailheads. From Reedy Creek you can access the Buttermilk Trail, a south-bank singletrack that runs east toward Belle Isle and west toward Pony Pasture, used heavily by trail runners, mountain bikers, and hikers. The Belle Isle pedestrian bridge — the suspended footbridge that hangs underneath the Lee Bridge — is a short walk or bike from Reedy Creek; Belle Isle itself, with its rocks, river views, and trail loops, is one of the most-used park spaces in the city. Pony Pasture Rapids Park, upriver to the west, is another major access point and a popular spot for river-side picnicking and fishing.
For residents, this proximity is not theoretical. The park system shapes weekends, daily exercise routines, and a meaningful share of why people choose these neighborhoods. Walking from your front door to a serious river trail in under fifteen minutes is the kind of amenity that is hard to give up once you have it.
Housing Stock and the Renovation Wave
The shared housing story across Forest Hill and Westover Hills is 1920s through 1940s residential construction. Bungalows and Craftsman-influenced homes are common throughout. Foursquares — the square, two-story, hip-roofed homes that defined a generation of American residential building — appear regularly. Tudors with steep gables, decorative timbering, and arched doorways anchor entire blocks. Colonial Revivals, especially in Westover Hills, round out the mix.
Buyers here are buying houses eighty to a hundred years old, with the upside and considerations that come with that. The upside is character — original hardwood floors, plaster walls, period built-ins, real fireplaces, and front-porch architecture that ages well. The considerations include older plumbing and electrical systems where not yet updated, original windows that may need restoration, and HVAC systems added later in the home's life.
The past decade has brought a sustained wave of renovation activity. Many homes on the market now have been thoughtfully updated — kitchens opened up, primary bathrooms reworked, systems modernized — while preserving the period character. Others remain closer to original. Fully renovated homes command a premium; original or partially updated homes price more attainably but require honest expectations about timeline and budget. Either way, a careful inspection — structural elements, systems, and roof — is non-negotiable in this housing stock.
Schools (Verify Current Zoning)
Public school zoning for Forest Hill and Westover Hills falls under Richmond Public Schools, and this is an area where buyers need to be careful about relying on neighborhood-level generalizations. RPS has revised its zoning in recent cycles, and the schools that historically served these neighborhoods may not be the same schools that serve a specific address today.
Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts has historically been associated with parts of the Forest Hill area at the elementary level. Lucille Brown Middle School and Huguenot High School have historically been the secondary schools most often discussed in connection with Southside addresses in this corridor. However, rezoning has moved boundaries, and the assignment for any specific address may have changed.
Buyers should verify the current school zone for any specific property at rvaschools.net or directly with Richmond Public Schools before making a buying decision based on schools. Magnet, charter, and specialty programs add additional options across the district — Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts, for example, has its own application and lottery process that operates independently of neighborhood zoning. Do not buy a house here based on a school assignment someone told you about three years ago. Verify, in writing, for the exact address.
Daily Life: Commute, Walkability, Community
The Forest Hill and Westover Hills lifestyle is residential and steady rather than dense and urban. Both neighborhoods are quieter than the Fan or Carytown, and that is the point for most buyers who choose them. The commute to downtown Richmond is short and predictable — typically ten to fifteen minutes across the 22nd Street, Forest Hill, or Boulevard Bridges.
Walkability within each neighborhood is good — you can walk to Forest Hill Park, walk to Westover Hills Boulevard, walk between the two — but it is not the all-purpose walk-everywhere walkability of the Fan. For groceries, you are driving. For a restaurant scene, you have Forest Hill Avenue or a short trip into Carytown.
Both neighborhoods have active neighborhood associations. Forest Hill in particular has a strong identity tied to the park — seasonal events, the farmers market, and shared trail use give residents low-effort ways to know their neighbors. Westover Hills carries a quieter community feel anchored in the residential streets themselves. People who want a walkable restaurant scene out their front door choose the Fan or Carytown; people who put outdoor lifestyle, the river, and the trail system high on the list choose Forest Hill or Westover Hills.
Forest Hill vs Westover Hills: Which Fits Which Buyer
The two neighborhoods overlap enough that for many buyers, the right answer is "look at both, and decide based on the specific house." That said, there are directional tilts.
Lean Forest Hill if you want walkable proximity to Forest Hill Park as a daily amenity, easy access to Forest Hill Avenue's small commercial spine, and a strong neighborhood-event identity tied to the park. Forest Hill has historically been the slightly more attainable of the two on a comparable-home basis, though the gap has narrowed.
Lean Westover Hills if you want larger lots, more topographically dramatic sites, a bit more architectural variety in the period housing stock, and a quieter purely-residential feel. Some streets closer to the river bluffs deliver partial views in the winter months.
Both share James River Park System access, the 1920s-1940s housing era, the short bridge commute to downtown, and the renovation-versus-original tradeoff. The practical move is to tour homes in both on the same day and let the specific house, block, and lot make the decision.
FAQs
Where is Forest Hill in Richmond, VA? Forest Hill is a residential neighborhood on the south bank of the James River, generally west of Forest Hill Avenue and organized around the large urban park that gives it its name. It sits in Richmond's Southside, with downtown roughly ten to fifteen minutes away by car across the Forest Hill, Boulevard, or 22nd Street Bridges.
Is Westover Hills more expensive than Forest Hill? Westover Hills has historically carried a slightly more upmarket reputation, with somewhat larger lots and a bit more architectural variety. The gap has narrowed considerably as both neighborhoods have absorbed a wave of renovation activity, and for comparable homes the two now overlap meaningfully on price. Specific house, block, and lot matter more than the neighborhood label.
What schools serve Forest Hill and Westover Hills, Richmond? Public school assignments fall under Richmond Public Schools and are address-specific. Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts, Lucille Brown Middle School, and Huguenot High School have historically been associated with parts of this corridor, but RPS has revised its zoning in recent cycles. Buyers should verify the current assignment for any specific property at rvaschools.net or directly with RPS.
What is the James River Park System and how does it relate to Forest Hill? The James River Park System is the city-managed network of parks, trails, and river access points along both banks of the James through Richmond. The south bank section adjacent to Forest Hill and Westover Hills includes the Reedy Creek entrance, the Buttermilk Trail, the Belle Isle pedestrian bridge, and Pony Pasture Rapids Park upriver. For residents, it functions as a daily backyard amenity.
Are Forest Hill and Westover Hills good neighborhoods to buy in? Both suit buyers who want established residential character, 1920s-1940s housing stock, a short bridge commute into downtown Richmond, and direct access to the James River Park System. They tend to attract buyers who want a quieter, park-oriented lifestyle with more lot and yard than the row-house neighborhoods north of the river. The renovation-versus-original tradeoff is worth understanding before you commit.
Working with a Local Richmond Realtor
Forest Hill and Westover Hills reward block-by-block knowledge. Housing stock is consistent in era but variable in condition, renovation quality ranges widely, and the specific street, lot, and topographic site make a meaningful difference in how a home lives day to day. Knowing which renovations were thoughtful and which were cosmetic, and which blocks justify the premium, is the kind of insight that changes outcomes.
Michela Worthington is a Richmond real estate broker with Real Broker, LLC. She is a member of REALM Global and an affiliate of the Real Luxury program, and works with buyers and sellers across Richmond's neighborhoods — from the historic Fan and Museum District to the riverfront lofts of Manchester to the Southside corridors of Forest Hill and Westover Hills.
If you are considering buying or selling in Forest Hill or Westover Hills, or weighing them against other Richmond neighborhoods, reach out to OwnRVA for a conversation about what matters most to you.
Explore more Richmond neighborhoods: the Fan District | Manchester | Museum District | best neighborhoods in Richmond