Forest Hills.
Why people choose it
Forest Hills
Top-rated schools and estate lots under a hardwood canopy.
- 01
One of Michigan's most sought-after public districts.
- 02
Large wooded lots, ravines and mature landscaping.
- 03
Spans Ada and Cascade — zoning follows the township, not the district.
- 04
Deep inventory of custom homes from the 1990s onward.
Things to do
Around the district.
Named places, not a mood board. Follow any of them through to the people who run it.
Nature preserve
01
Seidman Park
Over 400 acres in Ada Township with nearly five miles of natural-surface trails.
Historic bridge
02
Ada Covered Bridge
An 1867 covered bridge over the Thornapple, now a pedestrian crossing.
Nature preserve
03
Cascade Peace Park
About 198 acres of floodplain, meadow and old-growth forest on Grand River Drive.
Park
04
Roselle Park
160 acres in Ada with paved paths, wetlands and a river overlook.
Park
05
Leslie E. Tassell Park
A 3.2-acre riverside park with an interactive fountain and fishing access.
Nature area
06
Grand River Natural Area
100 acres on the Grand, with a paved trail continuing into Cascade Township.
Park
07
Cascade Township Recreation Park
Fifty-five acres on Thornapple River Drive with ball fields and a one-mile path.
Village
08
Ada Village
The rebuilt village center, with a farmers market and a social district.
Hours, seasons and access change. Everything above links to the organization that runs it — check there before you drive out to Forest Hills.
On the map
A district, not a town.
Forest Hills is a school district before it is a place — and for many buyers that is exactly the point. The area spans Ada and Cascade townships, offering hardwood-canopy estate lots and established neighborhoods with a consistent reputation behind them.
- County
- Kent
- Governed by
- Ada and Cascade townships
- District size
- About 68 square miles
- High schools
- Central, Northern and Eastern
Map unavailable
Interactive mapping is not configured on this build.
Open Forest Hills, Michigan in Google MapsPins mark the center of Forest Hills and any sample properties nearby. Approximate positions, not surveyed locations.
By the numbers
The district, measured.
There is no city called Forest Hills. The figures below therefore describe the district itself, and the townships it sits across — because those, not the name, are what a tax bill and a zoning map answer to.
- Status
Not a municipality
A school district area — no city, village or township of this name
Forest Hills Public Schools, 2026 · Forest Hills Public Schools
- Median home value
$544,700
Owner-occupied, Ada Township. Cascade is $472,500.
ACS 2020–2024 5-year · Census Reporter
- District enrollment
8,838
18 schools; 522 teachers, full-time equivalent
NCES 2024–25 · NCES
- District size
~68 sq mi
One of the larger districts in Michigan by area
Forest Hills Public Schools, 2026 · Forest Hills Public Schools
- School buildings
18
Plus a fine arts center, an aquatic building and a senior center
Forest Hills Public Schools, 2026 · Forest Hills Public Schools
- District founded
1956
By consolidation of primary districts east of Grand Rapids
Historical · Forest Hills Public Schools
- Median household income
$168,468
Ada Township. Cascade is $135,896.
ACS 2020–2024 5-year · Census Reporter
- Ada Township population
14,524
Most of the township lies in the district
ACS 2020–2024 5-year · Census Reporter
Median household income across the district's townships
Ada and Cascade both sit far above the county, and differ from each other.
- Ada Township$168K
- Cascade Charter Twp$136K
- Kent County$83K
- Michigan$73K
ACS 2020–2024 5-year · Census Reporter
Median owner-occupied home value
The same four geographies, by house price.
- $545K
- $473K
- $290K
- $232K
- Ada
- Cascade
- Kent Co.
- Michigan
ACS 2020–2024 5-year · Census Reporter
On the market
Forest Hills property.
SampleThe MLS feed is not connected yet. Everything below is demonstration data used to build the search, and none of it is a real property.
Before you buy
What to lookinto first.
Local conditions that change what a parcel is worth or what may be built on it. None of this is legal advice and none of it answers for a specific address — it is what to raise with the municipality, your attorney and your inspector before the offer, not after.
- 01Forest Hills is a district, not a town
There is no city, village or township of this name. The district covers roughly 68 square miles across more than one municipality, so property taxes, zoning, roads and utilities all come from whichever township or city the parcel actually sits in. Read the tax bill and the municipality line, not the mailing address.
Forest Hills Public Schools- 02An Ada or Cascade address is not proof
The district's own attendance-area map carries a note that its boundaries are an unofficial reference. Confirm the district by running the address through Kent County property search and looking for the school district code, or by calling the district office. Northeastern Ada Township is in Lowell Area Schools.
Forest Hills Public Schools- 03Which of the three high schools
Forest Hills runs three attendance areas — Central, Northern and Eastern — each with its own high school. Students attend the middle and high school tied to their elementary school's geographic area, so two houses a mile apart can feed different high schools. Verify the elementary boundary, not just the district.
Forest Hills Public Schools- 04River frontage and flood mapping
Both the Grand and the Thornapple run through Ada Township, and much of the sought-after frontage is in mapped floodplain. Pull the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map for the parcel and check for any Letter of Map Change. Flood cover is separate from a standard homeowners policy.
FEMA Flood Map Service- 05Wells and septic on rural acreage
Larger lots in Ada and Cannon townships are commonly on private wells and on-site septic. Kent County Health Department issues the permits and performs real estate evaluations of existing systems, and its permits and site evaluations are valid for two years and non-transferable. Order a current evaluation rather than accepting an older one.
Kent County
Check it at the source
Zoning, permitted uses, shoreline rules and school boundaries are set by the governing bodies below and can change. These are the offices that answer for Forest Hills.