602 Terrace Mountain Dr, West Lake Hills, TX 78746

BIG price reduction 6/12/23. Beloved UT biology professor Dr. Robert Barth passed away in September, 2022 at the age of 88. His gorgeous property in West Lake Hills, which he purchased in the late 1960s, showcases 3.78 acres of rustic land with a drop-dead view of downtown Austin (which, 50 years ago, was nothing like the glistening cityscape of today!). Hill Country to the max, the acreage features many stately oaks and junipers on a variety of terrains, including limestone cliffs above Oracle Gorge and Bee Creek with a ridgeline trail running between them the length of the property. Approximately 300 feet of frontage on Terrace Mountain Drive. The Leon Chandler-designed house, vintage 1970, and above-ground swimming pool, are not valued for improvements. (Those improvements, however, include a huge, fully functional greenhouse that recently housed Dr. Barth's Oracle Gorge Nursery world-class collection of cacti and succulents, which will soon be on permanent display at Zilker Botanical Gardens in Austin). Not only does the property afford ample space for a multi-storied home on the higher, western portion, but also a smaller dwelling, such as a grandparents' home. To fully appreciate this once-in-a-lifetime building opportunity, please watch the video at www.602Video.com, then come out to see--and walk--this lovely property. There is nothing on the market that compares to 602! Tree and topo survey available. Video by Bret Whitney.

Westlake Hills is an incorporated city in Austin's 78746 ZIP code, five minutes west of downtown via Bee Caves Road. Eanes ISD - ranked #1 in Texas by Niche 2026 - draws most buyers. Median home price $2.4M, with estates from $1.2M updates to $10M+ hilltop compounds.

Roughly 1,000 total homes sit on wooded lots averaging half an acre to two acres, spread across the hills south of the Colorado River. Lost Creek, Davenport Ranch, The Oaks, and Bee Caves Woods each have a different character - from 1970s ranches on established lots to new-build Hill Country Contemporary estates with 20-foot ceilings and limestone facades.

The housing stock is in a generational transition. Original 1970s-80s ranch homes sell as teardowns at $1-2M for land alone, replaced by $3-8M contemporary builds. At any given time, 25-30 homes are actively listed. Inventory is tight, and a meaningful share of deals happen off-market through agent networks.

What defines daily life here: morning coffee at Swedish Hill, school drop-off at Eanes Elementary or Bridge Point, a trail run at Wild Basin Preserve, and dinner at Sway or Las Palomas without crossing MoPac. This is a quiet neighborhood built around schools and outdoor access, not nightlife or walkable retail. The people who live here chose it for exactly that trade-off.