Lakefront living, a private school and hometown pride define Montverde
Montverde is a small town where rolling hills frame lakes and Montverde Academy, one of the top private schools in the Orlando metropolitan area. “Most new residents are people who buy vacation homes on the water or people who want to live near the academy and send their kids there,” says Terri Kuebbeler, the owner-broker of Trinity Real Estate Sales, whose family has lived in town for generations. With around 1,700 residents, the Lake County community is home to several other lifelong locals. Kuebbeler, whose father served as Montverde’s mayor in the 1990s, credits this hometown pride to the days she spent water skiing on Lake Florence and going to community events at Kirk Park. “My dad still keeps in touch with his former town council colleagues, and I still know people I used to hang out with when I was a teenager,” Kuebbeler says. “The friends that you make here feel like family, and that’s why a lot of us never want to move.”
Some houses sit on the water or a golf course
Ranch-style houses, contemporary homes and New Traditionals line Montverde’s hilly roads. Palm and live oak trees often shade lawns, some of which back up to lakes with docks and boat slips. Houses in the gated Bella Collina subdivision may sit on the 18-hole golf course. Smaller Inland homes typically cost between $330,000 and $675,000, while bigger ones usually range from about $700,000 to $1 million. Waterfront homes often start at $2 million and occasionally reach $4.5 million. The median single-family home price here is around $1 million, which is more than double the national median.
The nearby town of Clermont has big-box shopping and chain restaurants
After going to a basketball game at Montverde Academy, people head to Willie’s Bar-B-Que, the town’s only restaurant, for ribs and pulled pork sandwiches. Montverde also has several offices, a post office and a few houses of worship, including The Church at Montverde. More shopping and dining options are in Clermont, about 10 miles west. For instance, Hills Crossing has a Publix, while Clermont Landing is home to restaurants like Texas Roadhouse and chain stores including Famous Footwear and Bath & Body Works. Orlando Health South Lake Hospital is also in the neighboring town.
Montverde Academy and Lake County Schools get high ratings
Founded in 1912, Montverde Academy, which Niche grades an A-plus, has grown into a prekindergarten through 12th grade school with around 1,400 students. Spanish Revival-style buildings dot the 130-acre campus, including the dormitories for international students. The school is renowned for its basketball program, which has produced NBA players like Cade Cunningham, Scottie Barnes and Ben Simmons. “It’s fun to go to those games whenever we hear that a new, young star has started playing,” Kuebbeler says. Lake County Schools serve the community for public education. Kids can attend kindergarten through eighth grade at Minneola Horizon Academy, which just opened in 2025 and has yet to be graded by Niche. Students may continue to A-minus-rated Lake Minneola High, where advanced placement courses include environmental science, biology and human geography.
Montverde has lakefront golf courses, playgrounds and trails
Montverde is home to several waterfront recreational spaces, including The Club at Bella Collina’s 18-hole golf course on Lake Siena. The club offers tee times for members and non-members. A small park with a playground and fishing dock sits on Lake Florence, but swimming and boating are reserved for lakeside residents and their friends. “Everybody knows somebody who will let them use their dock whenever they want,” Kuebbeler says. Truskett Park offers a wooden dock and hiking trails alongside Lake Apopka on the town’s east side. The Lake Apopka North Shore area, about 16 miles away, has boat launches. Swimming in the body of water is prohibited because of pollution, although efforts to restore it are ongoing.
Traffic may back up when Montverde Academy starts
A 24-mile drive east on the Florida Turnpike leads to Orlando, home to Orlando International Airport and major employers, which include AdventHealth and theme parks. Getting to the highway in the morning may take some time as parents drop off their kids at Montverde Academy. “Anybody who commutes to Orlando will leave at like 6 a.m. because people start showing up for carpool around 7:30 a.m., and then the whole town gets pretty traffic-heavy,” Kuebbeler says.
Annual events include Montverde Day and an Easter egg hunt
Montverde has several community events throughout the year, including the spring concert series at Kirk Park. The green space also celebrates Montverde Day, commemorating the town’s incorporation in 1925 with a car show, fire performers and cowboy acts. Around Easter, kids hunt for eggs outside Helen Lehmann Memorial Library, which just reopened in October 2025. “They let my dad cut the ribbon at the grand opening, and it was lovely to see how many locals still remembered his time in office,” Kuebbeler says. “It just speaks to how much people care about living in Montverde.”
