Rancho Peñasquitos is a suburban

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

in the northeastern part of the city of

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It is named after the first

Mexican land grant The Spanish and Mexican governments made many concessions and land grants in Alta California (now known as California) and Baja California from 1775 to 1846. The Spanish Concessions of land were made to retired soldiers as an inducement for ...

the county ''The County'' ( is, Héraðið) is a 2019 Icelandic Melodrama#Film, melodrama directed by Grímur Hákonarson. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. Cast * Arndís Hrönn Egi ...

Rancho Santa Maria de Los Peñasquitos Rancho Santa Maria de Los Peñasquitos was a Mexican land grant in present-day southwestern San Diego County, California given in 1823 to Francisco María Ruiz. The name means "Saint Mary of the Little Cliffs". It encompassed the present-day c ...

. ''Peñasquitos'' means "little cliffs" in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

. It abuts

Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve is an urban park in San Diego, California. Stretching approximately , the park encompasses some of both Peñasquitos and Lopez canyons, and is one of the largest urban parks in the United States. The preserve is j ...

, an open space preserve that offers hiking, biking, and equestrian trails. The community is commonly abbreviated "PQ." The population of Rancho Peñasquitos is approximately 60,000. it is located in ZIP code 92129. The

telephone area code A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, rea ...

is 858 or 619.

Geography

Rancho Peñasquitos is roughly bounded: * On the north by Black Mountain Ranch and

Rancho Bernardo Rancho Bernardo is a master-planned community in the northern hills of the city of San Diego, California. Geography The topography of Rancho Bernardo consists of canyons and rolling hills that have large bedrock outcroppings. The major floral bio ...

* On the south by

and

Mira Mesa Mira Mesa (Spanish language, Spanish for "Mesa, Table View") is a community and neighborhood in the city of San Diego, California. The city-recognized Mira Mesa Community Plan Area is roughly bounded by Interstate 15 on the east, Interstate 805 o ...

* On the east by Carmel Mountain Ranch and

Sabre Springs Sabre Springs is a community in San Diego, California, located in the northeastern part of the city. It is bounded by the city limits of Poway on the east, Ted Williams Parkway on the north, Interstate 15 on the west, and the community of Mira ...

* On the west by Torrey Highlands and Del Mar Mesa. The highest point in the community is Black Mountain, which rises to an elevation of .

History

Native American

Kumeyaay The Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai or by their historical Spanish name Diegueño, is a tribe of Indigenous peoples of the Americas who live at the northern border of Baja California in Mexico and the southern border of California in the Unit ...

history within the area has been documented to 7,000 years ago. The area was home to a Kumeyaay settlement which was known to them as Awil Nyawa'''. Remains of the prehistoric culture can still be found. Gradually ethnic Spanish colonists moved into the area, following the establishment of missions and other settlements along the coast. Rancho de los Peñasquitos was the first ''rancho'', the

, within the boundaries of present-day San Diego County. In 1823, one

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

(4,243

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

s; 17 km²) was awarded to Captain

Francisco María Ruiz Francisco María Ruiz (1754–1839) was an early settler of San Diego, California Ruiz was born 1754 in Loreto, Baja California. He enlisted in the army when he was 26 and sent to Upper California. He was promoted from sergeant to lieutena ...

, a Commandant of the

Presidio of San Diego El Presidio Real de San Diego (Royal Presidio of San Diego) is a historic fort in San Diego, California. It was established on May 14, 1769, by Gaspar de Portolá, leader of the first European land exploration of Alta California—at that time an ...

. This one league was at the eastern part of the Los Peñasquitos Canyon and extended into

and up to

. It was a way station on the Wagon road from

Warner's Ranch Warner's Ranch, near Warner Springs, California, was notable as a way station for large numbers of emigrants on the Southern Emigrant Trail from 1849 to 1861, as it was a stop on both the Gila River Trail and the Butterfield Overland Mail stag ...

. From 1857 to 1860, it was a station on that road for the San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line between San Diego and Vallecito via San Pasqual,

Santa Ysabel Asistencia The Santa Ysabel Asistencia was founded on September 20, 1818 at Cañada de Santa Ysabel in the mountains east of San Diego (near the village of Elcuanan), as a asistencia or "sub-mission" to Mission San Diego de Alcalá, and to serve as a rest ...

, Warner's, and

Rancho Valle de San Felipe Rancho Valle de San Felipe was a Mexican land grant in present-day San Diego County, California given in 1846 by Governor Pío Pico to Felipe Castillo. The grant was located in the San Felipe Valley in the Laguna Mountains east of present-day ...

. The ranch operated until 1962, when real estate developer

Irvin Kahn Irvin J. Kahn (1916–1973) was an American attorney and real estate developer who played a major role in the expansion of the City of San Diego in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. He received frequent press coverage for his ongoing role in developing ...

acquired the 14,000- acre parcel with the intent of building a 150,000-resident planned community. In 1964, San Diego annexed most of the area, building out from

's community.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2010, there were 51,536 people, 17,009 households, and 14,093 families residing in the community. The racial makeup of the town was 58.2%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 2.6%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.3% Native American, 30.0%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 2.7.% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 6.0% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 9.8% of the population. There were 17,009 households, of which 43.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.8% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 17.1% were non-families. Of all households 2.4% were made up of individuals, and 3.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.03 and the average family size was 3.30. The median age in the town was 38 years. 26.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 65.3% were between the ages of 18 and 64; and 7.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the community was 50.5% female and 49.5% male.

Transportation

Rancho Peñasquitos is a car-dependent area, according to WalkScore.com. Black Mountain Road is the main north-south artery, and Carmel Mountain Road/Rancho Peñasquitos Boulevard is the main east-west artery. State Route 56 traverses east–west through the central portion of the community.

Interstate 15 Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexico–United States border, Mexican border i ...

forms an eastern boundary of Rancho Peñasquitos, with Carmel Mountain Ranch lying on the far side. The

San Diego Metropolitan Transit System The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (''SDMTS'' or often simply ''MTS'') is a public transit service provider for Central, South, Northeast and Southeast San Diego County. The agency directly operates a large transit system that includes t ...

(MTS) operates a bus through the area, #20, with a stop on Carmel Mountain Road. The MTS Rapid #235 bus operates from the Sabre Springs/Peñasquitos Transit Station, arriving in downtown San Diego after only 5 stops.

Community events

* Mt. Carmel Tournament of Bands is an annual high school marching band parade and field show competition, fully volunteer-run by the Mt Carmel Music Foundation. It has been held in late October every year since 1976. It is the most widely attended parade and field competition in San Diego, where more than 30 bands from San Diego county and the Los Angeles metropolitan area perform. * The Fiesta de Los Penasquitos and Parade is on the first weekend in May, held since 1995. PQ residents and community organizations partner to celebrate the city with a 5K Fun Run, Street Fair, and Parade (as of 2015). a) The annual PQ5K Fun Run (since 2007) is a free event sponsored by the Peñasquitos Stake of the

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The c ...

in partnership with the Peñasquitos Town Council. The event begins the Saturday before the Fiesta de los Peñasquitos. b) In 2015, the Rancho Peñasquitos Town Council held its Inaugural Parade for the fiesta. The event is managed by Rancho Peñasquitos Town Council, and is supported by a City of San Diego Arts & Culture Grant. http://www.rpcouncil.com/ * The Rancho Peñasquitos Recreation Council sponsors a fireworks show for July 4 at Westview High School; it is usually held on July 3. Funding was not available in 2019 for a fireworks show. * Christmas Card Lane, since 1982 families on several local streets have installed increasingly elaborate displays and lights for the season. In addition, some groups rent vehicles for touring and singing Christmas carols. * BLAST Annual Rummage Sale is held in February each year at New Hope Church, 10330 Carmel Mountain Road. * BLAST Annual Golf Tournament benefits the BLAST extended day program at Los Peñasquitos Elementary, and is held in May each year at various Rancho Peñasquitos area golf courses.

Emergency services

Fire service

Fire protection Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of potentially destructive fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, compartmentalisation, suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies, as we ...

and

emergency medical services Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to definitive care. ...

are provided by the

San Diego Fire-Rescue Department The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of San Diego, California, United States. The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department is the second-largest municipal fire department in the st ...

fire station #40 at 13393 Salmon River Road in the area of Rancho Peñasquitos. This station is in the 7th Battalion.

Police service

The

San Diego Police Department The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) is the primary law enforcement agency for the city of San Diego, California. The department was officially established on May 16, 1889. History Prior to the establishment of the San Diego Police Departme ...

operates from a station on 13396 Salmon River Road, serving the neighborhood.

Parks

* PQ Skate Park * Canyonside Recreation Center * Hilltop Recreation Center * Peñasquitos Creek Park * Rolling Hills Park *

Black Mountain Open Space Park Black Mountain Open Space Park is a city park located in the suburbs of San Diego, California. Description The park covers in the Black Mountain Ranch and Rancho Peñasquitos area of northern San Diego. The park offers numerous trails for hiki ...

* Twin Trails Neighborhood Park

Schools

Rancho Peñasquitos is in the

Poway Unified School District Poway Unified School District is a school district located in Poway, California. The district operates 26 elementary schools (grades Preschool–5), seven middle schools (6–8); five comprehensive high schools (9–12); and one continuation hi ...

High schools

* Mt. Carmel High School * Westview High School

Middle schools

* Black Mountain Middle School * Mesa Verde Middle School

Elementary schools

*Adobe Bluffs Elementary School *Canyon View Elementary School *Deer Canyon Elementary School *Los Peñasquitos Elementary School * Park Village Elementary School *Rolling Hills Elementary School *Sundance Elementary School *Sunset Hills Elementary SchoolSunset Hills Elementary School
/ref>

Churches

* St. Timothy's Episcopal Church * Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish * The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints * The New Hope Church of Penasquitos * Penasquitos Lutheran Church

Notable people

Arianna Afsar Arianna Ayesha "Ari" Afsar (born October 22, 1991) is an American singer, composer, beauty queen and activist best known for her starring role in Hamilton, as the songwriter of the musical ''Jeannette'', and as a top contestant on American Idol. ...

, actress *

Billy Beane William Lamar Beane III (born March 29, 1962) is an American former professional baseball player and current front office executive. He is the executive vice president of baseball operations and minority owner of the Oakland Athletics of Majo ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player *

Eric Chavez Eric Cesar Chavez (born December 7, 1977) is an American professional baseball coach and former third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics (1998–2010), New York Yankees (2011–2012), and Arizona Diamondb ...

star * John T. Earnest, perpetrator of the

Poway synagogue shooting The Poway synagogue shooting occurred on April 27, 2019, at Chabad of Poway synagogue in Poway, California, United States, a city approximately north of San Diego, on the last day of the Jewish Passover holiday, which fell on a Shabbat. Armed ...

* James Holmes, perpetrator of the 2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting * Troy Johnson, writer, food critic, and TV personality *

Adam Lambert Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide. Lambert is known for his dynamic vocal performances that fuse his theatrical tra ...

, singer and actor * Liza del Mundo, voice actress * Eric Munson,

star *

Kelly Marie Tran Kelly Marie Tran (born Loan Tran, January 17, 1989) is an American actress. She began acting in 2011, with most of her roles being in short film and television. She came to global prominence for her role as Rose Tico in the ''Star Wars'' seque ...

, actress *

Drew Shirley Andrew Philip "Drew" Shirley (born April 3, 1974) is an American rock guitarist, formerly of All Together Separate, and of the Grammy Award winning alternative rock band Switchfoot from 2005 until 2022. Career Shirley attended California Bapti ...

, former

Switchfoot Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Foreman (bass guitar, backing vocals), Chad Butler (drums, percussion), and Jerome Fontamillas (guitar, keyboards, back ...

and All Together Separate guitarist

References

External links

Rancho Peñasquitos Town Council
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rancho Penasquitos, San Diego Penasquitos, Rancho Neighborhoods in San Diego