Rancho Peñasquitos is a suburban community in northeastern

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California. It is named after the first Mexican land grant in

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its border with Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634; it is the second-most populous ...

, Rancho Santa Maria de Los Peñasquitos. ( is

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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

for "little cliffs".) The community abuts Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve, 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, reach ...

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 San Diego County, California. Geography The topography of Rancho Bernardo consists of canyons and rolling hills that have large bedrock outcroppings. The major floral biomes ...

* On the south by Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve and Mira Mesa * On the east by Carmel Mountain Ranch and Sabre Springs * 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 'Iipai-Tiipai or by the 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 Uni ...

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 Rancho Santa Maria de Los Peñasquitos, within the boundaries of present-day San Diego County. In 1823, one league (4,243 acres; 17 km²) was awarded to Captain Francisco María Ruiz, 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 a ...

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

. 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, 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 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 Irvin Kahn's community.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

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 chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 2.6%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.3% Native American, 30.0% Asian, 2.7.% from other races, and 6.0% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino 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 recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

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 in the Western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexican border in San Diego County and stretches north to Alberta, Ca ...

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 (MTS) is a public transit service provider for San Diego County, California. The agency operates a transit system that includes the San Diego MTS bus system, San Diego Trolley, and Rapid (San Diego), Rap ...

(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 Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

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.

Emergency services

Fire service

Fire protection Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of potentially Conflagration, destructive fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, Compartmentalization (fire protection), compartmentalisation, suppression and inve ...

and

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

are provided by the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department 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 of San Diego, California. Established on May 16, 1889, the department employs 1,731 officers and 601 civilian staff. It covers 343 square miles of service area with ...

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 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 hiking and b ...

* Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve * Twin Trails Neighborhood Park

Schools

Rancho Peñasquitos is in the

Poway Unified School District Poway Unified School District is a school district based 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

In popular culture

The private home filming location of the 2007 film ''Paranormal Activity'' is in Rancho Peñasquitos.

Notable people

* Arianna Afsar, actress *

Billy Beane William Lamar Beane III (born March 29, 1962) is an American former professional baseball player and current Front office (sports), front office executive. He is currently senior advisor to owner John Fisher (baseball owner), John Fisher and ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player * Eric Chavez,

star * John T. Earnest, perpetrator of the

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

* James Holmes, perpetrator of the

2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting On July 20, 2012, a mass shooting occurred inside a Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, United States, during a midnight screening of the film ''The Dark Knight Rises''. Dressed in tactical clothing, 24-year-old James Eagan Holmes ...

* Troy Johnson, writer, food critic, and TV personality *

Adam Lambert Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for his dynamic vocal performances that combine his theatrical training with modern and classic genres. Lambert rose to fame in 2009 after ...

, singer and actor *

Liza del Mundo Liza del Mundo (born March 8, 1975) is an American voice actress. She is best known for her roles as Hay Lin in the animated adaptation of '' W.I.T.C.H'' and as Polaris in the TV series '' Wolverine and the X-Men''. Early life She was raised in ...

, voice actress * Eric Munson,

star * Kelly Marie Tran, actress * Usha Vance, lawyer, wife of J.D. Vance

References

External links

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