Rancho San Diego, Rancho San Diego, CA

Most of Rancho San Diego was built as planned subdivisions starting in the 1970s, on the slopes above the Sweetwater River in unincorporated San Diego County, just southeast of El Cajon. The streets loop and curve through one tract after another, and San Miguel Mountain fills the view to the south. Homes run from the first tracts of the 1970s to later projects like Hillsdale Ranch, planned in the 1990s near Hillsdale Road with about 125 houses. Most are single-family homes, with condos and apartments mixed in closer to Jamacha Road and the college. A county service area keeps up the landscaped slopes and medians, which is part of why the place looks uniform and well kept. Outdoors, the river corridor is the best feature. The Sweetwater Interpretive Loop, about 3 miles and nearly flat, starts from a gravel lot off Highway 94 at Millar Ranch Road and runs through the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge, open to walkers, bikes and horses. Cottonwood County Park off Windriver Road is a 5.4-acre lawn with big shade trees and a dirt path around the edge for evening laps. Hillsdale County Park on Brabham Street is a small playground stop. For food, the shopping centers along Jamacha Road carry most of the load. The Living Room Coffeehouse in the Town and Country center stays open late, pouring black forest mochas in the morning and running a monthly cars and coffee meetup on first Saturdays. Sahara, the Middle Eastern kitchen beside the Press Box Sports Lounge, started as a small counter and has more than doubled in size on the strength of its shawarma, kabobs and za'atar flatbreads baked in a red pizza oven. Chains fill in the rest. Daily errands are close but rarely walkable. Ralphs and Albertsons both sit on Jamacha Road, and the Rancho San Diego Library is on Via Rancho San Diego. Highway 94 heads west to downtown San Diego, and Jamacha Road leads north to Interstate 8 through El Cajon. One open question hangs over the river. Developers have sought permission for years to mine sand on the old Cottonwood golf links by the river, and an organized neighborhood committee has fought the plan. Walk the loop at dusk and you will likely hear more birds than traffic, a rare thing this close to a shopping center.