Ritter Ranch, Palmdale, CA

Ritter Ranch spreads across the western foothills of Palmdale, where the city's grid gives way to canyon land and the Sierra Pelona. Its specific plan went through environmental review around 1990 and was drawn big, with room for several thousand homes, trails, parks and an equestrian trailhead, and building has come in waves ever since. Homes here are newer single-family houses set against the hills, with open ridgelines instead of back-fence neighbors on the outer edges. Because construction has gone phase by phase, one section can look long settled while another is still being graded. Joshua Ranch is the smaller gated neighbor nearby, with a similar foothill setting. Ritter Ranch Park, run by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority off Elizabeth Lake Road, covers more than 4,000 acres between roughly 3,000 and 5,000 feet, with ranch roads open to hikers, cyclists, riders and leashed dogs. Daily errands mostly happen at the center on Avenue N at 50th Street West, which has a Smart & Final Extra, a Wingstop and Poke To Me for quick meals, a Cold Stone Creamery, and Perkies Coffee Haus for the morning cup. Bigger shopping trips head east to the Rancho Vista Boulevard shopping strip and the mall area. Distance is the tradeoff. Nearly every errand or commute means a drive, and the Antelope Valley Freeway is a real haul from the western edge. Ritter Ranch rewards people who will actually use the open land at its back door, since the trailheads are closer than the grocery store.