Rolling Hills Ranch, Chula Vista, CA

High on the slopes below the San Miguel Mountains, Rolling Hills Ranch is the northeastern edge of Chula Vista, a semirural planned community above Eastlake with the bare slopes of Mother Miguel Mountain rising behind its last streets. Its homeowners association counts 1,687 single-family homes and five swim clubs, with about 70 acres of landscaped common area holding more than 4,000 trees. Every home here is detached. The city approved the main phases in 2000, and McMillin built the community out over the following years, finishing with Verona at the highest elevation, where Italian and Spanish Colonial designs, plus some Early California looks, sit on lots that average half an acre. Lower down, the houses are mostly two-story stucco on standard suburban lots. Montevalle Park is the big draw, 29 acres off Hunte Parkway that run from Duncan Ranch Road out to the Salt Creek open space. It has ball and soccer fields, tennis and basketball courts, a skate park, an off-leash dog area, a walking trail and Cheryl's Place, an accessible playground built for wheelchair users. The 21,000 square foot recreation center next door holds a gym and activity rooms. The hikes are what set the neighborhood apart. The Rock House trail up Mother Miguel Mountain starts at the end of Paseo Veracruz in neighboring San Miguel Ranch and climbs about 1,000 feet over two miles to a rock pile and flagpole with views of Sweetwater Reservoir and the ocean. Sweetwater Summit Regional Park in Bonita adds about 15 miles of trails open to hikers, bikes and horses. Rolling Hills Ranch has no restaurants of its own. The closest meals are a short drive west at the San Miguel Ranch shopping center on Proctor Valley Road. Groceries mean a drive down to Trader Joe's or Sprouts at Village Walk in Eastlake. Everything beyond the front door requires a car, and the drive down to SR-125 or Otay Lakes Road is part of every errand. In return you get the swim club up the street, a trailhead within reach and a street grid that ends where the open hillside begins.