Rancho Peñasquitos

Rancho Peñasquitos encompasses approximately 6,500 acres including Black Mountain Regional Park. The name, Rancho Penasquitos, originates from the first Mexican land grant in the county, and Penasquitos means “little cliffs” in Spanish.

Rancho Peñasquitos is located west of Interstate 15, north of Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve, south of the community of Rancho Bernardo and east of the Torrey Highlands Community. State Route 56 traverses east-west through the central portion of the community.

Rancho Peñasquitos is identified as a Planned Urbanized community in the City’s Progress Guide and General Plan. Development of the community is nearly complete with only a limited number of sites still available for development. Approximately 51% of Rancho Peñasquitos is designated for residential development, 34% for parks and open space and 2% for commercial. The community has a diverse topography that is characterized by numerous canyons, hillsides and ridges. The most prominent feature of the community is Black Mountain which rises to an elevation of 1,500 feet.

There are approximate 46,000 people living in the neighborhood. The median age is 40.6. There are 3.06 persons per household. The annual median household income was approximate $150,000. There are over 15,000 housing unites in the neighborhood and vacancy rate is 2.0%.

Public school students living in the Rancho Peñasquitos neighborhood are served by the desirable Poway Unified School District. Public high school students generally attend either Mt. Carmel High School or Westview High School. Middle schools students generally attend either Black Mountain Middle School and Mesa Verde Middle School. Elementary schools serving this area include 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 and Sunset Hills Elementary School.