Overview
About San Rita Ridge
San Rita Ridge covers 67.1 acres and holds 212 homes on twelve streets, with a median lot of 9,382 square feet, the second largest detached lot median in Lake Forest. The city zones 27.5 acres of the boundary low density residential, 6.7 medium density and 0.6 heavy density, and the land use layer sets aside 6.3 acres as open space.
The city's pool layer counts 94 backyard pools inside the boundary, 73 spas, 33 solar installations and a tennis court, and no shared pool. That is more than four private pools for every nine homes. Irvine Ranch Water District supplies the water, street sweeping runs Monday afternoons, and children go to Lake Forest Elementary, Serrano Intermediate and El Toro High.
View available homes in San Rita RidgeHistory
How San Rita Ridge was built
San Rita Ridge sits on ground that was Rancho Canada de los Alisos, the 10,668 acre grant Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado made to Jose Antonio Serrano in 1842 and Pio Pico enlarged in 1846. Serrano built five adobes on the rancho and ran cattle for hides and tallow, and one of those adobes, dating to about 1863, still stands at Heritage Hill Historical Park nearby, the only survivor.
The drought that began in 1863 killed the cattle and cost the family the land. It went to a Los Angeles banker, and Dwight Whiting of Boston bought most of it in 1884 with the idea of an English village called Aliso City. He planted olives, grape vines and about 400 acres of eucalyptus near Serrano Creek as a lumber crop. The farming failed, the eucalyptus grew into a forest, and Occidental Petroleum built houses among the trees in the late 1960s while digging two artificial lakes. That is where Lake Forest got its name in 1991. The build year layer puts San Rita Ridge itself in the 1980s.
By the Numbers
San Rita Ridge by the numbers
Lifestyle
The San Rita Ridge lifestyle
Lake Forest keeps 31 parks open from dawn to dusk. The Lake Forest Sports Park and Recreation Center opened in November 2014 on 86 acres, with 57 of them given over to sports fields, and the city runs the largest free skatepark in Orange County at Etnies Skatepark.
Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park holds 1,575 acres of county open space against the north edge of the city, and the city's trail map carries 49 named trails.
Across the whole city the general plan sets 3,756 acres to residential use and 3,065 acres to open space and parks, which is why so much of Lake Forest reads as green from the ridgelines.
Schools
Schools serving San Rita Ridge
The City of Lake Forest property record names Lake Forest Elementary for all 221 addresses in San Rita Ridge, with Serrano Intermediate for middle school and El Toro High for high school. There is no split at any level. All three are Saddleback Valley Unified campuses.
9-12 · 1,902 students
7-8 · 868 students
K-6 · 640 students
FAQs
Common questions about San Rita Ridge
How big is San Rita Ridge?
The community covers 67.1 acres on the city's published boundary, fifteenth largest of the fifty Lake Forest communities on this site, and holds 212 homes on 221 parcels across twelve streets.
What size are the lots?
The median parcel measures 9,382 square feet, the second largest of the thirty-three Lake Forest communities on this site where a parcel median describes a detached lot rather than shared ground. Only Montbury, at 10,818 square feet, is larger.
When was San Rita Ridge laid out?
One map covers the whole community. Tract 12598 was recorded on July 24, 1986 by Fuscoe, Williams, Lindgren and Short, Inc. under licensed surveyor David H. Williams. The city's build year layer places 46 acres of building footprint in the 1981 to 1990 band.
Which schools serve San Rita Ridge?
The city's property record names Lake Forest Elementary, Serrano Intermediate and El Toro High for all 221 addresses inside the boundary, with no split at any level. All three are Saddleback Valley Unified campuses.
Is there a community pool?
No. The city's pool layer records 94 pools inside the boundary and every one is a private backyard pool, alongside 73 spas, 33 solar installations and one tennis court.