Overview
About Rimrock
Rimrock covers 141 acres and holds 312 addresses on 314 parcels, at a median parcel of 0.218 acres. Nineteen streets serve it and not one carries a Calle, Via or Avenida prefix. They are single Spanish words from ranch work: Bonanza with 55 addresses, then Estancia, Arreos, Ganado, Caballista del Sur, Obrajero, Cercado and Domador. It is the ninth largest of the fifty San Clemente communities mapped here by area and the tenth by address count.
Residential Low Density land accounts for 75.7 acres inside the boundary, Residential Very Low Density for 36.1, private open space for 9.5 and public right of way for 2.4. The whole boundary lies inside the Forster Ranch Specific Plan area and it belongs to the Forster Ranch master association. The state fire hazard severity map places 87.4 acres in its High class and 53.5 in Moderate. Capistrano Unified's own school locator returned San Clemente High, Bernice Ayer Middle and Truman Benedict Elementary at all five interior points tested.
View available homes in RimrockHistory
How Rimrock was built
Whoever named the streets in Rimrock went straight through the vocabulary of a working cattle outfit and did not stop. Estancia is a cattle ranch. Ganado is livestock. Estribo is a stirrup, Alforja a saddlebag, Hierro the iron you brand with, Domador the man who breaks the horses, Novilla a heifer and Rebano the herd itself, with Cercado for the fence around them. It reads as a theme, and it is the correct one, because this ridge was run as cattle ground for the better part of a century before anyone graded a pad on it.
The Forster family held these hills from the 1870s and farmed and grazed cattle and sheep across them, and photographers were still shooting roundups on the Forster Ranch at the turn of the twentieth century. The land came to the city as one of four inland ranches, 1,982 acres in the northwest corner of San Clemente reaching to the San Juan Capistrano line. Forster Ranch has been building out since the early 1980s, and Rimrock's own houses went up in 1985 and 1986, single level and two story under red tile with stucco walls. Dues here go to the Forster Ranch association rather than to a gate of its own.
By the Numbers
Rimrock by the numbers
Lifestyle
The Rimrock lifestyle
San Clemente keeps ten beaches of its own along the shore, from North Beach past the pier to Riviera, and the city's Marine Safety division staffs them. The pier itself carries restrooms, metered parking, fire rings and the Amtrak and Metrolink platform at its foot.
The city publishes five trail networks that run from the sand up into the canyons and along the ridgelines. Bikes are welcome on all of them, electric bikes are not allowed on the Beach Trail, dogs are welcome on a leash, and horses are permitted on the Forster Ridgeline, Prima Deshecha and Cristianitos trails. City parks are open from 6 am to 10 pm without a reservation unless a group needs a permit.
Schools
Schools serving Rimrock
Capistrano Unified assigns Rimrock to San Clemente High, Bernice Ayer Middle and Truman Benedict Elementary. The district's own school locator returned the same assignment at every point tested inside the boundary, and enrollment comes from the federal count for 2024-25.
9-12 · 2,740 students
6-8 · 919 students
K-5 · 602 students
FAQs
Common questions about Rimrock
How big is Rimrock?
The boundary the city publishes covers 141 acres, with 312 addresses on 314 parcels at a median of 0.218 acres. It is the ninth largest of the fifty San Clemente communities mapped here.
Which schools serve Rimrock?
Capistrano Unified's school locator returned San Clemente High, Bernice Ayer Middle and Truman Benedict Elementary at all five points tested inside the boundary. Confirm the assignment for a specific address with the district before you rely on it.
When was Rimrock built?
Its four tract maps, 11415, 11880, 11931 and 11932, were all recorded in 1984, and the county assessor carries a build year on 289 parcels here, all between 1985 and 1988.
How are the streets named?
All nineteen are single Spanish words rather than the Calle and Via forms used elsewhere in the city, and most come from ranch work: Bonanza, Estancia, Arreos, Ganado, Caballista, Obrajero, Cercado and Domador among them.
What is the fire hazard rating?
87.4 acres sit in the state's High fire hazard severity class and 53.5 in Moderate. Raise it with an insurer early.