The beautiful Chino Hills
(Photo Courtesy: Wikipedia)

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Chino Hills has a lot going for it. Not only was this beautiful suburb ranked number 34 in Money Magazine’s “Best Places to Live in 2012”, it was also ranked as the 13^th safest city in the U.S. by the FBI in 2008.

The hills that roll through the city were used quite extensively for cattle grazing back in the late 1700s as large Mexican Republic ranches such as Santa Ana del Chino and Rancho La Sierra Yorba occupied the area. Once Mexico Ceded California to the U.S., the land slowly evolved into a tourist destination because of its beauty (and even a bootlegger’s destination because of its seclusion). Development made its way around the swampy areas known as Prado Dam, and Chino Hills was born, eventually incorporating in 1991 with a population of 42,000.

14,102 acres of those beautiful hills are still preserved within Chino Hills State Park, the largest California State Park within an urban setting. With 65 miles of trails for hiking, biking and equestrian use, the Park still encourages tourists to come to Chino Hills.