Highgrove

History

Highgrove was founded in 1886, originally called East Riverside, but in 1897 during a naming contest, it was renamed to Highgrove, after not getting it confused with the city of Riverside. Citrus-farm growers have occupied Highgrove area since beginning of history, with its superior fresh-wind conditions from the west, blowing into east of a cove-shape like terrain, making it one the most valuable places in the Inland Empire for citrus-farming by generations of farmers. Due to the stronger wind conditions that can easily move air out, a landfill dumping ground was opened in 1947 for discarded farm waste. Originally, it operated as a fire-burn dump during the 1950s, until 1960 when there was a concern of heavy-smog in southern California. In 1970, the Highgrove Agricultural Preserve conservation was formed in order to support the growing number of orange trees from farmers. More diverse of citrus fruits were being grown for the packing houses in Riverside. However, farming output could only peaked by the mid-1980s. More competition on fruit prices had increased daily from new farming businesses in the Central California region. Highgrove's another biggest threat was its rising land-value and water cost for the groves by the end of 1980s, due to its close-proximity to downtown Riverside, which made farm crops more unprofitable. By 1990, the preserve contract was not renewed, citing increases of population density, housing shortage, traffic jam, university students commuting to campus, and smog near the city of Riverside. Citrus (mostly orange) trees were gradually phased out and torn down completely by the year 2000. The Highgrove sanitary landfill closed permanently in 1998, after 51 years of operation. Since the 2018 inspection yearly report, no methane output has…

Geography

Highgrove is located at . Highgrove is between the city of Riverside and Grand Terrace. It is located east of Interstate 215, west of Reche Canyon Rd., some portions west of Interstate 215, and north of the University of California, Riverside campus. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , all of it land. Elevation is 951 ft. The highest-elevation point in Highgrove with homes built is up to 1,400 ft. at the eastside, on the corner intersection of Country Mile Ln. and Muir Ln.. Weather tends to be slightly cooler up there than at the lower elevation area around the 215-freeway area. It's a popular tourist spot to see the panoramic views of San Bernardino County and the highest peak of Mt. San Antonio on a clear day. Other unofficial highest-point elevation is scattered near Reche Canyon Road. The lowest-elevation point is 848 ft., on the corner intersection of Cannes Ave. and La Ciotat Way, bordering city of Riverside's Northside neighborhood.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  22,512
• Lesser Goldfinch

  Spinus psaltria (Say, 1822) · Aves
  16,855
• Black Phoebe

  Sayornis nigricans (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  16,746
• California Towhee

  Melozone crissalis (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  16,031
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  15,808
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  15,270
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  14,656
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  14,636

Largest nearby schools

• Martin Luther King Jr. High
  High · Riverside · 2,901 students · 25.4:1 ratio
• Valley View High
  High · Moreno Valley · 2,843 students · 22.9:1 ratio
• Polytechnic High
  High · Riverside · 2,660 students · 25.8:1 ratio
• Patriot High
  High · Jurupa Valley · 2,532 students · 23.2:1 ratio
• Canyon Springs High
  High · Moreno Valley · 2,266 students · 22.2:1 ratio
• Moreno Valley High
  High · Moreno Valley · 2,232 students · 21.1:1 ratio
• Ramona High
  High · Riverside · 2,220 students · 23.9:1 ratio
• John W. North High
  High · Riverside · 2,173 students · 23.9:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.63 — 2026-09-23
  9 km WNW of Anza, CA
• M 2.94 — 2026-09-17
  4 km SSE of Compton, CA
• M 2.65 — 2026-09-12
  4 km E of Lennox, CA
• M 2.62 — 2026-09-12
  5 km WNW of Willowbrook, CA
• M 2.67 — 2026-09-08
  39 km NE of Big Bear City, CA
• M 3.07 — 2026-09-06
  4 km SSE of Compton, CA