When Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola went through this placer in the late 1770s, he found Indian rancheros amidst the rocky hill slopes, dark canyons, old sycamores, ancient oaks, prickly pears and chaparral. Now, when we approaching Rancho by Alicia Parkway, we can see the picturesque valley with numerous tiled roofs between the hills.

Rancho Santa Margarita is situated along the slopes of Santa Ana Mountains. This is a youngest city of Orange County, incorporated at 1st of January 2000. Before 30s it was a real rancho owned by James C. Flood and Richard O’Nell. Afterwards, their descendants decided to urbanize the place, establish a city with the small town spirit.

We can say - they succeeded. Rancho Santa Margarita is very quiet and calm place with a lot of wildlife on the surrounding hills and a lot of shops and cafes. All city buildings are stucco-styled - with tiled roofs, pink walls and long shady galleries. There are a lot of parks, including O’Neill Regional Park, several golf-clubs and lakes.

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, June, 2002