Jurupa Valley

Jurupa Valley is a city in Riverside County, California, on the north bank of the Santa Ana River west of Riverside. It was incorporated in 2011, joining older communities such as Mira Loma, Rubidoux, Pedley and Glen Avon into one city.

The area was part of the Rancho Jurupa, a Mexican land grant of the 1830s that was later bought by the trader Louis Rubidoux, whose name is carried by the community of Rubidoux. Rubidoux, a trader from St. Louis, built a gristmill on the river in the 1840s. Cornelius Jensen, a sea captain from Denmark, built a brick ranch house on the land in the 1860s, and the Jensen-Alvarado Historic Ranch keeps it as a living history museum. In the early 20th century the valley was planted with citrus groves and vineyards After the 1950s the farms gave way to houses and horse properties.

Goods from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are sorted in large distribution centers in the Mira Loma area for stores across the West. Large lots zoned for horses give the semi-rural neighborhoods of the city a ranch character.

The Rubidoux Drive-In, opened in the late 1940s, still shows films on outdoor screens and holds a swap meet by day. The Jurupa Mountains Discovery Center has dinosaur models, a fossil collection and gardens of cactus on the slopes of the hills. The Santa Ana River Trail follows the river along the southern edge of the city for cycling and riding. The Jurupa Hills, rocky ridges in the west of the city, have trails with views over the Inland Empire.