Chino Hills is a city in the southwestern corner of San Bernardino County, California, positioned where the Inland Empire meets the borders of Orange and Los Angeles counties. With a population of roughly 77,000, it is one of the region's best-known master-planned communities, built across a landscape of rolling hills that gives the city its name and its distinctive look. The area's history reaches back to the Spanish mission era, when the land around Mission San Gabriel supported ranching and agriculture. The modern city emerged later, as the rural hills were transformed into planned residential neighborhoods. A key turning point was the preservation of Chino Hills State Park: through the efforts of the grassroots group Hills for Everyone, roughly 14,100 acres of hills were set aside, creating the largest California State Park located within an urban setting and protecting a signature swath of open space. Chino Hills is largely residential, with neighborhoods laid out across the hillsides and along the valleys. The city has developed a reputation for family-oriented suburban living with well-regarded schools and convenient access to regional job centers. The Chino Valley Unified School District serves Chino Hills along with neighboring Chino and part of Ontario. Retail and dining concentrate at The Shoppes at Chino Hills, an open-air, main-street-style center of more than 375,000 square feet at Grand Avenue and Peyton Drive, just off the 71 Freeway. The center anchors the city's commercial life alongside neighborhood shopping plazas. Recreation is defined by the state park, which offers miles of trails for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding across rolling grasslands and hills, with views toward the surrounding valleys. The city also maintains a network of local parks and community facilities. Transportation revolves around State Route 71, the Chino Valley Freeway, which runs along the city's edge and connects to State Routes 57, 60, and 91, giving residents direct routes into Orange County, the Pomona and San Gabriel valleys, and western Riverside County. The proximity to multiple freeways makes Chino Hills a base for commuters across a wide swath of Southern California.