La Sierra Hills takes its name from the original Mexican land grant known as Rancho La Sierra de Sepulveda, and the high rolling terrain of the western portion of the area. The La Sierra Hills neighborhood was home of the Hole Mansion, built by a wealthy lumber baron, Willits J. Hole, beginning in 1913. This was the focal point of the Hole ranch, which encompassed much of La Sierra and portions of Corona and Norco. Starting in 1910, the land was subdivided and used for subsistence farming. La Sierra Hills was a well established unincorporated area when its voters approved annexation into the City of Riverside in 1964 and 1965.
The neighborhood is bounded by the City of Norco to the west, Arlington Avenue to the north, the La Sierra Acres neighborhood marked by the Twin Buttes to the east and Gramercy Place to the south. Today, the diverse topography found in the open, undeveloped space of La Sierra Hills contributes to the neighborhood’s beauty. A large expanse of hilly terrain in the westerly portion of the neighborhood remains undeveloped, largely due to its steep topography. Because the hills are a very important and valuable natural feature, future development will need to be designed to protect and preserve the hillside areas while allowing residential units that fit into areas with minimal impact to the natural topography of the land. The developed portion of the neighborhood consists almost entirely of medium density single-family homes. While residential development in the neighborhood occurred steadily for the latter half of the 20th Century, the majority of homes were built between 1960 and 1980.
The La Sierra Hills neighborhood is well served by schools and parks. Both Twinhill Elementary and Loma Vista Middle School are located within the neighborhood, and many fine schools serve the area from just outside the boundaries. The City’s Park and Recreation Master Plan proposes the Santa Ana River Parkway and secondary, interconnecting trails, including a trail traversing the neighborhood, providing a connection to the Santa Ana River Parkway from La Sierra Park. The coast-to-crest Santa Ana River Parkway trail will be linked with a series of hubs within parks along the way and will eventually span 100 miles.
Residents within the neighborhood can enjoy La Sierra Park located adjacent to the southern neighborhood boundary. The park provides a broad range of recreation and fitness opportunities. In 2008, La Sierra Park was expanded and renovated, with the addition of two new children's playgrounds, a lighted basketball court and picnic facilities. Soon the park will also include a new Senior Center. La Sierra Hills is also the location of the Doty-Trust site, a future park site located at the southwest corner of Golden and Campbell Avenues. The 21-acre site is named in honor of Riverside police officers Dennis C. Doty and Philip N. Trust, who were killed in the line of duty in 1982.