Anaheim Hills is a planned community encompassing the eastern portions of the city of Anaheim, in Orange County, California.
Anaheim Hills is located just south of Yorba Linda, California, opposite the 91 freeway at Imperial Highway. The western border is the 55 freeway opposite the city of Orange, California. On the northeast side the community extends past Gypsum Canyon, bordered by unincorporated areas of Orange County and the Cleveland National Forest (east). To the south is the Santa Ana foothills opposite the community of Villa Park, California.
Prior to the development, a few scattered low density neighborhoods existed in the area including Peralta Hills and Mohler Loop (tracts which still exist today) that were developed primarily in the 1940s and 1950s. The remaining portions of Anaheim Hills were primarily developed in the 1970s after rancher and land owner Louis Nohl sold his massive parcel in the foothills east of Anaheim. The area was taken over by Texaco Industries in 1970 when the company announced plans to develop an expansive and upscale master planned community of 7,000 homes, estates, and townhomes. The original master plan included a proposal for three new lakes with high density condominiums clustered around these water features. The initial master plan proved to be unsustainable due to the topography and geology of the area. Construction of the community began in 1971 and was branded as a rural enclave and alternative to the more dense subdivisions emerging in the Orange County basin with homes on large lots, hiking trails, a golf course, and low densities. Anaheim Hills is the first residential development to utilize "Landform Grading." The community grew quickly and by 1974 the Orange Unified School District had constructed a high school to serve the growing community.