The Bernasconi Hills are a low mountain range of the Peninsular Ranges

Peninsular Ranges

The Peninsular Ranges are a group of mountain ranges, in the Pacific Coast Ranges, which stretch from southern California in the United States to the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Coast Ranges that run along the Pacific coast from Alaska...

, located in Riverside County

Riverside County, California

Riverside County is a county in the U.S. state of California. One of 58 California counties, it covers in the southern part of the state, and stretches from Orange County to the Colorado River, which forms the state border with Arizona. The county derives its name from the city of Riverside,...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, United States.

Location

The range forms the eastern flank of the Lake Perris

Lake Perris

Lake Perris is an artificial lake completed in 1973. It is the southern terminus of the California State Water Project situated in a mountain-rimmed valley between Moreno Valley, and city of Perris in what is now the Lake Perris State Recreation Area. The park offers a variety of recreational...

 reservoir. Bernasconi Pass separates the range into two parts; the Bernasconi Hills North, and the Bernasconi Hills South. The western end of the pass is now closed due to the lake. A monument in the pass recognizes that Juan Bautista de Anza

Juan Bautista de Anza

Juan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto was a Novo-Spanish explorer and Governor of New Mexico for the Spanish Empire.-Early life:...

 and his expedition, the first Europeans to visit the area, traveled through the pass in March, 1774.

Parts of the range are within the Lake Perris State Recreation Area. The rocky terain is a recognized site for the sport of bouldering

Bouldering

Bouldering is a style of rock climbing undertaken without a rope and normally limited to very short climbs over a crash pad so that a fall will not result in serious injury. It is typically practiced on large natural boulders or artificial boulders in gyms and outdoor urban areas...

. Enthusiasts of the sport refer to the area as the Bernasconi Ridge.

Bernardo Bernasconi

The hills and the pass were named for Bernardo Bernasconi, a native of Switzerland, who purchased 284 acres (1.1 km²) of land around the hills from Joseph Wolfskill and established a sheep ranch named Sulpher Springs Ranch.