4S Ranch is an unincorporated community of San Diego County, California. It is located about 25 miles north of downtown San Diego and 13 miles east of the Pacific Ocean in the North County Inland area of San Diego. To the east of 4S Ranch is the San Diego community of Rancho Bernardo. To the west is the Santa Fe Valley that includes Rancho Santa Fe. Lake Hodges forms the northern border of the community while Black Mountain Ranch that includes Del Sur and Santaluz, and Rancho Peñasquitos to the south. The ZIP Code is 92127 and the community is inside area code 858.

History

The origin of the name 4S Ranch is not specifically known. The first recorded owner of Rancho San Bernardo, as the area in which 4S Ranch is currently located and originally part of 4 separate sitios or square leagues, was acquired by an Englishman named Joseph Snook (who later became a Mexican citizen and changed his name to Jose Francisco Snook) in 1842 and 1845. Many now believe the "S" in 4S Ranch stands for "Snook". The "4" may stand for "4 Snooks", after Snook and his three brothers or the 4 sitios or leagues granted to Snook. Contrary to myth, Snook and his wife never had any children. After his death, Snook's heirs sold the property to James McCoy for $4,020.