Alpine

Surrounded by the Cleveland National Forest, Alpine is a census-designated place (CDP) in the Cuyamaca Mountains of San Diego County, California. With a population of 14,236 based on the 2010 census, it borders two reservations of Viejas, the Kumeyaay Nation, and Sycuan as well as the rural unincorporated areas of the city of El Cajon. The ancestors of the Kumeyaay Indians lived in the Alpine region, possibly as long as 12,000 years before its modern settlement.

The name Alpine dates back to the 1880s, when it was suggested by a resident who said that the environment reminded her of her native country— Switzerland. In recent decades, there has been suburban development in the small commercial district along Alpine Blvd.

The town sits on both sides of Interstate 8 at the eastern extent of the California coastal region as well as the western extent of the Peninsular Ranges. In Alpine, the summers are dry and warm while winters are cool with moderate precipitation. The temperatures are usually more extreme than coastal San Diego, with an average rainfall of less than 15 inches each year. The amount of rainfall also varies significantly from month to month, falling mostly from November to March. Snowfall is quite rare, but trace amounts fall once in every two to three winters.