Royal Valley, California, USA

An excellent place to grow up! A desert city with a population of 80,000 (growing from 70k in 1995), Royal Valley was founded in 1920 as a “modern city that would embrace the cutting edge of culture, architecture, and technology,” as proclaimed by its founder, Hadron McMare.

As a younger city, Royal Valley is still looking for a solid identity, and has experimented over the years, from being an artist colony to one big entertainment venue, like a “Las Vegas of California, without the gambling.” Its amusement park, built over a demolished air force base, is arguably its centerpiece, now celebrating its 25th anniversary and entertaining a second generation of Valley kids.

Embracing its namesake, Royal Valley has adopted a Eurocentric theme in titling its landmarks, despite not at all being run by monarchs. Its famous overlook is on Castle Hill, for example. Its video game-themed theme park is named King Arcade. Its oldest, most famous (and now closed) theater was The Queen. And on New Year’s Eve, it drops a giant, lit-up crown from its tallest building, Victory Plaza.

In the 1960s, growth exploded when the sprawling suburban complex of Desert Tree opened, proclaiming itself as a great place to raise a kid, and with its multiple schools, it attracted young families from across the country. Its regional airport opened the same decade, helping to draw in more tourists and residents, which until the late 90s, were able to take downtown streetcars to and from popular destinations like galleries, restaurants, used car lots, and chocolate and toy stores.

While not prone to earthquakes and free from the dangers of wildfires, Royal Valley does sometimes have heat waves in the summer, along with rolling blackouts. A particularly bad and inexplicable one crippled the city for several days starting on February 14th, 1996. Otherwise, Royal Valley has proven to be a great, entertaining place to live, so long as you don’t mind a little dry heat and fun-seeking tykes.

~ A Brief History of Royal Valley, from the city’s official website.

Visit King Arcade!

Enroll your child at Desert Tree Elementary

Do some indoor shopping