Cuyamaca College is located in the community of Rancho San Diego at 900 Ranch San Diego Parkway in the City of El Cajon on a 165-acre site which was at one time a part of the Old Monte Vista Ranch. Cuyamaca College is one of two colleges serving the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District.

The name for the College was selected by the Board of Trustees, as a reflection of the history and heritage of this area of San Diego County. One historian notes the "The very old Indian name 'Cuyamaca' has persisted through Spanish, Mexican and American times," and has, at various times, been "applied to mountains, lakes, valleys and ranches." Writers have interpreted the Indian meaning of the name in various ways, including "above rain" and "place where the rain comes from heavens."

The building site was acquired by the Board of Trustees in September 1972, and the College officially opened in the Fall of 1978. The second phase of buildings was completed in January 1980. In 1989, the Learning Resource Center opened. The campus consists of eight classroom buildings and is also the site of the Heritage of the Americas Museum and the Water Conservation Garden.

In the Spring of 1995, Rancho San Diego Parkway, the Fury Lane entrance road, was completed providing students easier access to the College.

In the Fall of 1995, the College dedicated a new 20.3 acre physical education facility with a fitness center, gym, tennis and volleyball courts, soccer and ball fields and an olympic track.

A new Student Services Center opened in the Spring 2001 to provide one-stop student services at the Ranch San Diego Parkway entrance. The Child Development Center and Math Learning Center opened in Fall 2001. On April 19, 2007, the new Science and Technology Center had its grand opening, October 11, 2007 was the new Student Center grand opening and then on January 31, 2008, we had the Communication Arts Center grand opening.

Construction implementation is occurring on an incremental basis in response to the growing community surrounding the College and to meet the educational needs in the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District. The College is designed to provide a comprehensive curriculum of programs and course of study, and when completed, will accommodate an enrollment of approximately 15,000 students in 2015.