Lake Forest incorporated as a city on December 20, 1991. Prior to incorporation, the community had been known asEl Toro.[6] Following a vote in 2000, Lake Forest expanded its city limits to include the master-planned developments ofFoothill Ranch andPortola Hills. This expansion brought new homes and commercial centers to the northeastern boundary of the city.
Lake Forest has two lakes from which the city gets its name. The lakes are man-made, and condominiums and custom homes ranging from large to small line their shores. Neighborhood associations manage the lakes (Lake 1, known as the Lake Forest Beach and Tennis Club, and Lake 2, the Sun and Sail Club.) Each facility features tennis courts, gyms, basketball courts, barbecue pits, volleyball courts, multiple swimming pools, saunas, hot tubs and club houses for social events.
The "forest" for which the city is also named lies in the area between Ridge Route, Jeronimo, Lake Forest and Serrano roads, and consists mostly ofeucalyptus trees. It is also man-made, and was created in the first decade of the 1900s when a local landowner, Dwight Whiting, planted 400 acres (1.6 km2) of eucalyptus groves in the vicinity of Serrano Creek as part of a lumber operation intended to draw development to the area.[6] In the late 1960s, theOccidental Petroleum company developed a residential community in and around the eucalyptus groves, which had long since expanded and grown much more dense.
Lake Forest's origins lie inRancho Cañada de los Alisos, granted in 1842 to José Antonio Serrano. By 1863, the community that grew up in Serrano's rancho came to be known as El Toro.
From 1863, the community had been known as El Toro. In 1847 José Serrano and his family occupied eleven thousand acres of theRancho Cañada de los Alisos that had been granted to them by the Government of Mexico, and that eventually reached the hands of Dwight Whiting. Whiting was instrumental in bringing the Santa Fe rail line through the region.[6] TheRancho Niguel was granted to Juan B. Alvarado, Juan Avila and his sister Conception, the widow of one Pedro Sánchez. From them it passed to other owners and was divided into plots, including Yorba. In 1874, most of it was owned by Cyrus B. Rawson. Jonathan E. Bacon also owned 1600 acres. In addition to the Serranos, established in Aliso Canyon, there was a group of pioneers who lived in the foothills and several miles above El Toro, many of whom were among the first settlers of this neighborhood.
El Toro Road at theInterstate 5 freeway was the epicenter of the Saddleback Valley from the late 19th century to the end of the 2nd millennium. However, the area gradually deteriorated, and most of the shops closed or moved to other cities. After years of planning, the city has worked with the property owners of some aging strip malls and developed the "Arbor at Lake Forest" commercial district. The new center now competes with large shopping centers in cities that surround Lake Forest.
In 1991, residents chose to incorporate, and chose the name "Lake Forest" in a referendum. Controversy ensued for months, as residents of the newer subdivisions argued that "Lake Forest" sounded better than "El Toro", while long-time residents complained that the name change aimed to erase the town's history in favor of an artificial name that referred to man-made lakes.[7]El Toro High School kept its name and continues to do so to this day. In subsequent years as the city came to be referred to as Lake Forest, mentions of "El Toro" in the press usually referred to theMarine Corps Air Station El Toro, decommissioned in 1999 and later repurposed.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.8 square miles (44 km2). 16.7 square miles (43 km2) of its land and 0.08 square miles (0.21 km2) of it (0.47%) is water.[3]
Lake Forest is located in the heart of the Saddleback Valley, with the northeast end located in the foothills of theSanta Ana Mountains. It is also in the northern section of South Orange County.
It has two man-made lakes identified by the clubhouses on the lakes — the Beach and Tennis Club (Hidden Lakes, formerly Lake I) and the Sun and Sail Club (Lake II).
Interstate 5 travels along the western border of Lake Forest, forming the border withLaguna Hills. I-5 has two interchanges in the city: Lake Forest Drive and El Toro Road (Highway S18).
California State Route 241 passes through theFoothill Ranch community of Lake Forest, in close proximity to several residential and commercial areas. SR 241 has three interchanges in Lake Forest: Alton Parkway, Lake Forest Drive (a partial interchange with a southbound exit and northbound entrance only), and Portola Parkway.
County Route S18, also known as El Toro Road, travels the entire length and width of the city, about 10.5 miles. The road passes through numerous communities, such asPortola Hills. At Live Oak Canyon Road, El Toro becomes Santiago Canyon Road, forming the far northeast boundary of Lake Forest, before heading through theSanta Ana Mountains and becoming Chapman Avenue in northern Orange County.
Lake Forest city, California – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
The census reported that 99.5% of the population lived in households, 0.3% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.2% were institutionalized.[29]
There were 29,728 households, out of which 34.9% included children under the age of 18, 59.2% were married-couple households, 5.6% werecohabiting couple households, 21.3% had a female householder with no partner present, and 13.9% had a male householder with no partner present. 17.9% of households were one person, and 7.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.87.[29] There were 22,421families (75.4% of all households).[30]
The age distribution was 21.3% under the age of 18, 8.3% aged 18 to 24, 27.8% aged 25 to 44, 28.1% aged 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 39.5years. For every 100 females, there were 97.1 males.[29]
There were 30,570 housing units at an average density of 1,829.0 units per square mile (706.2 units/km2), of which 29,728 (97.2%) were occupied. Of these, 68.7% were owner-occupied, and 31.3% were occupied by renters.[29]
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $131,378, and theper capita income was $58,506. About 5.7% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line.[31]
The2010 United States census[32] reported that Lake Forest had a population of 77,264. The population density was 4,315.9 inhabitants per square mile (1,666.4/km2). The racial makeup of Lake Forest was 54,341 (70.3%)White (57.2% Non-Hispanic White),[33] 1,295 (1.7%)African American, 384 (0.5%)Native American, 10,115 (13.1%)Asian, 191 (0.2%)Pacific Islander, 7,267 (9.4%) fromother races, and 3,671 (4.8%) from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 19,024 persons (24.6%).
The Census reported that 76,749 people (99.3% of the population) lived in households, 299 (0.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 216 (0.3%) were institutionalized.
There were 26,224 households, out of which 10,407 (39.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 15,603 (59.5%) were married couples, 2,710 (10.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,299 (5.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,217 (4.6%) unmarried partnerships, and 201 (0.8%) same-sex couples. 4,883 households (18.6%) were made up of individuals, and 1,432 (5.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.93. There were 19,612families (74.8% of all households); the average family size was 3.30.
The population was spread out, with 19,115 people (24.7%) under the age of 18, 6,775 people (8.8%) aged 18 to 24, 22,099 people (28.6%) aged 25 to 44, 22,184 people (28.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 7,091 people (9.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.5 males.
There were 27,088 housing units at an average density of 1,513.1 units per square mile (584.2 units/km2), of which 18,579 (70.8%) were owner-occupied, and 7,645 (29.2%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.3%. 54,082 people (70.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 22,667 people (29.3%) lived in rental housing units.
The city is home to the headquarters of eyewear manufacturerOakley, Inc.; in-flight entertainment providerPanasonic Avionics;Karem Aircraft[34] an aircraft company developingUAVs; telecommunications software developer Greenlight Wireless Corp.; barbecue retailerBarbeques Galore; restaurant chainsJohnny Rockets andDel Taco; medical equipment maker Apria Healthcare;reverse mortgage lender Access Home Lending;[35] and skateboarding companiesSole Technology, Inc.,Etnies, Autism Behavior Services Inc., and Tilly's; among others.
Lake Forest is served by two branches of the Orange County Public Library system known as OC Public Libraries: the El Toro branch and the Foothill Ranch branch.[38]
The city of Lake Forest puts on an annual summer concert[40] at Pittsford Park. Other public events include the Fourth of July 5K run[41] and fireworks display over the lake at the Sun & Sail Club.[42]On Wednesdays at 4 pm, there is a farmers market at the Sports Park and Recreation Center, where locals can go and buy products from the local farmers and vendors.
Lake Forest Sports Park and Recreation Center opened on November 1, 2014, across the street from Saddleback Church.[44] The 86.2-acre Sports Park, built with fees collected from developers for a "study" that led to the rezoning of surrounding areas, is one of the largest sports parks in Orange County.[45][46] The Recreation Center houses classrooms/activities rooms and a gymnasium, hosting many education and recreation programs that have previously been hosted at the rented City Hall facility.[44]
Lake Forest is also home to two county parks.Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park in the eastern part of the city was the site of an infamousmountain lion mauling in 2004 that captured the attention of the West Coast news media.[47]
Heritage Hill Historical Park and Museum is home to some of the oldest buildings inOrange County, including theJose Serrano Adobe, an original adobe home and settlement built in 1863; El Toro's first school, the old El Toro School House; El Toro's first church, St. Georges Episcopal Church; and the Harvey Bennett Ranch House, built in 1908, from which the Bennett Ranch development in Lake Forest derives its name. The Bennetts raised oranges for Sunkist, and owned the State-deeded water rights toAliso Creek, which was very rare in California, and instrumental to their success. It is also the location of "Ritchie's Park," per signs alongAliso Creek, which was a naturally set childhood playground along the stream, where all of the Bennett children and grandchildren played. Frequently, the children found Indian artifacts along the banks, and met relatives of the Indians whose ancestors had actually lived there, including "Al" and "Cy" who were older Indians working for the Bennetts. The park is named for Richard Bennett Harvey, the grandchild whom Harvey and Frances Bennett raised, their seventh and last "child" who grew up on the ranch in youth, and lived there later in early marriage, working on the ranch until it was sold. The Bennett's son, Richard Beach Bennett, was educated in Animal Husbandry atCalifornia Polytechnic State University, Pomona, and grew replacement trees for farmers, before starting his own ranch in Balcom Canyon in Ventura County.
Lake Forest also hasetnies Skatepark, which is the largest publicskatepark with over 40,000 square feet (3,700 m2).[48]
Marine Corps Air Station El Toro was located one mile (1.6 km) from the city of Lake Forest in the city ofIrvine. At one time, El Toro was considered a military town, but the city blossomed independently in the 1980s and 1990s before the base closed in 1999.[clarification needed]
Doug Cirbo serves as Lake Forest's Mayor and Mark Tettemer serves as MayorPro Tempore. In addition to Cirbo and Tettemer, the three other City Council members are Robert Pequeno, Scott Voigts, and Benjamin Yu.
According to theSecretary of State of California, as of February 10, 2019, Lake Forest has 46,014 registered voters. Of those, 17,329 (37.66%) are registered Republicans, 13,402 (29.13%) are registered Democrats, and 13,080 (28.43%) have no political party preference/are independents.[59]
Historically, Lake Forest has, like most of southern Orange County, been a Republican fortress in presidential elections. Changing demographics and the intensely polarizing urban/rural divide, however, has made Lake Forest more fertile footing for Democrats, who in recent elections have been trimming the GOP margins in the city. In 2020,Joe Biden became the first Democratic presidential nominee to win Lake Forest since its incorporation.[citation needed]
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