Canyon Lake - Riverside County, California

Canyon Lake reservoir, a 525 acre lake located in western Riverside County is a gated community east of Lake Elsinore and Interstate 15 in the southern foothills of the Temescal Mountains.  At an elevation of 1,384 feet above sea level, Canyon Lake began as a master-planned community developed by Corona Land Company in 1968. The “City of Canyon Lake” was incorporated on December 1, 1990. Railroad Canyon Dam was built in 1927, and impounds the San Jacinto River to fill the reservoir, which covers 383 acres and has 14.9 miles of shoreline

Canyon Lake is located east of Lake Elsinore and Interstate 15, in the southern foothills of the Temescal Mountains. The mountain range is on the western edge of the Perris Block and east of the Elsinore Fault Zone.  The community is named for Canyon Lake reservoir, also known as the Railroad Canyon Reservoir, which it surrounds. The reservoir, created in 1928 with the construction of the Railroad Canyon Dam, covers approximately 525 acres (212 ha), has 14.9 miles of shoreline.  It is owned and operated by the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District.

The reservoir is supplied by storm water runoff from the San Jacinto River and Salt Creek. Water from the reservoir feeds the Canyon Lake Water Treatment Plant, which provides approximately 10% of the domestic water supply in the Lake Elsinore/Canyon Lake area.

In 1882 the California Southern Railroad built a line from Perris to Elsinore along the east side of the San Jacinto River. The Santa Fe Railroad bought the line and joined it with their line in San Bernardino. Floods in 1884, 1916, and 1927 washed out the tracks, and the Santa Fe Railroad decided to abandon the line. Soon after the last flood the Temescal Water Company bought the railroad right-of-way, as well as 1,000 acres (400 ha) from Henry Evans, a rancher, and other land from B.T. Kuert. Those were the two parcels that make up most of Canyon Lake today. 

Construction started in 1927 to build a dam across the river to store water. It was finished in 1929. Railroad Canyon Reservoir, when built, was one of the largest fresh water lakes for fishing, hunting and camping in Southern California.