Overview
About Lake Forest I
Lake Forest I covers 294.5 acres and holds 1,558 homes on 97 named streets, third largest of the fifty Lake Forest communities on this site by both acreage and home count. The median lot measures 5,950 square feet. Three water bodies adjoin the boundary on the city's layer, Lake 1A at 13.1 acres, Lake 1B at 6.3 and the Village Pond at 1.1, and Village Pond Park sits on city-owned ground at the southern edge.
The recreation layer inside the boundary records two community pools, five tennis courts, four pickleball courts, a baseball and softball field, a soccer field, a basketball court and a playground, alongside 146 private backyard pools and 165 solar installations. Addresses split between two elementary schools, 1,129 to Santiago and 462 to Olivewood, and every home goes to Serrano Intermediate and El Toro High.
View available homes in Lake Forest IHistory
How Lake Forest I was built
Lake Forest I is where Occidental Petroleum began building in the late 1960s, putting houses in and among eucalyptus groves that had been planted around the turn of the century and had grown much denser in the sixty years since. The forest and the city's two man-made lakes together are the name the city took when it incorporated on 20 December 1991, dropping El Toro by referendum and annoying a good many people who had lived here under the old name.
Lake Forest I covers 294 acres and holds 1,558 homes on 97 named streets, third largest in the city on both counts. Two of the water bodies on the city's layer adjoin it, Lake 1A at 13 acres and Lake 1B at six, along with the Village Pond, and the recreation layer records two community pools, five tennis courts, four pickleball courts and a good deal else inside the boundary. The city's build year layer puts most of the housing before 1970, with the rest through the 1970s.
By the Numbers
Lake Forest I by the numbers
Lifestyle
The Lake Forest I lifestyle
Village Pond runs along the edge of the community and covers 1 acres of open water on the city's lake map. Lake 1A runs along the edge of the community and covers 13 acres of open water on the city's lake map.
Lake Forest keeps 31 parks open from dawn to dusk. The Lake Forest Sports Park and Recreation Center opened in November 2014 on 86 acres, with 57 of them given over to sports fields, and the city runs the largest free skatepark in Orange County at Etnies Skatepark.
Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park holds 1,575 acres of county open space against the north edge of the city, and the city's trail map carries 49 named trails.
Across the whole city the general plan sets 3,756 acres to residential use and 3,065 acres to open space and parks, which is why so much of Lake Forest reads as green from the ridgelines.
Schools
Schools serving Lake Forest I
Lake Forest I is split between two elementary schools. The city's property record assigns 1,129 addresses to Santiago Elementary and 462 to Olivewood Elementary. Every address goes to Serrano Intermediate and El Toro High. All four campuses are Saddleback Valley Unified.
9-12 · 1,902 students
7-8 · 868 students
K-6 · 517 students
K-6 · 396 students
FAQs
Common questions about Lake Forest I
How big is Lake Forest I?
The community covers 294.5 acres on the city's published boundary and holds 1,558 homes on 1,652 parcels across 97 named streets. It ranks third of the fifty Lake Forest communities on this site by both acreage and home count, and the median parcel measures 5,950 square feet.
Which schools serve Lake Forest I?
It depends on the address. The city's property record assigns 1,129 addresses to Santiago Elementary and 462 to Olivewood Elementary. Every address goes to Serrano Intermediate and El Toro High. All four campuses are Saddleback Valley Unified.
Are there lakes here?
Three water bodies adjoin the boundary on the city's layer: Lake 1A at 13.1 acres, Lake 1B at 6.3 acres and the Village Pond at 1.1 acres. Only a tenth of an acre of Lake 1B falls inside the association line itself, and Village Pond Park sits on city-owned ground at the southern edge.
How old are the homes?
The seventeen subdivision maps inside the boundary were recorded from February 1965 onward, and the city's build year layer places 129 acres of building footprint in its Pre 1970 band against 86.4 acres in 1971 to 1980. That is the largest Pre 1970 footprint of any Lake Forest community on this site.
Are there shared amenities?
Yes. The city's recreation layer records two community pools, five tennis courts, four pickleball courts, a baseball and softball field, a soccer field, a basketball court and a playground inside the boundary. Only Lake Forest II records more tennis courts.